Recently we've spotted a new trend in eco-chic decor. Let's call it Things That Make You Slightly Uneasy. (Like this, for example).

The latest items to raise the hairs on the back of your neck are those of the Witches' Kitchenware range. No doubt about it - the sustainable two-tone Guatemalan wood looks gorgeous, and reaffirms my belief that plastic kitchen utensils are thoroughly last-century. But....it's the prongs, the spikes, the tangs. The dagger. There's also a gorgeous-looking cauldron - sorry, casserole dish, and a set of witch-inspired gloves and aprons.


If you're happy with feeling like your kitchen belongs in the world of a certain boy-wizard (or, more likely, if young children have out-voted you on this matter), keep an eye on Artecnica's site - they seem to be looking for a new distributor at the moment. And when you're equipped, you could even try out a few "authentic" recipes from Kate West's book here.

(Disclaimer: Ecosalon does not take any responsibility for anyone accidentally being turned into a toad. Thank you).

Images: Artecnica

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I’m always drawn to the creative appeal of ornamental accents handcrafted by small artisan groups. In the absence of mass production, artistic standards come before profitability, and this idyllic approach yields unique styles and high quality craftsmanship.

At Aid to Artisans, you’ll find a variety of such items that are both modish and eco-friendly. Handmade by dedicated artisans in Ilobasco, El Salvador, the Ceramic Round vase will adorn your tabletops with a touch of rustic charm. These striking pieces resemble laced-up leather, but they aren't. Rather, they are skillfully shaped from the abundance of red clay in El Salvador and laced with natural fiber, making them 100% green. (Available at Aid to Artisans for $45.)

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The stunningly unique Lotus Flower chandelier is a sparkling wonder that is a work of art all in its own. Artisans craft the petals of its glistening floral exterior from naturally collected capiz shells that are hand-cut.

Lit from within, this special chandelier is wonderfully crafted without being "crafty" - it's dazzling, isn't it? Choose from two sizes and between a smoke and pearl hue to complement your personal décor scheme. (My favorite is pearl.) We love sponsor VivaTerra today - you can snap these gorgeous chandeliers up there for $329- $649.

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While living in Cape Town, South Africa, Be Sweet founder Nadine Storyk Curtis became smitten with the creativity and beauty of the handcrafted goods she found there. Determined to bring these products to a wider audience, and create economic opportunities for these talented women, her colorful and compassionate business was born.

EcoSalon: I read that you were living in South Africa when the idea for Be Sweet was born, why were you living there and what was the evolution of Be Sweet?

Curtis: I married a South African and three weeks after our wedding, 9/11 occurred and we soon decided it was an opportune time to go to Cape Town for a year. We downsized our interactive design company and moved six months later. As soon as I got used to driving on the left side of the road, I became enamored with the innovative craft and design movement that is so prevalent in South Africa as well as the way that soulful men and women are empowering previously disadvantaged people to produce products. I was inspired to be a part of it all and bring wearables to the U.S. marketplace.

Who taught you to knit? Do you still knit? How does your own artistic expression inform Be Sweet?

My mother taught me to knit. She went to RISD for apparel design and has always designed and made clothing and textile products for a living. Absolutely I still knit - more than ever although I am a very basic knitter. Hats and scarves are the extent. My goal for the year is to learn how to crochet. My creative expression drives Be Sweet. I not only choose products that have a positive ethos behind them but that are beautiful and fun and innovative and will inspire others to be creative.


It would seem to me that it would be really difficult to do business in South Africa. What have been some of the challenges?

South Africa has first, second, and third world aspects. I am lucky to have a fabulous network of family and friends that help with some of the challenges of trust and communication. An unfortunate challenge for me in the beginning is when a group would hear my American accent, they would quickly raise the price quote for goods and services.

How has working with these women changed you? What have they taught you? What have been some of the biggest surprises?

My whole life has changed because of Be Sweet. I have learned so much about how difficult life can be and what the basic needs are of people. I am reminded of how important education is to improve the world. The women I work with in South Africa are so creative with materials. They are able to create things out of the most basic recycled objects - like a chip wrapper for filling in our Heart Brooch Pins or left over yarn that goes back into the production cycle to make our Knobby Balls.


The yarn is so beautiful and I was struck by the unique colors. Do you leave it up to the artisans to create the colors? What are the dyes and paints made from? Are they made from supplies indigenous to the region?

Yes, for the most part the artisans come up with our color palette. Sometimes I request a specific color or Magic Ball color combination.

For all of our yarns, we use the highest quality low-impact dyes that are imported from Germany.




In a way, you have created a global knitting circle with these women. How do you communicate this global approach in your everyday life?

I love that Be Sweet is an international company. We are supporting artisans in South Africa and inspiring creative people to be a part of the story around the globe. We just started exporting our yarn line to a store in Sweden and Austria.

Be Sweet is a dream project of yours and I am curious how you work to help these women reach their goals and their dreams?

Every year I visit South Africa and visit each of the groups that I work with. I have done a series of interviews to find out what their dreams and goals are. With the increase in sales we are creating more and more income that is directly helping our artisans better their lives. And we donate 3% of our proceeds back to a local school in the rural region where our mohair is produced to help fund educational programs that helps uplift the community.

Be Sweet donates 3% of proceeds to The Shaw School which has provided computers, paint and a new floor to the classroom. How is the school doing now and what are the latest improvements?

The school has four new computer systems and a new copy machine. Recently, we were able to provide keyboards for helping the younger children learn how to type before they are on the computers. We have also been able to fund and facilitate the final classroom improvements including security bars on all of the doors and windows to prevent theft of supplies. Our goal for the end of this year is to start a lunch program for each student.

Is there anything we can do locally to help provide for this community or others like it in South Africa?

Be Sweet has a Shaw Park page on our website - Be Sweet Products - where we accept donations for the school.  All is much appreciated and goes directly to the principal of the school to pay for programs we have assigned.

Lastly, what are some of your eco-friendly habits or anything that you are doing in your community to spread the eco-love? And do you have any guilty eco-oopses that you can't live without?

Well, my family and I are landscaping our yard and we have opted to plant low water usage plants like thick grasses and succulents to limit the amount of water we have to use. I'm a big water drinker and so we just installed a water filter on the kitchen tap to cut down on plastic bottle usage. I'm afraid to say that I'm terribly guilty of forgetting my to-go cup at the coffee shop. I look forward to that morning ritual of a stopping for a cup of joe.

Thank you for stopping by, Nadine!


Note: Be Sweet has been accepted into the Fair Trade Federation.

Images: Be Sweet

Read through all our articles for the week? At a loose end? Curl up with a few of these...
The home of Good Housekeeping over in Harlem, NY, has had an eco-friendly makeover. LEED-certified, the new building opens July 30th and is running tours of the premises shortly after. (Ecorazzi gave us the heads-up).
CFLs: great while they're working, not so much afterwards. That mercury is a problem for consumers and recyclers alike - so let's applaud Home Depot, since as Grist reports, the biggest DIY store in the States now collects CFLs for safe recycling.
Amanda Melodini's article here (great title) tells of the latest innovation in air filtration: it's called a plant. (In fact, the breakthrough is all about aerating the leaves and roots so the plant can filter as much air as possible).
Curling up with a good e-book? However eco-friendly, it's a hard sell - but Sony is amongst the companies trying hard to change our minds. Gabrielle at Daily Tomorrow got hold of the Sony PRS-505 E-book Reader. Have a read of her very thorough review - is it worth the $300 price-tag?
Is this the ultimate faucet? It's touch-free, and when the water comes out, it powers a turbine that generates electricity for the touch-free sensor!
With some people, it's shoes. But the latest chic-to-collect is the tote bag. If you're one of them (and you're not alone by any means), don't miss the Savior bags - decorated with a quote that you may recognize.
Here at Ecosalon we like to keep up with the latest in stylish and practical technology. May we introduce the Solar-Powered Bra. (And also point out that those two sentences have nothing to do with each other. Thank you). As usual, it's Environmental Graffitti keeping us abreast of things.
Being fans of Nigel's Eco Store, we were delighted to see the man himself has given an interview with Adam over at Life Goggles. (You even get to see him juggling flying saucers).
EcoStreet has 10 suggestions for looking swish as you cycle. Unsurprisingly and entirely correctly, "Not Wearing Tasteless Lycra Outfits" is right at the top. Wild applause.
Old wax crayons kicking around, edging nearer the trash? Grab them, read Hippyshopper's article, and get sculpting.

Happy reading!

Image: gripspix

The Guerrilla Gardeners have another weapon to use in the urban jungle. It's called the Bloom device - and it works like a dandelion.

When the wind whips through it, a dandelion "clock" (or "wishie", depending on where you are in the world) disperses into a multitude of single-seed fruits borne aloft on a tiny umbrella of fine, silvery hairs. The designers of the Bloom use soap bubbles (natural vegetable soaps and oils). Pedal fast enough on your bike, and enough wind enters the Bloom's air intake to force a bubble out the other end - containing a plant seed.

So as our Guerrilla Gardeners cycle through the streets of their towns, they leave a trail of bubbles in the air, dropping plant seeds into cracks in the sidewalk, wafting them into verges - into every conceivable nook and cranny where life can take root. It's a cheeky, quirky, organic process, and we love it. But others will regard it a nuisance, and they'll fight back. I wonder how?

- via Guy Kawasaki

Image: Society Creative IIc.

Since early last century, modern architecture has struggled for a distinctive middle ground, somewhere between the staunch angular rationalism of Le Corbusier and the nature-directed style made famous by Frank Lloyd Wright. The latest arena is the eco-house. So what architectural style would you feel comfortable living in?

The 12Wide miniHome?
Simon Dale's homemade house-in-a-hill?

The prefab delights of the DWR Kithaus?


Earthship Brighton? (What's an Earthship? It's one of these).


Michael Jantzen's work (this is his "Wind Shaped Pavilion")?


Illy's Quick House? (Let's presume they'd throw in four walls and a proper roof as well).


The Orchid House?

Your editor has had enough. First, a recap: On the green path to Woodland Chic, we've seen faux bois. And regular old bois. Unless you're an oblivious sort of fauna you know that 2008 has been having a field day with all things sylvan. At EcoSalon, we've covered this nature-inspired trend's eco offerings (and its urban vertical garden variant) extensively, from beds to floors to coasters and more.

The blogosphere of style has been collecting other great ideas, too. And I do mean collect. Call it bohemian, call it the bright collective, call it not-so-shabby chic - vintage updates and collections in candy splashes of color are everywhere - from walls to tables to teapots.

But perhaps inevitably, the twain have met between the twigs, evident in the form of Bohemian Bambi - the custom papered stags of the Wilderness Project by mixed-media artist Jennifer Khoshbin.

Points for a creative mashup to artist Khoshbin, but I am starting to notice some trends that are simply taking things too far. Or rather, making me writhe in editorial anguish. Normally I am calm, cool, and collected, but I'm also a Virgo (Mike is cringing at my astrological reference right now; ignore) and sometimes we volcanic Virgos have simply. had. enough.

5 Trends That Make Me Want to Subscribe to Dentition Monthly:

Give me your lighting, give me your mobiles, give me your stunning fabrics, and eco-paper my walls - but please, no more of these trends.

1. Tiny! Did you see? It's a regular old thing, only now it's tiny!

Oh my gosh, it's...tiny. And therefore chic and adorable and obviously essential. Tiny elephant, tiny furniture, tiny tiny tiny. I loved this...when I was 9. I'm not aware of any woman who truly wants tiny, are you? This is a trend that will expire faster than my raw macadamia butter, so don't fall for it (but do try the butter, it's delicious and low in carbs).

2. The afore-mentioned boho.

I've disliked this word since my college roommate reinvented her wardrobe a la those calorically-challenged Olsen twins. "Boho" is one of those words that, like a homely pre-med, is best termed unfortunate. Now, I love the eclectic look, and bright colors are both addictive and fabulous. But there is such a thing as forced - which is the worst possible thing you can do with your "look" - and in my opinion it's this. When you have a magazine that feels satisfied naming itself Boho (oh yes, friends, it exists), be assured that the trend has jumped the ikat-upholstered shark.

3. The twig whose sanity has snapped.

Twig-inspired jewelry is one thing. An actual twig ring, however? This is ironic, and not in a good way.

4.  Felting gone scary.

Flokati is luscious. Felted wool is both cozy and chic. Until it gets to be too much and you feel like you've entered a 14-year-old boy's Cheetos-infused lair of video games and mouldering gym socks. Do we really want to be reminded of not being allowed to date seniors again?

5. The ubiquitous fleur-de-lis.

To the compost with this decorative symbol!  It was fine on my sofa pillows of yesteryear, but I don't need to choke myself with it, as well. Is this seriously still around, and clutching at women's throats, no less? I thought we realized this flower wilted back in 2006. It is most definitely not Next.

Remember, a little goes a long way and you needn't jump on every trendwagon. There was a time when we all thought this was a must-sport style.

What do you think, dear readers? Am I being too fussy? What trends are you peel-the-paint sick of?

Image: Noel Zia Lee

Peruvian designer Giuliana Testino's stunningly structured, hand-crocheted designs are inspired by her university studies in  architecture. Testino's Summer 2008 line features an entirely handcrafted inventory of magnificent yet light pieces, originally inspired by the traditional clothing of the Peruvian Highlanders.

The designer is passionate about preserving the artisan sensibility - each garment takes 2-3 weeks to complete. Techniques used by the artisans include crochet, hand knitting, macramé, and embroidery.

The results are intricate and fresh, and Testino has a strong sense of social responsibility within the communities of artisans she employs. She takes a proactive stances towards improving their quality of life and deeply valuing their masterful craftsmanship.

Sara’s shameless plug: Hi, it’s your editor. De-lurk, dear reader, and leave this fabulous writer a comment. (We love chatting.) You can also share this post with friends – just click your favorite social bookmark listed below. New reader? Be sure to sign up for the weekly newsletter to win free eco goodies! You can also subscribe to any RSS feed your heart desires.

I’m a big believer in Mies van der Rohe’s dictum "less is more". I’d much prefer that you use what already hangs in your closet. And as much as the lesser green in me would love to encourage you to buy a newer, cooler version of this or that, the greenest me would never do such a thing.

But, if you happen to be in the market for a weekend bag - meaning, you’ve never owned one or yours is on its last thread or doesn't match a thing you've bought in the last 2 years - then have I got the bag for you.

This isn’t your “travel to Europe for two weeks” bag, but rather your “sneak away for two days and hopefully no one will notice you’re gone” bag. More specifically, it is the Kantha weekender bag by Rising Tide Fair Trade (RTFT).

Each bag is hand-made from cotton kantha textiles. Any fabric with embroidery stitching that forms or outlines decorative motifs is considered a kantha textile. Traditionally kantha is used to make saris and quilts.


RTFT chooses its kantha fabrics which are then woven into colorful, geometric patterns and made into bags by artisans in a fair trade women’s’ cooperative in West Bengal. The bag trim is cruelty-free dark brown suede or canvas.

And the result is a uniquely rich and sophisticated, not to mention, sturdy bag that measures 12” x 20” x 8” with two 12” suede straps.  The RTFT weekender isn’t cheap at $220, but for a piece of luggage that is sure to last a lifetime and not go out of style? You can’t get much greener than that. They now have coin purses ($24) as well, which couldn’t be cuter.

Go ahead, I trust you to tread and shop wisely.