Who: Re:Tread – Cheshire, U.K.

What: Recycled Tyre Planters

Where: Amazon.com – $14.99-$69.99

Why We Love It: Finally a tire suitable to display on your front lawn… Am always somewhat ‘eh’ about upcycled tire products, but these are actually really cool and just the kind of hardworking rugged container to house garden plants and flowers. A lot less fragile than the terra cotta pots that need to come in from the cold every year. Thinking this filled with our old Charlie Brown Christmas Tree from last year would be quite handsome on our front porch.

Re:Tread salvages old beat up tires and inner tubes for their handcrafted modern home accessories (their picture frames are pretty awesome). The frost proof planter is hand crafted from 100% recycled tires for a super strong container that will not rot. Re:Tread also makes some pretty awesome picture frames entirely out of tires. Tire treads vary from piece to piece as does the size, albeit slightly, so you’ll have a unique garden piece. Also great for indoor use as well, a little something unexpected!

Who: Native Honey – Trabuco Canyon, CA

What: Leather Tumbleweed Handbag

Where: Native Honey – $165

Why We Love It: We discovered this laid back handbag at an adorable boutique in Laguna Beach (La La filled with the most relaxed beachy textiles, bedding and apparel, it’s absolutely dreamy…). The bag immediately caught our eye amidst a sea of beautiful things and gave us a whole new appreciation for those old fabric scarp throw rugs. Love how Native Honey took a relatively humdrum material and made it incredibly cool, country, yet modern. Click to continue »

Who: Objeti - Cleveland, OH

What: Drop 20 & Drop 25 Stools

Where: Objeti -  Drop 20 (20″ h)  – $600, Drop 25 (25″ h) – $750. Hurry, now through July 1st, get free shipping on all orders. Available in white, red, black or blue.

Why We Love It: One brother hails from manufacturing and the other from architecture and when the two joined forces to launch Objeti the result was a highly polished, highly innovative collection of pendants, stools and coffee tables. After seeing the collection first hand, it’s no surprise that the Ribic brothers were awarded the Editors Award for Best New Designer at ICFF this year – they were definitely a highlight of the show. Click to continue »

And some say Twitter is a complete waste of time, but without it I never would have discovered this DIY coat rack project courtesy of a “tweet” from architect and sustainable design pioneer, Michelle Kaufmann. So now I finally do something with the bucket of dowels I’ve been hanging on to for some unknown reason (confession – as much as I pretend to live a simple, ‘stuff-free’ life, I am a closet hoarder. There, I said it…), and it’s a good thing I did (see me justifying my hoarding) because now I can make this simple mod concrete  and wood coat rack designed by Vytautas Gecas. Click to continue »

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite Spring Greening DIY Design project at Inhabitat.com. Deadline to vote is June 4th. And get inspired by the finalists ingenius ways of reusing materials.

Who: WWS Woodworks/William Smith – Portsmouth, NH

What: Cutting Boards

Where: Contact Bill direct to purchase (wsmith(at)wwswoodworks(dot)com), limited availability – $70

Why We Love It: Pictures do not do these cutting boards justice. We spotted them at CraftBoston and were captivated by the bold geometric design and the inherent beauty of  the wood itself. The cutting boards pictured are hand-crafted from natural maple and a contrasting mahogany, but are made from whatever wood scraps land on the cutting room floor.  Click to continue »

Who: Kate Aiello – Kennebunkport, ME

What: Recycled Glass Necklace

Where: etsy- $100

Why We Love It: We completely smitten with this eco-modern interpretation of the classic pearl necklace (we never could pull off pearls).  The perfectly imperfect recycled glass beads remind us of sun-kissed days spent on the beach in search of those precious pieces of sea glass that had washed ashore…  Love the simple elegance with the slightly frosted tumbled glass strung on a pure white satin ribbon. Oh, just absolutely perfect for the beach-loving bride! Click to continue »

When I heard about a local school being prepared for demolition, I got to thinking about all the materials in the school that would go to waste. The gym floors, the old oak doors, the brass light fixtures, even the brick. But the fact of the matter is that salvaging these materials is costly and most construction companies don’t want to be slowed down by the time it would take to reclaim the usable materials. It made me sick to my stomach to think of all the quality materials that could have been salvaged but instead would be hauled off to a landfill. Click to continue »

Who: Maine Float-Rope Company – Waldoboro, ME

What: Down East Doormats

Where: Maine Float-Rope Company – Large $79.95 & Medium $49.95 (see more purchasing information below!!)

Why We Love ‘Em: Penny Johnston is one of our new heroes (and as a fellow Mainer, we couldn’t be more proud!) When she saw neglected barns left for ruin, she salvaged the boards and turned them into spectacular tables. When she saw a need for stone, instead of mining for granite she worked with local Mainers to reclaim stones from abandoned fields and quarries. So it was no wonder that when she learned that Maine lobstermen were being forced to replace their float ropes with more expensive silk ropes she found a practical, economical and environmentally friendly solution.  That just ‘Mainers being Mainers’….. Click to continue »

Who: Morado Designs; Fairfax, VT

What: ECO Felt Monster Onesie Set

Where: Natural Luxe – $38 (sign-up to The Find for 15% off through 12/31)

Why We Love It: There is just something so endearing about the crooked smile and  googly eyes of this super cute matching set that the little ones are sure to love. Almost as much as having a tee to match their new friend.

These eco and ‘friendly’ monsters are made from recycled felt and filled with 100% natural bamboo stuffing. The onesie is made of 100% organic cotton with a felt monster to match. Even the packaging is eco-friendly, made of recycled content.

The sets are available in six different colors all of which you can find at one of our favorite online stores, Natural Luxe.

Click to continue »