Posts Tagged ‘earth art’
Bag of the Year..
Saturday, January 15th, 2011
Bamboo grandeur
Tuesday, December 7th, 2010
The cafe’s frame measures 30 feet high and features an opening at the very top of the dome that allows daylight to stream inside. Like many other Vietnamese structures, it is covered in a local bush plant, which evokes an African-esque aesthetic. And contrary to what you might think about building with natural, local materials, the end result is not “homemade” looking at all and is actually rather streamlined and majestic.
This is a trail blazer in several ways-
- It’s possible to design large structures with natural , renewable , biodegradable materials
- It is possible to design something this huge without a nail
- The structure built can look awesome and inspiring
- The wisdom of a culture can find new and beautiful expression while creating a sustainable world
Each industry is plagued with self and world limiting beliefs . Creations such as these jolt , delight , inspire us to look afresh and create anew.
Gift Green
Thursday, November 11th, 2010
GIFTS now have a new color – GREEN !
At Clean Planet we are committed to creative solutions for a joyous , sustainable world. A step in that direction is GIFT GREEN - fun , green gifting ideas. A space where you can get inspired and inspire others with your ideas for cool , green gifts.
The joy of creating something yourself is indescribable. In that sense a green gift is first and foremost a gift you give to yourself. To the recipient it’s an honor that you took the time and effort to create something. Besides the joy it brings – a green gift is planet friendly.
Welcome to Gift Green.
Decoupage eco creations
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
Water plants in decoupage recycled cans
Love for plants and zeal to recycle coupled with creativity can result in delightful outcomes . Creative , earth friendly objects made by Malini using cans , bottles.
Featured here are decoupage recycled cans to house water plants . Each of them has a distinctive look. They can be customized too !
Malini’s earth friendly range is available at Bliss – a charming store in Versova, Mumbai that stocks unusual clothing and accessories.
Eco decor
Monday, May 24th, 2010
This afternoon we dressed up an indoor plant in the office with a piece of fabric . Cool way to enliven home and office decor. Besides being eco friendly this is incredibly versatile . The look of a space can be wonderfully altered just by the choice of fabric .
Try out your combinations and mail us pics.
Organic state
Thursday, May 20th, 2010
The Indian state of Sikkim is working towards the goal of 100% organic agriculture by 2015 .
Organic farming combines ecologically-sound modern technology with traditional agricultural practices including crop rotation, green manure and biological pest control to ensure reduction or total elimination of chemical inputs. In several parts of Sikkim, farmers have succeeded in growing completely organic maize, paddy, ginger, cardamom and turmeric while expanding the practices to other horticultural crops.
The first step came in May 2003, when the state government withdrew the subsidy on fertilizers. From 2006-07 onwards, the transport and handling subsidy and commission to the retailer was also withdrawn. Alongside, the government also adopted a seven-year plan to phase out use of chemical fertilizers, by gradually replacing these with organic sources.
“The government had taken the decision because it had seen the adverse impact of chemical fertilizers on our soil, water and on human health, considering ours is a biodiversity hotspot,” says S K Gautam, secretary in the department of food security and agriculture.
Wonderful to see the concerted , sustained , planned efforts to make an entire state organic . Yet another reason to visit this beautiful spot of the pale blue dot we inhabit.
Ecofont
Friday, May 7th, 2010
Print minimally . If you need to print consider Ecofont . The free version can be downloaded from Ecofont’s site .
The font basically has dots . At a document level print they are practically impossible to distinguish from the normal print. The dots ensure that lesser ink is needed for the printing . Thereby extending the life of the cartridge .
Useful in all work that requires printing – banks , offices . Airlines and Railways can use it to print tickets. At Clean Planet we have now installed this as the default font for documents that need to be printed. We’ve also become a lot more conscious of paper usage . Both factors put together we are refilling cartridges less frequently than before.
More than the font per se what we really like is the approach of finding creative solutions that extend the life of products , solutions for everyday tasks. Imagine the benefits of extending this approach to re-designing products , processes , packaging to make them more resource efficient..
Make the most of your newspaper
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
What do you do after you have read the newspaper ?
1. Wrap gifts – no more hunting for gift wrapping paper . Neatly pack gifts in newspaper . Make a card with left over regular paper and pieces of cloth / use a flamboyant fabric to tie the unusual ensemble
2. Make envelopes from newspaper . Splash a bit of color . And voila – you have envelopes that make you feel like writing letters.
3. Pens from newspaper (not possible perhaps to make at home )
4. Newspaper bags – use fabric strips to make the handles , color the bag , stencil messages on the bag
5. On days when you can’t get dried leaves – add newspaper shreds to your composting bin.
Re-glaze..
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
Reduce, Recycle, Reuse, Reconnect, Revalue, Restore, Reforest, Revive, Reawaken, React, Reassert, Re…pair, Rethink, Review, Renew, Regenerate, Reinvent, Replenish, Relearn, Reform, Reverse, Respect…words that inspired Neha . She added her own to this list Re-glaze.
In a discussion with a trained potter who has been working with Neha for some time – the potter often mentioned about the left over glazes at his studio . Having no idea how to use them he would throw it away. Every time Neha met him she wondered how they could “reuse “the left over glazes.
Inspiration struck while working on a range for the ‘Earth Mela’ .Having studied pottery Neha had a hunch that the glazes could be reused. They collected all the left over glazes, designed mini vases , dipped the glazes and kept fingers crossed to see the results.
Ceramic high fired stoneware clay mini vases glazed with material that would have otherwise been discarded .The result is in the image…beautiful shades of earthy browns, blues, green tones .The colors are reminiscent of the glazes used by Japanese studio potters.
These vases are all hand thrown in different shapes and they can never get the same colour. That is part of the beauty of reusing.
Wait a bit before your throw something away. In experimenting with it you never know what miracles lie in store.
Pic and concept : Matsya
Furoshiki
Saturday, April 24th, 2010The ultimate eco bag !
It may not be possible for all to expertly and quickly fashion stable bags from cloth . We can however use cloth creatively wrap gifts.
Ditch wrapping paper . Instead use cloth – old saris , stoles , scarves, dupattas . Being in the clothing biz we get fabric swatches of varying dimensions on a regular basis . Some of them are used to wrap objects , gifts . The end result is always delightful – for us and the recipient.
p.s – we’ve been thinking about the number of items one can make from a sari. In a few weeks we should be able to share the fun creations from a sari
