Who: Walnut Studiolo – Portland, OR

What: Leather Bike U-lock Holster

Where: etsy.com – $49

Why: We thought we were the only ones completely frustrated by the dysfunctional mounting brackets for bike u-locks.  Our lock barely fits within the frame of our bike and we’ve wasted far too much time fumbling with it that we begrudgingly hang the lock off the bike handle or let it rattle around in our bike basket – not ideal…

That is until we came across this oh-so-dapper solution from Geoffrey Franklin, a bike enthusiast and founder of Walnut Studiolo. Click to continue »

Who: EnergyHub – New York, NY

What: The Smart Thermostat

Where: EnergyHub – coming soon!

Why We Love ‘Em: Not sure if any of you have ridden in a Prius, but we got to take a tour of Oregon in a Prius through wine country to the coastal sand dunes and along the Columbia River.  Along the way, it was hard not to get caught up in the game of how high the miles per/gallon was particularly the amount of energy we were gaining on the downhill from Mount Hood. Felt like we were able to get better mileage because we were more aware of the amount of energy we were using at any point in time. So imagine if you could monitor your household energy consumption in the same way… Click to continue »

Who: Po Campo, Chicago, IL

What: Bike Rack Bag

Where: Supermarket – $160 for the Rack Bag & $90 for the Handlebar Bag

Why We Love ‘Em: Finally the solution of the age old dilemma of how to look cute on your bike without succumbing to the cumbersome messenger bag or the dreaded backpack. Now, thanks to the ladies at Po Campo, you can ride in style with your cute little Rack Bag strapped neatly to the back. Once you arrive at your destination simply unclip the straps and you are off with your stylish tote in tow. They also have a handlebar bag if you prefer to keep your valuables in front.

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Who: Kor; Fountain Valley, CA

What: “Thirst for Giving” Special Edition Vessels

Where: Kor – $35 (See also the KOR ONE BPA Free Hydration Vessel for $25.99)

Why We Love It: We first spotted the Kors Hydration Vessel at the Green Pavilion of the Architectural Digest Home show last year. Huge fans of the bright colors, the slick cylindrical shape and the innovative flip-top cap hinged to stay in place – no more running around the house in search of our missing screw top caps. The wide-mouthed top also fits ice cubes quite nicely so you can enjoy cool beverages. Another nice feature, for klutzs like ourselves, is the grippy bottom to help avoid inadvertent spills. This is a good sized water bottle, much taller than standard models on the market, but the cylindrical shape fits nicely in the plam of your hand (even our small hands!) Click to continue »

Who: SIGG; Switzerland

What: SIGG Concept Snowflake Water Bottle (1.0L)

Where: Amazon.com – $24.99; Sigg Lifestyle Loop Top Water Bottle (1.0-Liters)

Why We Love It: The SIGG label has been around since 1908 and has been known to make high quality durable aluminum products. Their iconic water aluminum water bottles have not changed in shape since 1993, but has broadened its colorful and ever changing designs to include works from over 30 different artists. And today, we are giving away one of their limited Edition Concept Snowflake water bottles.

The bottle is made of 100% recyclable aluminum and features their new BPA-free liner (SIGGs recently came under fire for not disclosing that their old liners contained trace amounts of BPA). The can really take a beating, we’ve dropped ours on ice, pavement, wood floors  and they’ve survived with just a few dents – most SIGGs in Europe are still being used 10-20 years after purchase. Click to continue »

Who: Lotus Pad; Somerville, MA

What: Eco Yoga Mats

Where: Lotus Pad – $29-$34, on sale for 20% off through December 24th

Why We Love It: After rolling out our yoga mat and watching our nieces jockey for position under the canopy of our downward dog, we realized they might like their own, kid-sized mat. The hard part was finding one. After hours spent searching for eco-friendly alternatives to the toxic PVC* mats that are so prevalent in yoga studios, we discovered LotusPad.

Lotuspad founder, Katy Downy wanted to share the joy of yoga with her young daughter while reconciling the disconnect she saw between the earth conscious practice of yoga and the toxicity of the mats that most people had underfoot. So, in 2007, she began making her own kid-sized eco yoga mats and has since expanded the collection to include yoga mats for ‘adults, yoga bags and a collection of colorful and locally made mat slings to match.

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Who: Earthlust; San Francisco, CA

What: Black Flower Stainless Steel Water Bottle

Where: Earthlust – $18 (Subscribers to The Find get 15% off through 12/31)

Why We Love It: Tis’ the season to trade in your single-use water bottles for a totally chic, totally durable reusable stainless steel water bottle from Earthlust. The bottles are made of a double-walled food grade stainless steel that is 100% PVC and BPA-free.  Even the caps are BPA-free, so you can be sure that this bottle is safe to use time and time again.

The bottles are coated with a non-toxic paint featuring gorgeous nature-inspired designs, most of which are limited edition. The problem is, with so many great designs to choose from, it is hard to choose just one! Click to continue »

Who: VersAudio; Wayland, MA
What: iPod Nano & iPhone Cases

Where: Vers Audio – $39.99 & on black friday they are offering a 50% off special with coupon code vers50!

Why: You were the first to get and iPod, the first to get an iPhone and the first to clumsily chuck them on the sidewalk…oops. But have no fear, now you can get a ‘beautiful, tough and very renewable’ case to protect your ‘precious.’

The Vers cases are handcrafted from your choice of sustainably sourced hardwoods or mature bamboo. Steel pins in the corners and a UV and moisture resistant finish provide added strength and protection.

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Who: Madsen Cycles; Salt Lake City, UT

What: kg271/Bucket Bike

Where: Madsen; $1299 or, if you can handle a few minor scratches $1099

Why: Coined the “urban utility bike,” this is one serious grocery getter. No more struggling to squeeze a watermelon into your dainty bike baskets, the 40 gallon bucket can handle your biggest loads, even kids. It comes with a removable bench and two seatbelts so you can secure the little ones in. Perfect for commuting to school, practice, the beach……honestly, can you even imagine how fun it would be riding around in that giant baby blue bucket, as a kid, that is? Although it is tested up to 600 pounds…..

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SIGG has partnered with the Jane Goodall Institute to support the Drop of Hope campaign with their limited edition “Drop of Hope” reusable water bottle. The stainless steel water bottles are on sale at mySIGG.com for $24.99 with a portion of the proceeds going directly to support the “Drop of Hope: Water for the World” campaign.

Drop of Hope was launched in 2007  to bring attention to the clean water crisis that affects millions of  people worldwide and to raise money to provide clean drinking water to those in need. One of the main objectives of the campaign was to reduce overall consumption by decreasing “disposable water bottle use by approximately 800,000 bottles by replacing them with only 5,000 completely recyclable stainless steel bottles.” Our bottled water addiction burns nearly 47 million gallons of oil a year and for every 1 liter bottle made nearly 3 liters of water are wasted in the process.

Your purchase will help support the campaign by keeping water bottles out of landfills, raising awareness and for every Drop of Hope bottle sold $5 will be donated to initiatives to bring clean drinking water to schoolchildren in Africa.