Hasta La Ideas

Heat-conducting earthenware handcrafted according to traditional techniques

Doing his part to reintroduce pottery for daily use, Brian Grossnickle creates beautiful eco-friendly cookware out of micaceous clay, a material with properties making it remarkably well-suited for cooking. The New Mexico native, drawing on over 15 years of pottery experience, produces a wide variety of food-friendly pieces including cook pots, teapots, cups, bowls, and even platters.

The clay used in all the pieces has an extremely high mica content, one of nature’s best conductors of heat. Food cooked in micaceous pottery can stay hot for up to an hour or more after it’s removed from the heating element.

Also setting Grossnickle’s pottery apart, the traditional coil and scrape techniques that he employs were first developed by Apache Indians in New Mexico nearly eight hundred years ago. The creation process is truly raw, requiring only micaceous clay, a plastic scraper, and a bowl of water. With hand-dug clay, no chemicals or additives, and a wood-fired process fueled by local pine trees, Grossnickle’s earthenware is sustainable from start to finish.

The freedom of handbuilding and the unpredictability of the firing process yields beautifully unique pieces, which sells from select galleries in New Mexico and Michigan, or contact him online for more information.

A chocolate company dedicated to making more than just brilliant chocolate bars

Oakland-based Fearless was created by artist and activist Jordan Michael Schuster in 2006. The company uses organic Cacao from Brazil that’s been crafted to produce two to three times more antioxidants than traditional organic chocolate. The chocolate bars are made with 100% Kosher ingredients and are dairy-, gluten- and soy-free, using mineral-rich unrefined whole sugars.

In order to consider the chocolate bars raw, the cacao beans are temperature controlled using water-jacketed equipment.The process includes grinding, mixing, melting and molding the chocolate at temperatures that are under 118°F in order to preserve the nutrients, enzymes and anti-oxidants. The unique flavors offered are: Matcha Green Tea Peppermint (our fave), Sweet and Hot Hibiscus Ginger, Super Seeds Chrunch Hemp Chia Flax, Dark as Midnight and bestseller Exploding Coconuts. The flavors are both unique, potent and extremely satisfying.

Fearless is also dedicated to making a conscious effort to give back to “fearless” people or organizations making a difference. One percent of its yearly profits are donated to “changemakers” that are suggested by Fearless customers. After suggestions have been made, a yearly vote happens in December to decide who will receive the generous donation. Fearless’ dedication to giving back is reflected in their packaging seen below, where a “bite” has been taken both out of the chocolate bar and its packaging, symbolizing the percentage taken out of the company’s profits.

photo via Notcot

This well-rounded company has also made a concerted effort to be environmentally responisble by using 100 percent recycled paper that bio-degrades in six months. The wrapper inside is also made from environmentally appropriate materials that serve to ward off elements that threaten the purity of the bar.

When you bite into this unassumingly amazing chocolate bar, do it knowing you are being both satisfied and supporting a company that’s giving back. Buy a single bar for $5 or a box of 11 bars for $55 from their online shop.

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Sruli Recht and Ghostly collaborate on a multi-use cable organizer

Reykjavik-based leather designer and CH mainstay Sruli Recht has had a great 2010 and is set to have an even more exciting 2011. Preparing to launch his first menswear collection at Paris Fashion week next January has been his recent focus, but he also somehow found time to repurpose waste materials left over from a collaboration with record label Ghostly earlier this year.

Taking remnants of the ethically-sourced Icelandic horse leather used in their notebook project, Recht cleverly created simple ties that function as either a multi-purpose keychain or cable organizer.

The package of three ties comes in Ghostly battle green and each is heat-branded on the underside. They ship in a limited-edition fold-out box (perfect for gift giving) and sell exclusively through the Ghostly Web Store for $25.

Trtl Bot’s new cases bring flexible storage and handy stands to the iPhone 4

With every new iPhone comes a flood of new accessories designed to unleash the mobile device’s full potential. The new iPhone 4 cases from Trtl Bot stand out among the crowd for their forward-thinking ability to expand the phone’s functionality without adding superfluous plastic or obtrusive packaging. The two iPhone 4 models are the new Trtl Stand 4 and the Minimalist 4, a continuation of their previous line for the 3G/S. Both cases fit the phone snugly, keeping the sleekness of the phone’s design more or less intact.

The Trtl Stand 4 performs exactly how it sounds, letting you prop your iPhone up in three different ways. The different modes (Portrait, Landscape and Tripod) let you use your iPhone hands-free whether you are using Facetime, watching a movie or want to snap a steady photo.

The super slim Minimalist 4 is designed for those who hate having a bulky back pocket or carry a small bag. The hard plastic case provides not only sufficient protection from falls, but the slit on the back provides enough space to stick in an I.D., credit card and metro card.

Made stateside from recycled bottles, both eco-friendly cases sell online from Trtl Bot for $35.