Do yourself and your fine-feathered friends a favor, put a couple of these modern, designer birdhouses around your backyard or patio. These handsome, finely crafted, architectural birdhouse are handmade by Nathan Danials for his one-man company, Modern Birdhouse Design. The craftsmanship and style of these birdhouses is undeniable. Styles and inspirations range from brightly colored Scandinavian ski chalet (below) …

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Anyone who walks the beach these days is confronted by the appalling amount of trash in view. Whether in Florida or New York, we’ve seen everything from parts of ships washed ashore to fresh melon rinds and beer cans discarded by sloppy beach-goers and boaters. We do our bit to collect some of it, but the amount out there is really staggering.

Here’s a company on a mission to help clean up the situation – United by Blue, founded by Brian Linton, (Chief Trash Collector). Passionate about the ocean and its natural inhabitants, Linton created a sustainable business based on a line of apparel and jewelry whose sales support ocean conservation & cleanup: “For every product sold, UBB removes one pound of trash from oceans and waterways through company organized and hosted cleanups. Using this business model we are on pace to collect 100,000 pounds of trash by the end of 2011, and 1 million pounds by the end of 2012.”

In business since May 2010, United By Blue offers quality goods — organic cotton, stone washed tees; (more…)

The husband and wife team at StoneMe are insatiable rockhounds, scouring their local Great Lakes beaches for rounded stones and sea glass tumbled, shaped and polished by the never-ending action of the big lakes’ waves.

They sell most of their stones as either loose items or in groups, so DIYers can create their own jewelry and accessories. Stones are top-drilled and grouped by color, size, shape and character. Some stones (like the ones pictured directly above) may even contain fossils. Upcycling these geological gems is a great way to integrate nature into your look. (more…)

There’s something about micro wind turbine technology that gets my imagination fired-up. I believe it has a similar effect on Italian designer Piero Ceratti, who has conceptualized his Eagle Nest Hut (pictured in renderings above + below) as an off-grid bed and breakfast in the sky.

The self-sustaining, mountaintop hostel is designed to be powered by 80 micro wind turbines that would feed, and store energy in 18 lithium ion batteries. It’s reasonable to assume that an unobstructed mountaintop will be buffeted by strong enough winds to keep the hut’s array of horizontal turbines whirring 24/7. (more…)

These shoes have special soles and according to reviews, they’re very comfortable. The shoe fanatic in me decided to feature them because they look cool and can be scooped up at a decent price … (more…)

• A win for West Coast salmon. Federal Judge Rules for Columbia and Snake River Salmon – pr newswire
• Drought damage…End Times? Texas Lake Turns Blood-Red – yahoo! news
• A winter chill may fade memories of summer heat…Record Heat Unlikely to Cool Climate Change Debate – livescience
• One ingenious rodent…Giant Rat Kills Predators with Poison Hair – bbc
• NASA’s Eyes in the Sky Study Pollution on Earth – npr
• Workers face deadly levels…Death in Seconds: High Radiation Found at Fukushima – msnbc
• Dangerous weeners? Hot Dog Billboard Making Waves at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – ecorazzi

August can be a transitional time and one that involves catching-up. If you need to catch-up on some gift-giving, (housewarming, shower, wedding, graduation, birthday, gracious host) here are a few beautiful items that we love – from one of our sponsors, socially responsible, EarthLover Shopping.

(above) Hand-carved and Fair Trade made in Kenya, these little works of art make sweet gifts – the reclaimed olive wood heart nesting bowls are treated with food-safe Sunflower oil (largest bowl measures approximately 4 x 4.5 inches) $19/set.

(above) Using indigenous traditional techniques passed down from one generation to the next in Rwanda, this hand-woven and naturally dyed sweetgrass basket passes the test of time. Measuring 14.5 inches L x 11.5 inches W x approx 2 inches Deep, it’s ideal for use with dry items only. $36

Created by women artisans in Ethiopa, check out these awesome, hand-loomed Anything Towels – made of 100% cotton and measuring 36 x 60 inches.

They’re soft yet sturdy and versatile enough to be used as throws, sarongs, towels or beach blankets. Versatile is key…

Available in Blueberry or Cranberry stripe. $56

EarthLover Shopping offers Fair Trade, Recycled, Renewable, Organic and Handmade categories with cool items for the entire family and home … a great go-to site for gifts for you and those you love.

Recovering and reusing materials from the industrial waste stream has now become an art form: case in point, the work of French designer Francois Stanker. I’ve been following Francois’ fascinating work for a few years now, and thought I’d feature some of his more recent creations. He specializes in transforming industrial steel drums into fascinating designer furniture like his ‘Skank’ rocker (pictured above) which was created from the commingling of painted school chairs, an industrial steel drum, bed slats and some bike inner tubes.

Stanker’s ‘Bronx 9 Up!’ (above) lighting seat was created from a steel container that developed its character in its previous life as a drum played by the the techno-industrial drum band, Les Tambours Du Bronx. Oh, the seat also lights up via an energy efficient light bulb.

The ‘Ernie’ slat bench (below) is primarily constructed from one half of a steel drum and recycled bed slats. Another fine example of art meets functional furniture by Stanker Design.

related: more design finds

A is for adorable – a head-topper for the stylish alternative tot, anyone? From their Heritage Collection, you can customize this newsboy cap in vintage fabric by ordering custom initial detail to be placed on the red and white stripe. In 3 sizes, $38 @ Ameli Jo’s cargoh.com