What: Mortar + Pestle

Where: Macy’s – $24.99

Why We Love It: In this fast food world we live in, it’s good to take a step back and celebrate the ritual, the flavors, and the health benefits of a home cooked meal. As food critic, Mark Bittman, will attest, it doesn’t necessarily take much longer to prepare a thoughtful meal and you may find the ritual of cooking to be quite satisfying, more so, perhaps, than the meal itself.

Maximize flavor by grinding whole spices, fresh herbs, garlic, and more with this functional, durable, and colorful mortar and pestle. A traditional tool with a modern pop, it’s hand-crafted from 100% organically grown bamboo and comes with all the benefits of this fast-growing plant–it’s naturally antimicrobial and it’s one of the strongest yet lightest materials around. Core Bamboo uses food-safe water based adhesives, natural oils, and lacquers made from natural cashew trees.

What: Day Bed One

Where: Another Country – $1585-$2540

Why We Love It: As you know, we are always on the lookout for versatile designs, practical designs that can be used in more ways than one. This multi-functional day bed from the master craftsmen at Another Country works as a bed, a bench, a sofa and a coffee table. Great for small spaces than demand flexibility. Add simple lines, sustainable materials, quality design and classic herringbone and you’ve got us hooked and this day bed certainly hooked us. It’s perfect for lounging, coffee-ing and supporting guests so intoxicated by your hospitality, they choose to stay the night.

Rooted in traditional furniture design, but with a modern interpretation, Another Country’s products are built to last. They use high quality materials like solid FSC-Certified European oak finished with an eco-friendly natural wax oil makes and handcraft each piece in their workshop in Dorset. Care is taken in the design and construction phase to minimize material and time waste and most pieces pack flat to curb transport costs.

The cushy mattress is made of quality materials by the folks at Naturalmat. It features a certified organic latex core (from rubber trees) wrapped in certified organic coir (coconut fibre)

 and upholstered in Bute fabric made from locally sourced organic lambswool.

Where: Harriet & Leo – $70

Why We Love It: Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert chronicles the author’s trip around the world after her divorce, and what she discovered during her travels. Love or hate the movie version, we’ve taken some inspiration from Julia Roberts character’s, relaxed boho style and throw back to hippie chic fashion.

We particularly loved the woven belt by accessory designer, Jenny Krauss featured in a scene in Eat, Pray, Love. It reminded of us old tapestries with the blend of rich colors, patterns and texture. Each belt is hand-woven by women’s cooperatives in rural areas of Peru according to fair trade guidelines. The artisans are paid a living wage to provide for their families, have a safe working environment and are not subject to workplace pollutants or toxins. The artisans are women in poverty stricken rural areas with very few opportunities for employment and usually work at home with their children playing nearby.

The belts are available in boldly colored wool or in more subtle hues made from organic wool dyed with natural dyes made from berries, roots and leaves.

wool belts

Who:

What: Wall Flowers

Where: Lorna Syson – £100 – £3999, in a variety of colors & sizes.

Why We Love It: These ‘Wall Flowers’ by textile artist Lorna Syson are anything but. We fell in love with the rich colors, the vibrancy and complete originality of these sculptural wall hangings. They truly are stunning.

Made of 100% wool, sued and silk, the textiles are screen printed or digitally printed with patterns designed by Lorna or in solid colors.  The petals are then laser cut and meticulously hand woven to create the 3-D form. One piece can take up to a week to create.

At ICFF, Lorna mentioned that her goal was to source an entirely sustainable collection by 2015. She has far surpassed that target date and will be presenting a completely ‘ec0-friendly’ collection at 100% Design in London this September – can’t wait!

For a taste of Lorna’s stunning collection with a smaller sticker price, check out her collection of accessories and pillows – the pillows are filled with 100% recycled wool that’s naturally resistant to dust mites, so is great for people with allergies.

wall textiles

Who:

What: Porthole Mirror Collection

Where: VivaTerra – $369 (set of 5)

Why We Love It: Such an eye catching focal point for any room whether grouped together or separately. Love the way that the beautiful grain of the woods is left exposed so you can see all the whirls and color variations of the wood. The mirrors are crafted from naturally aged sustainable sheesham wood, a fast growing hardwood grown on plantations in India.

As with all of the products that VivaTerra features, these were selected because of the eco-friendly and people friendly sensitivities. Supporting sustainable business practices.

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Who:

What: Classic Cut-Out Dress w/Obi Belt

Where: naturevsvfuture – $278 in plum or indigo & now through June 3oth get 30% off with coupon code NVF/JUNE/30 (If you are in the NYC area you can check the collection out live & shop styles at 30-40% off at Mizu. Click for details.)

Why We Love It: We’d expect nothing less from designer Nina Valenti of naturevsnurture than an edgy and modern interpretation on a classic. The slightly asymmetrical hemlime and slits at the neckline and of course, the ‘slashed’ slits in the back, give the basic shift dress a little bit of rock and roll.

The rich plum color is sublime and the dress can be worn with or without the  reversible, and slimming, black & plum obi belt. It is made of a hemp and tencel blend.

Valenti’s garments are made as much as possible from organic, sustainable, renewable, and biodegradable materials. Fabrics include organic cotton, organic wool, hemp, soy, bamboo, seacell® (seaweed), lyocell (wood pulp), Ingeo™ (created from corn) and recycled and technological fabrics such as Polartec® (made from soda pop bottles or industry waste). All of her garments are made locally in New York.

What: Oslo Dining Table

Where: studiomoe.com, $2200

Why We Love It: We first discovered Moe Studios at ICFF last year and felt an overwhelming connection to their first retail collection. The simple lines, the meticulously handcrafted joints and the natural expression of the wood exude this sense of calmness and speak to the designers respect for the materials he works with. He doesn’t hide the knots (what some might call imperfections) or mask the grain, but instead celebrates that as part of the design.

The Oslo Table is one of our favorites. Love the way that the slim tapered legs are attached directly to the table top which is quite unusual, but has a stunning effect and appeals to the overall minimalist feel of the table. As with the rest of the collection, the table is made from ash beams salvaged from barns, warehouses and mills from across the country. The finishes are eco-friendly too, using non-toxic glues and water-based polycrylics.

And as apartment dwellers, we also appreciate the scale of this collection. It’s designed to accommodate small city pads but substantial enough not to be dwarfed in roomier abodes.

3% of its annual profits to The Alliance for International Reforestation (AIR), a non-profit organization which plants trees, establishes tree nurseries, and works with local communities in Guatemala and Nicaragua to help restore the health of the land. Since 1993 they have planted over 3 million trees.

Looking for more eco-friendly finds for the home? Check out these items ON SALE with FREE SHIPPING on orders over $50.00 at InhabitLiving.com

Who:

What: Lattice Rug

Where: Classic Rug Collection – $65 – $90/sq.ft. Customized sizes, knot counts & fibers available. Delivery time of 10-14 weeks.

Why We Love It: Inspired by an original drawing by French architect, Viollet-le-Duc, the Lattice rug plays on geometries taking two missed matched grids and spinning them to create a unique and interesting pattern.  The cool blue and purple  tones have us dreaming of a beach inspired bedroom with crisp white linens, sheer wind-blown drapes and pickled hardwood floors with this all-natural, hand-knotted rug laid over it…

The Classic Rug Collection specializes in customized rugs, so you select the pattern, the fibers, the knot count and to create a carpet to suit your space. Their rugs are made from all-natural and eco-friendly materials like alpaca, banana plants, nettle, hemp, pashmina and wool dyed with vegetables dyes. The rug as shown is 100 knots and made of 50% nettle fibers 50% silk at a price of $90/sq.ft. This rug begs to be touched – the combination of the vegetable-dyed nettle and the silk creates a wonderful contrast of texture and color mixing the coarseness of the nettle with the glistening softness of the silk.

The rugs are hand-made in Nepal by a GoodWeave/RugMark-approved factory that is child-labor free.

Who:

What: reusable snack pouches

Where: etsy – small $12, large $16 or a combo for $28. Spend $40 or more & receive a free
reusable produce bag!

Why We Love It: These are the cutest pouches ever! Amy’s adorably sweet illustrations make these reusable cloth bags so endearing that even the most devoted zip-lock bag users might just convert.

Choose from chickadees, bunnies, owls, pandas, trains, planes,  apples and pears, anchors in a variety of colors all silk-screened onto fabric made of recycled organic cotton and hemp. They are lined with waterproof nylon which makes cleaning a breeze.

And the beauty of these pouches is that when you open them up and roll down the velcro closure, you’ve got a nice little stand up “dish” to enjoy your treats from.

Who:

What: Fundy Play Table

Where: Generate – $399

Why We Love It: Intended as a play table for kids, we actually like the idea of this multi-functional kids table as a modern coffee table. You’ve got the drawers for storing remote controls and writing utensils. You’ve got the flip top lid concealing ample storage perfect for tucking away magazines, newspapers, games, toys or whatever else you’d like to keep stowed away. And the durable top is available dry-erase finish or a chalkboard finish so you can entertain the little ones with a built in drawing board, jotting notes, keep score,  and keep an eye on your ‘to-do’ list.

And as with all Argington furniture, its designed with the needs of kids and the environment in mind. It has safety features like slow closing hinges and locking castors so it can be easily moved and locked into place. The stainless steel legs come in two different heights (12.5″ and 18″) to suit little and big kids. The unit itself is made from renewable and sustainably harvested solid birch wood and low VOC birch plywood that is FSC certified. The finishes, glues, and stains and finishes are HAP free, 100% non-toxic, low VOC and durable, so they’ll survive the toughest play.

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