October 5, 2009 is World Habitat Day, as announced by the non-profit organization Habitat for Humanity.  Why is this significant?  As Interior Designers, we would have fewer places to practice our art and business if there were no homes. 

Historically, the first recognized Interior Designer was American Elsie de Wolfe, who, in the late 1800s, rebelled against dark and fussy Victorian interiors.  Elsie created a cultural rage by painting French furniture and walls in bright white and allowing light to stream in through the windows.  She called herself "a rebel in an ugly world". 

I wonder what Elsie would think of the state of the world today: 1/3 of the U.S. population suffers from housing problems such as a high-cost burden, overcrowding, poor quality shelter and homelessness.  Across the globe, an average of one in every three city residents is living in inadequate housing with none, or few, basic services.

While I was browsing the Net for a ceiling fixture, I found this company called Eleek out of Oregon.  They  seem to have a strong committment to the environment as evidenced by their awards and mission statement.

"Eleek is committed to creating a better world by combining visionary ideals with practical actions: We are committed to understanding and reducing Eleek's impact on the natural environment, and to creating a workplace that fosters community, creativity and personal growth. Toward that end, we will continually seek out cleaner and greener materials, processes, and paradigms. We will incorporate changes as quickly and thoroughly as we can feasibly do so, with the ultimate goal of a positive environmental and social impact. We will work with our employees, our customers, our vendors and our peers to raise the consciousness and standards of our industry."

"Eleek products are durable and timelessly beautiful, designed for non-obsolescence from the start."

"Eleek castings are made of recycled metals whenever possible, with the highest possible post-consumer content. Our cast aluminum, for instance, is 100% recycled with a post-consumer content between 70-100%, depending on the product line. Pewter, bronze, cast iron and aluminum remnants are utilized in casting. We recycle all other scrap metal."

Way Basics is simple, practical and versatile modular furniture. They have shelves, tables, desks, dividers and whatever else your imagination and creativity lets you create.

Thursday, September 10th, ForestEthics- a non profit organization dedicated to saving the trees, put on a glam, oh so Eco Chic event called 100 Million Trees.

The party's hostess, Nadine Well created an inspirational environment with bio-dynamic wines, sustainable fashion, hors d'oeuvres, an eco silent auction and some of the tastiest cocktails I have had in a long time! Everywhere you went, you were surrounded by goodness. Not only was the scene festive and fun, but it also brought together a group of people that all came from different walks of the sustainable world and were able to inspire each other in different ways. It was a feel good party for a fantastic cause. 

I found a great link on Martha Stewart that gives you a thorough how-to on making your own roller window blind.  This would be a nifty weekend project for blocking all that sun we are going to get in the East Bay next week -- blocking sun = ecofriendly, AC = not!   

http://www.alternative-windows.com/roller-blind.htm