E-side green design furniture
Design Inspirations for a Gorgeous and Green Lifestyle
- Why is using BPA-free plastic so important14/04/2012
To find out the answer you need to understand what BPA is. BPA is the primary ingredient in polycarbonate plastic. It is a chemical used in the manufacture of plastics, including plastic drinking bottles, baby bottles and cups. BPA is what causes that plastic taste in your mouth after you take a sip from your child's cup or bottle. BPA is believed to affect the brain as well as prostate glands and many people choose to avoid it. It is such a concern that The Endocrine Society has labelled BPA as an endocrine-disrupting chemical, and the National Toxicology Program states some concern about current levels of BPA exposure. Because BPA was commonly used in plastic containers that were microwaved or otherwise heated, it was leeching into food and drink at a level many people were uncomfortable with.
So how can you avoid BPA exposure? One way to avoid BPA in plastics is to avoid purchasing plastics labelled with a number 7 or 3 recycling symbol, as plastics with other recycling numbers do not use BPA in their manufacture. Right now there are also many manufacturers currently labelling their plastics as BPA-free. The major producers of baby bottles and toddler cups ceased manufacturing products containing BPA as of January 2009, but cups, containers and plates made of hard plastic and designed for adult use may still contain BPA unless labelled BPA-free. Even if you choose BPA free plastic bottles, make it a point not to heat the containers with liquid in them, or leave water bottles in the car where they can get warm. Do not use harsh detergent and hot water when washing as this can increase leaching of chemicals from plastic as well.
The benefits of using BPA - free products are numerous.
First and foremost you are making sure that you are not ingesting toxic chemicals. Especially when feeding a newborn or child you want to make sure they are receiving the best nourishment without the chemical side effects. Also, using BPA - free products means you can re-use the bottles without fear of toxins lingering in the bottle once you refill it. BPA - free products are also safer than glass. You do not want to feed your infant or child with a glass bottle that can break during feeding. And finally it just makes good sense for the environment. BPA free bottles when recycled do not emit noxious chemicals as they are recycled. When it comes to baby bottles, it is imperative to always use a bottle that is BPA free. A good bottle can help prevent stomach upset and other problems associated with bottles. Infants are more susceptible to the effects of chemicals than are adults. With the knowledge that we have available to us today, there is simply no reason to ever risk using a BPA bottle with babies or infants. So that is what you need to know about BPA free bottles. Now that you are armed with the information, just be vigilant and always double check to make sure that you use BPA free water bottles. In conclusion, using BPA - free products is the right choice for your family and the environment.
Smiling Planet not only offers a collection of BPA-free plates and bowls. They dinnerware is made out of recycled plastic. Beside they thought well about the design and their plates have a 1 cm lid which allows the food to stay in the plate! Our customer E. Newman said: "Absolutely delighted with the plates and bowls - you are right they are a perfect design to enable the children to eat their food nicely and is it my imagination or are they both calmer at meal times - they are both certainly focussed on finishing their food to discover which bowl they have!!".
- Let Me Play With The Box: Tube Toys By Oscar Diaz05/03/2012
Give children a new toy, and they will play with the packaging! Well, how about if the packaging is the actual toy?
The last edition of New York International Gift Fair in February 2012 saw London designer Osca
r Diaz presenting Tube Toys, a series of vehicles to assemble were the packaging is also a part of the product.Each Tube Toys comes with components like stickers and wheels inside the cardboard tube that becomes the body of the car, fire engine, train or tractor, with pre-cut slots for easy assembly.
All components are recycled or recyclable and only the paper strip round the outside is discarded. In reducing considerably the amount of material discarded after buying it, Tube Toys is definitely an eco friendly toy.
Available design: Car, Tractor, Fire Truck, Train.
- When Tipography Meets Furniture: The A Range21/01/2012
Let`s raise the British flag this time as our latest discovery is a young London designer, Alexander Swain, who founded his design studio ByAlex just last year. His "A Range" (above image) has been already featured in glossy magazines like Elle Decoration, Wallpaper, World of Interiors and Grand Designs.
Debut furniture line from new and up and coming design studio ByAlex consists of three pieces of furniture formed from interlocking 'A' shapes. Such a design provides strength and longevity, whilst reflecting a love of typography.The A Stool, The A Side Table and The A Coat Stand are great examples of functional yet innovative everyday furniture. Swain explains: “The A Range was born out of passion to create a multipurpose piece of furniture which was a little less serious. Since the 1950s Plywood has been used as a flexible, strong and sustainable material. After years of disposable products, I felt it was important to develop a flexible range for the longer term.”
Made from FSC accredited plywood, each product is sourced responsibly from managed forests across Latvia. As a design company, ByAlex aims to create cutting edge yet eco friendly quality products that can be used in the office or home.
The A Range has been specifically designed with the consumer in mind. It comes flat pack and with an easy three-step guide, making it simple to assemble and disassemble.
Finished using a natural lacquer, the A Range is a blank canvas and comes in two colours, white and smoke grey.
- Come and Draw12/11/2011
We are very excited to be the only retailer in UK to offer this amazing design children table which has been acclaimed by many glossy magazine and design blogs like Milk (French Magazine) and SwissMiss (US design blog). Come and Draw, as the name suggests, is an invitation to creativity.
The tabletop is covered by 300 layers of paper which can be spinned around for extra fun and share. Each layer of paper will become soon a sort of storage of your child drawings as well as of your sketches and messages. Come and Draw is handmade in Sweden using local untreated wood and eco friendly paint. The young designer behind Come and Draw is the extraordinary Tian Tiang. Originally from China, she lives and works in Gothenburg, Sweden, where she graduated early this year in Child Culture Design, a master specialisation, the only one of its kind in the world, to focus on design from a child`s point of view.
From the same designer, the Come and Draw clock, is perfect for any kid`s bedroom. Tian Tiang does not like waste. Using the leftover from the production of the Come and Draw Table, she creates this lovely clock which works on batteries. Tactile and colorful, it invites you to draw and personalise.
- Gifts for Babies28/10/2011
We have started a series of Gift Guides which hopefully will help you find the right present for your family and friends. Today we have selected for you some wonderful nursery gifts for your little ones.
When it comes to babies, we want the best. For us at e-side best means safe, natural, soft and this is why we selected Ross Menuez bodysuits which are made of chemical-free, organic cotton and Glow in Dark Bunny which is certified Oeko-tex Standard 100 Class 1.
Your baby might be small but soon she will grow and start eating with you. The Smiling Planet Plates and Bowls are made of BPA free, recycled plastic. Not only they carry gorgeous whimsical animals; the clever design means food is staying in the plate. You can then finish the look with a cute French Cocoboheme Bib, which are practical, easy and quick to clean and made out of very soft potato starch bioplastic.
Ekobo Mini Mello bamboo stool is great for the nursery. The safe rounded shape of this bamboo stool is such an attraction to children: they can seat on it, play with it, jump on it (my toddler!) and when you flip it over it becomes a nice little storage for those rattles and small soft toys. The coloured are amaizing and so glossy you can place Mini Mello in your sitting room too.
- Gift Guides: Gifts to Send Abroad21/10/2011
From now till mid December, every Friday, we are going to give you some hints and tips on finding the right gift for your friends and family.
Today, we are sharing with you a selection of light weight gifts that are inexpensive to send abroad, very useful if, like us, you have family on the Continent.
We are just a phone call away, so if you need any help, get in touch and we will be happy to suggest you a gorgeous and green gift idea.
- Discover White Charcoal30/09/2011
Louise Vilsgaard and Pernille Lembke are two Danish friends who one day in the streets of Kyoto they came across a mysterious product: White Charcoal. So enthusiasts about its glorious benefits, they decided to bring to Europe the ancient Asian traditions and after lots of developments and testings they created their brand Sort of Coal.
White Charcoal is made from just what you think it might be; wood, and yet is unlike regular charcoal in just about every other way. As tradition dictates, the best quality branches are individually selected from slow growing, hard wood trees in the mountain forests of Japan and Korea. These forests are maintained by craftsmen who harvest from them in such a way that new branches are encouraged to grow. These new branches adsorb higher levels of CO2 than their predecessors, giving greater benefit to the surrounding environment and providing a plentiful harvest for the craftsmen. Different types of wood are chosen for different jobs; Binchotan is made from hard Japanese Holm oak whilst Hakutan pieces are Korean oak. Bamboo is used too. The natural minerals that the trees adsorb as they grow are trapped inside the White Charcoal when it is made and later released into drinking water, the air or skin.
White Charcoal is an incredibly hard-working natural material with a truly superb capacity to purify. In water it draws away impurities, adds nutrients and leaves it better tasting. It efficiently cleanses the air, body and skin too. The making process of our White Charcoal is based on a cradle-to-cradle principle, meaning that a neat natural cycle is completed during the products lifespan. Sort of Coal carefully follows ancient Japanese traditions in the charcoals’ manufacture, keeping alive centuries-old crafts and helping to maintain a fragile ecosystem - another way that making and using White Charcoal does good.
Hakutan installation a natural Air purifier
Kishu Binchotan a natural Water purifier
Shiro soap made out of Char essence a by-product of White Charcoal
- The London Design Festival reveals its pink side20/08/2011
e-side, partner of the London Design Festival and in collaboration with Italian artist Linda Schailon, is delighted to be organising and presenting next 24th and 25th September at the HUB Kings Cross, the first International edition of Ecopink.
Ecopink is an exhibition+shop focussing on and featuring the creativity of women. Ecopink takes an ethical-ecological approach - using the alchemy of art and design to transform base ‘waste’ into gold ‘desirable’.
This is a natural progression for those to whom creativi
ty is a continuation of nurturing and reclamation; something many women have always done instinctively.e-side and Italian artist Linda Schailon have selected twenty International women artists and designers. All angles and aspects of women’s creativity and design expertise is explored and exhibited – jewellery; furniture; fashion elements; installations and accessories.
The exhibition showcases women able to contribute and demonstrate innovative and fascinatingly different perspectives to the design world. Their work offers alternative, creative value to material which previously held none. Industrial waste, factory off-cuts, everyday materials, in the hands of the ‘pinks’ gain new and surprising identities as items to be cherished and used.
The selected artists are: Alessandra Fiordaliso - Caterina Crepax - CeeBee - Claudia Mazzitelli - Clelia Martino - Cristina Toma - Cynthia Korzekwa - Dalaleo - Ester Motta - E-vasiva - Hannah Ricci - Maria Westerberg - Miciovinicio - Monica Auriemma - Nicoletta Cicalò - Renfang Hu - Riciclart-I’ - Roberta Amurri - Sabrina Locatelli - Silvia Beccaria.
Get to know each "Pink" lady on e-side and ecopink facebook page
For press enquiry contact alessia@e-side.co.uk
Ecopink is sponsored by:
- Handmade Little Wonders30/07/2011
I am the sort of girl who notice and love tiny, small things and could not resist to the work of American based designer Sarah Neuburger.
Sarah lives in Atlanta, Georgia and runs a cottage industry creating delightful, eccentric wooden wonders, all handmade, all coming out from her unique imagination and belief that tiny and small things can make big, giant things happen.
I fell in love with "The Super Star Stamp Necklace", a fantastic wooden doll who hides an original star stamp. It`s meant for little girls from 4 years old but ...I got one for me and wear it proudly. I love to wear just one striking accessory who completely uplift even a "normal" outfit and the Super Star necklace does the job perfectly.
For some quality time with your child, the "Tell Me A Story" set is a great family game which encourages imagination, writing and telling stories.
To play, roll the dice which feature images of objects, people or settings and create a story based on those images. This set was developed with the help of the designer mother who has more than 25 years of elementary teaching experience. Whether they write down the stories, or you write them down, you all can enjoy reading them over and over again!
Both these little wooden wonders are definitely "Fatti con amore" - made with love.
- We love the fragrant and fresh smell of hay21/06/2011
Spotted last April in Milan at Fuorisalone - Zona Tortona, Hver? is a new Italian brand to watch for.
Fabio del Percio, the designer behing Hver?, is an Italian artisan upholsterer who works mainly in the nautical industry, creating amazing seats for luxury yatchs you might see this summer in Monaco or Sardinia.Fabio is now applying his craftman skills to his new brainchild Hver? which collection is made from hay.
Hay has been used in the past for mattresses and chairs. Hver? is giving this natural material a new, modern twist.
Exclusively handmade in Italy, Hver? furniture is made from a very soft and strong transparent PVC which reveals a fragrant and top quality hay. The PVC cover has a practical zip and is lined with a natural jute fabric. Each piece hides underneath a few holes which allow the hay to breath and stay fresh while releasing a natural perfume in the air.
Beside the amazing, simple look, the poufs and chairs are incredible confortable to lie on.
The combination of high tech PVC, borrowed from the nautical industry, the handmade techniques and the natural hay and jute create a fascinating range of young furniture which will create an impact in your living room.
Hver? collection is great as well for bar and restaurants.
Hey (hay in Icelandic) chair £ 540.00
Hey pouf £ 275.00
Hey armchair £ 580.00
Please note: contrary to some beliefs, hay is very dry and does not rot, decay with time nor produce any nasty animals. The PVC used is very thick this means hay does not passes through. Each piece is handmade in Italy.
- Fathers...Men...We want you stylish!31/05/2011
- Lost Property of London: Found it!20/05/2011
"There is a wonderfully charming eco bag by Lost Property of London..." quoted The Financial Times - How To Spend It magazine. And there is a charming UK young designer who makes it: Katy Bell.
Katy – aka Lost Property of London - was spotted by Liberty during the Best of British Designers event and her idea of using remnant of Liberty Art Fabric to create fashionable handbags was an immediate success. Her line of urban-chic and eco-cool handbags are now getting noticed around the globe.
As soon as I spotted Katy handbags, I wanted to know a bit more. So on a sunny day in April I met Katy at her studio in North London. The setting was wonderful: a stylish restored building, I later discovered it was the Pink Floyd recording studio. I do not know what I was expecting but when I met Katy I was surprised by her fascinating simplicity and her ambition. She had lovely showcased her full collection on a garden table in the patio. I felt like a child in a candy shop, all those handbags and my immediate reaction was to touch them, wear them, try them!The fabrics come from coffee sacks and vintage leather bomber jackets. The jute is very strong and yet soft. The industrial look of the coffee sack is enriched and embellished by the soft grain leather. The handbags are all made in UK by local artisans and those with a discerning eye for quality and style will notice and appreciate the hand-made techniques and the natural finishes.
I think Lost Property of London handbags are unique and surprising pieces. We all love the Mini Miles weekender bag – perfect for a stylish and sporty person. We like the Belmont eco messenger which will be the perfect office bag transporting your laptop, notebooks and magazines. While the Roxwell tote is big enough to use it for packing up all you need for a day out.
In making the most of fabric around us, Lost Property of London extends the life’s expectancy of one’s old tat by creating very desirable and fashionable handbags for a sustainable world.
FOUND IT for you!
- From Poland with Love: Malafor08/05/2011
Last month at the last edition of Fuorisalone in Milan, it was a very nice surprise to find our designer Malafor on the “Young Talent on Show” organized by ElleDeco.
Agata Kulik-Pomorska and Pawel Pomorski - aka Malafor - graduated at Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk (Poland) in 2003 and since then they have created a fantastic collection of good looking and cleverly functional objects.
On the ElleDeco stand, we saw the latest version of the Blow Sofa – the Blow Sofa Extreme. The inflatable pillow-sofa is made of DAKRON a sailcloth used in sailing yachts. DAKRON fabric consists of an impregnated synthetic polyester fibre, resistant to rain and sun, perfect for outdoor. The cover is manufactured by a professional sail maker according to the production technology and characteristics of a yacht sail. For this reason a strengthening stitching and original sail elements have been applied in different parts of the Blow Sofa Extreme.
Beside the Blow Sofa Extreme, a couple of Trunks in Black and White, which we think they are still a great young and funky seating alternative. I was with a friend and he pointed out to me the quality of the finishing details of this stool.
I discovered Malafor a couple of years ago and I still think they are a great design studio to keep an eye on for the next decade. So I am very pleased with Elle Decoration choice!
- International Furniture Fair - Milan07/04/2011
From 12th to 17th April Milan will host Salone Internazionale del Mobile/Fuorisalone.All around town there will be hundreds of design events with amazing installations and previews of new exciting products and materials...and WE WILL BE THERE!!!
We are going to meet with some designers, to search for new eco-design pieces and indulge ourselves in Italian food - somebody has to do it!
If you are around Milan and are interested in sustainable events look out for Sparkling Ecologically Correct where you will find our designer Ilaria Innocenti. Ilaria will present two new products the Pet Pot and the TP2011...look forward.
While Maria Westerberg designer of the T-shirt chair will be at Superstudio Zona Tortona with SWANSK FORM.
We will check out as well Refile event in Zona Ventura Lambrate. Refile is an Italian blog on sustainable design and the two designers behind it, Egle Borgia and Iskra have organized an event on the transformation or re-use of waste into a new re-source. An area of about 400 square meters will house designers projects with workshops and laboratories in which design will join best practices of sustainability.
We really look forward to all these events and will bring you the latest trends and news.
- Give hemp a chance!17/03/2011
Nowadays you hear a lot about bamboo as the most eco-friendly fabric, extremely soft and with a sheen effect like silk, anti-bacterial, absorbent, biodegradable.
But what about hemp?
Hemp grows almost anywhere and requires no pesticides because it is unpalatable to insects, nor herbicides because it grows too quickly for any weed to compete. The fibres are long and very strong, making the most beautiful fabric.
People have been using hemp to make textile and paper for some 6000 years all over the world. The American Declaration of Independence 200 years ago was signed on paper made from hemp. Columbus sailed to the “New World” in ships draped with hemp sail and rigged with hemp rope. The original Levi jeans were made with hemp fabric.
Hemp is the material chosen by our Swedish designer Johanna Hansson to create the Kyssen and Gecco beanbags, a classy, sustainable beanbag to fit a grown-up living room.
While most of the beanbags on the market today are made out of synthetic and plastic materials, something that gives them a synthetic feeling with static electricity, the Kyssen and Gecco beanbags are made out of the most luxurious and soft hemp. “I had an image in mind about a miller, taking a nap on his flour sacks inside his mill. Flour and coffee sacks often have genuine, characteristic prints, something that I wanted to seize on in our prints”, says Johanna Hansson, designer of the collection. Johanna continues “I wanted to make a sack that is beautiful enough to fit in the living room. I decided to use prints from Swedish designers [AnnSofie Lennstrand Hallberg for the Gecco / Carina Niber for the Kyssen]”.
A beanbag like this is nice to sit on, it conforms to your body shape and it lets you sit in many different ways – rule 1A in ergonomics!
So what are you waiting for? Relax on this classy, natural beanbags. You will not be disappointed!
You can buy some hemp fabric and make your own cushions, curtains at http://www.hempfabric.co.uk which carries a huge selection. Have a look at the resource page to discover how hemp is used in different sectors like building, food, paper, etc.
- How about a life-changing gift this Mother`s day?10/03/2011
How about sending a life-changing gift this Mother's day? A gift which will help some of the poorest mothers across the Bangladesh to lift their children out of poverty. This gift can be personally dedicated to your own Mum ( or even a friend ) as a special gift this Mother's day.
You will receive a beautiful card sharing the difference your support has made- bringing hope and dignity to mothers and children in desperate need. A unique way to recognise how much your own mum means to you.
In poor villages and slums the voices of mothers are often silenced, their potential overlooked and their needs forgotten. Yet they hold the hope for their children’s future. Empowering mothers is key to promoting health, education and prosperity- a key to ending poverty. Mothers make the difference. This is why their life-changing gifts are enabling disadvantaged mums to discover their potential. By giving family health lessons, antenatal care or vocational skills training you can help a mum to protect and provide for her children.
Find out more at: http://www.womenofaction.co.uk/mothers_day_gifts.html- An inspirational voyage with your children04/03/2011
When you are travelling with children by car or by plane, you always need to find new ways to entertain them. Here comes in hands two new fantastic products to take with you.
“Everyone dreams of peace” is an amazing 64 pages colouring book by Smiling Planet, which will bring you and your child in a world of dreams, peace, love, diversity. A world inhabited by mermaids, elephants bringing you flowers, crocodiles doing yoga, flying fairies, dancing dragons. This colouring book is a little different. You can colour it. You can draw in it. You can read it. When you feel bad, you can colour your way to better. When you feel mean, you can draw your way to nice. Some people call that emotional intelligence - we just call it fun. Read. Colour. Draw. Dream...and Smile.
Retail price £ 18.00
This little
paper bag reveals a secret. You open it and …surprise! A kitchen interior and two paper characters to play with. Simple and clever to occupy your child when travelling, at a restaurant. Made in France and printed on recycled paper, the Paper Bag Toy comes flat pack and it is very light. The perfect toy to add to your luggage.Retail price £ 4.90
- Green Award 2011: T-shirt Chair15/02/2011
...and the winner for the 2011 Green Furniture Award organized by our friend Johan Berhin in Sweden, is: The T-shirt Chair, designed by Maria Westerberg, Sverige.
The T-shirt Chair weaves together a meaningful stories using worn textiles. This up-scaling of the classical 'rag rug' becomes a unique way of upholstering - T-shirts from friends together with other textiles such as grandma's curtains, the favourite but now worn out jeans etc, melt together visually to form a colourful symphony of one's personal history.Something about the designer: Maria Westerberg graduated 2008 from Konstfacks Interior Architecture and furniture design. Since then she has made a Recycle interior collection for Indiska, made conceptual installations in fridges for a landscape architect office in Berlin and now exibit in Greenhouse 2011 at Stockholm Furniture Fair with her expressive and playful design. Significant for her work is organic shapes, using materials in a new context and often very colourful.
e-side likes the T-shirt chair because is another product with a great story behind - actually 40 stories. See the people who gave their t-shirt.
I personally have lots of clothes I am not wearing any more but not throwing away for sentimental reasons. So this could be an interesting way to de-clutter.
The T-shirt chair will fit well in a modern decor. If you have an all-white interior, the T-shirt chair will add just the right dash of colours to live-up your place. It will be definately a focus point and you could start talking about your precious pair of jeans or t-shirt.- Smile!10/02/2011
I have never been so enthusiast for a company and when I finally met Olivia, a few weeks ago in Paris at Playtime, I had another confirmation that you are always right when you follow your gut feelings. Olivia, co-founder with husband Freddy, of Smiling Planet is a
wonderful person with an amazing upbringing.Olivia grew up in France in Limoges – famous French-town for fine porcelain – her father working in the pottery industry. She left France fed up with everything and everybody, especially plates and bowls. She flew to America and got a job in the film industry. Then one day, long time after, she woke up and said “I want to make plates and bowls for my kids”. Everyone back in France was shocked, in a positive and hilarious way of course!
And now Olivia and her artist husband Freddy are creating the most amazing collection of plates and bowls. The material they have chosen is recycled and BPA free plastic. Locally produced in L.A., the collection is an inspirational voyage into a world of dreams, peace, love, diversity. A world inhabited of mermaids, elephants bringing you flowers, crocodile doing yoga, flying fairies, dancing dragons.
Beside the collection of plates and bowls you will find soon another dreamy creation: a COLOURING BOOK. They say "It’s for children" but I have one copy here on my office desk and I am still not sure about giving it to my 18 months son: I cannot stop going through it and SMILE!
You can PRE-ORDER NOW your “Everyone dreams of peace..” colouring book which will be available beginning of March. Retail price £ 18.00 (well worthy for a 64 pages book that makes everyone smiling).
- Latest trend: Oversized accessories09/02/2011
The oversized accessory trend continues. Chuncky bracelets, heavily layered necklaces, and oversized knits and hats all embody the oversized style. Wrist watches have really explored this trend, bringing fashion and functionality back to the world of timekeeping. Heavy chain-links, sporty rubber wrist bands, and large faced timepiece styles in fresh materials such as canvas and wood bring a personalized touch to this blooming fashion.
Check out our GIFTS section for the WEWOOD WATCHES!
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