Designer Axel Yberg and his furniture design firm, Akke Functional Art, create furniture that explores the juxtaposition of industrial, man made components and elements of finished and raw-edged wood. The pieces pictured here, like the evocatively named “Plumber’s Crack’ (photo above), feature a skeleton constructed of recycled plumbing fixtures and pipes that supports surfaces of live-edged, reclaimed wood.

This is hot. Portland, Oregon-based Nau a leader in sustainable fashion just added a new ingredient to their manufacturing mix: all-natural Cocona® – activated carbon sourced from the industrial waste of coconut husks – creating a sustainable fiberfill to insulate a new collection of fall/winter jackets for men and women.

According to Nau design director Peter Kallen, (at right), “Cocona takes waste and turns it into a high-performing fabric, making it a perfect match and material for Nau.”

How exactly do they do it? Nau sources coconut husks discarded by the food service industry, reduces them to charcoal, combines it with recycled polyester, then spins it into a new high-performing alternative insulation material. The resulting fill has an increased surface area of fiber, which offers the main benefit of increased warmth for the weight and additionally spreads out moisture over a greater surface area. This helps move moisture away from the body, making it warm, quick drying and comfortable. Cocona also manages odor retention better than traditional polyester fill. The new fiberfill is 30 percent Cocona and 70 percent recycled polyester. (more…)

Here’s a funky Etsy find for those in search of a journal with some kitchy style. This handmade journal is created from vintage bingo gameboards ‘rescued’ from a local antique store. Each bingo card is secured to an acid-free binder board for additional structural strength. The journal contains 72 pages of Strathmore cream colored 80lb drawing paper, hand cut, hand folded, hole hand punched and hand sewn.

$30 @ the greentrikepress Etsy shop