Hasta La Ideas

Grow your own packaging with this eco-friendly, fungus-based shipping solution

Founded just a few years ago by two Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute grads, the environmentally-friendly firm Ecovative is already proving themselves valuable with their new solution to problematically wasteful shipping materials. The Ecocradle, from top to bottom a sustainable alternative to standard supplies, uses agricultural waste as raw materials instead of petroleum-based synthetics.

Offering an equal level of protection compared to traditional packaging, Ecovative’s version remains ten times more energy efficient and completely biodegradable. It makes a great solution for safe transport of precious goods without the guilt (not to mention hassle) of foam peanuts spilling from the box of your latest gadget.

To create the “cradle,” a mash-up of buckwheat hulls and other agricultural byproducts bond together with a fungal root, creating a sturdy form that can be custom grown to meet almost any specifications. Completely recyclable and compostable, Ecovative encourages its customers to get creative by reusing the material in art projects, gardens or household modifications—after you unpack your new gizmo, you can use its cradle as mulch for your tomato plants.

Beyond the physical product, Ecovative has also made a large effort to fine-tune every aspect of the production process to keep it environmentally friendly. The Ecocradle is grown in the dark with no water or harmful chemicals, and their production facility operates using hydroelectric power, emitting zero greenhouse gases. They deliberately choose raw agricultural materials that have no food or fuel value, and they source materials locally to avoid the carbon cost of transportation.

From production to packaging, the team at Ecovative is an outstanding example of how businesses can maintain sustainable product models. The Ecocradle is currently available from the Ecovative online shop, which will soon offer a DIY MycoBond kit so you can grown your own packaging.

Stockholm 2011: Finnish designer Sami Kallio presents a collection of furniture, including these stools with legs shaped like lolly sticks, as part of the Greenhouse at Stockholm Furniture Fair this week.

Other pieces include a wooden chair with twisted steel backrest and a lamp comprising a metal shade hung with leather over a bent wooden arm.

Called The Finnish Blood in Me, the range is inspired by design details Kallio remembers from his childhood in Finland.

The Greenhouse presents up-and-coming individual designers and design schools at the Stockholm Furniture Fair, which continues until 12 February. See all our coverage of the event here »

Here’s a little text from the designer:

THE FINNSIH BLOOD IN ME

A collection inspired, and interpreted of childhood memories from Finland.

The armature – WORKSHOP is a reminder from all the workshops and the STOOL from the department store that we visited.

A collection where material and detail are in focus.

Nothing strange or conceptual, just memories and function.

See also:

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LoveThisChair by Huibert van Muilwijk	Camper store in Malmö by TAF	More coverage of Stockholm 2011

Remember the summer of 2009 when we announced that Eric Chan of ECCO was looking for a few good designs? 1000 Product Designs is now out on Rockport Publishing and delivers what its title promises — 1000 product designs in the realm of chairs, lighting, kitchen gadgets, furniture, office accoutrements and everything in between. Although we know that a picture is worth 1000 words, this book proves that design is a word that can be told in a thousand pictures. Check out more after the jump!

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The International Center of Photography has announced the winners of the 2011 Infinity Awards. Now in their 27th year, the awards recognize major contributions and emerging talent in photography. This year’s honorees will be feted at a May 10 gala in New York City. The legendary Elliott Erwitt (his 1963 photo “57th Street Gallery” is at right) is the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Now 82, he was introduced to photography while still in high school—Hollywood High School. Between classes, the young Erwitt worked in a commercial darkroom processing “signed” prints for fans of movie stars. The Cornell Capa Award goes to photojournalist Ruth Gruber, who turns 99 this year and is the subject of a new documentary. Later this year, the work of Erwitt and Gruber will be featured in two major exhibitions at ICP. Other Infiniti Award winners include Peter van Agtmael (Young Photographer), Abelardo Morrell (Art), Adrees Latif (Photojournalism), and Viviane Sassen (Applied/Fashion/Advertising Photography). The ICP Trustees Award will be presented to the Durst family. Critic Gerry Badger‘s book of essays, The Pleasure of Good Photographs (Aperture), has won the writing award, while the exhibition catalogue From Here to There: Alec Soth’s America (Walker Art Center) has taken top honors in the publication category.

Meanwhile, ICP just won an award of its own. The institution announced today that it has been selected to receive a “Save America’s Treasures” grant from the National Park Service and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. Made in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the $57,425 grant will support the systematic organization and preservation of negatives, personal papers, and film materials in ICP’s Robert Capa and Cornell Capa Archive.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Paris-inspired booties and an LED watch from a sixth-generation Berlin shoe brand

Known for inventing four-in-one and two-in-one zipper shoes, Munich’s Nat-2 shows a simpler side of shoe design with their new desert boot-inspired line created just for girls. The suede Marais booties, named after the Parisian neighborhood, combine classic French subtlety with a flexible fit.

At the helm of Nat-2 is creative director Sebastian Thies, whose extensive know-how is due in part to his family’s storied history as innovative shoemakers. Originally founded by “Ferdinand Fischer” in 1856, the company folded during WWII, but was resurrected by Ingeborg Thies, Sebastian’s grandfather and a Fischer by birth. The company was renamed Thies-Fischer KG in 1949 and now produces several brands alongside Nat-2.

In addition to their new streamlined shoe, Nat-2 recently introduced “Time”—a collection of plastic watches that reflect the pared-down aesthetic of the more grown-up streetwear scene. The patented 42 LED scroll system that lights the entire watch face up as each minute passes strikes a balance between the “keep it fresh, keep it classy” style that Sebastian has curated over the last three years. Perfect for the quantum computer nerd, the watch comes in several different colors including olive and purple.

The Nat-2 Time and Marais sell from the Nat-2 online shop as well as from retailers around the world.