Sea Chair is made entirely from plastic waste collected from the ocean.

April 05, 2013 by Designsquish

“I’m a builder, a fixer, and a do-it-myselfer. My favorite things in life are big tools, old wood, good pasta, and finding great materials in a dumpster. I grew up in California, and blindly moved to New York seven years ago when I was accepted into art school for sculpture. I instantly fell in love with the grungy part of Brooklyn, and within a month, we had moved into Bedstuy. I have lived in the same apartment for five years now, which has given me plenty of time to slowly “fix” a few things around the house: de-carpet stairways, tile in kitchen… you name it!” - Ariele Alasko

- http://brooklyntowest.blogspot.com

December 19, 2012 by Designsquish

Handmade in Brooklyn reclaimed fabric cloud pillow. On ETSY

November 27, 2012 by Designsquish

- http://www.alexkeha.com.ar

November 23, 2012 by Designsquish

Crate Chairs by Brooklyn based design studio Autumn Workshop started by Daniel Goers.  These chairs are made entirely from re-purposed hologram storage crates.  / “No extra wood was used in the fabrication of these chairs. The original crates were cut down, and the cut-offs were recycled back into the structure. The design uses the printed graphics to inform the user how to interact with the storage components of the furniture” /

- http://www.autumn-workshop.com/2012/08/crate-chairs/

September 13, 2012 by Designsquish

Moroccan rag rugs

July 02, 2012 by Designsquish

May 31, 2012 by Designsquish

Ah! This looks so comfortable!

April 08, 2012 by Designsquish

by Designsquish

Dow Powerhouse solar shingles blend in with your traditional shingles and apparently do not require any special tools for installation.

- http://gizmodo.com/dow-powerhouse-solar-shingles-could-finally-have-you-hugging-trees

by Designsquish

March 19, 2012 by Designsquish

Antelope chair designed by Ernest Race (1913-1964), Cord Lamp by Brendan Ravenhill, Wire Flow Chandelier by Arik Levy,  Leaf Chair by Arper and 3 Arm Industrial Chandelier by Workstead.

February 26, 2012 by Designsquish

Moss rag rugs from recycled fabric and yarn by Kate Fenker.

- http://www.katefenker.com

February 11, 2012 by Designsquish

Reclaimed shipping pallet chair.

by Designsquish

Universal leg system, by Jakob Schenk.  “TICK is a universal table leg system which can be applied to a variety of board materials {..reclaimed plywood!...} allowing you the space for individuality and creativity. A bent metal wire structure, similar to a over-dimensional paper clip clamps to any board and transforms it within a few seconds into a unique table without the use of skrews and tools” 

February 10, 2012 by Designsquish

Upcycled old toys sofa / lounge couch by Dan Kennel.   Looks very comfortable.

January 27, 2012 by Designsquish

“Long before the green-minded hip began toting these fishnet shopping sacks whilst touring organic foodmarts, the USSR had developed the archetype — the amazing avoska. Extremely long lines were commonplace and a score of good groceries was rare, so avoskas were essential, with their magical capability to collapse, unfold, and hold stockpile-bound bounties. Image Courtesy Michael Idov.” from Made in Russia: Unsung Icons of Soviet Design

- http://www.blog.designsquish.com/avoska-russian-net-bag/

- http://pinterest.com/designsquish/russia/

October 19, 2011 by Designsquish

Finally!! Houses birds actually want to live in!

-http://www.thehighline.org/
-Birdhouses for High Line

September 30, 2011 by Designsquish

Hand kranked + solar powered radio by Kikkerland: 
-http://www.kikkerland.com/products/radio-solar-crank/

July 25, 2011 by Designsquish

DIY chairs from around the world.

- http://www.folkforms.ru

July 24, 2011 by Designsquish

French designer Ariane Prin has been working on a project called “From Here for Here” as a part of her master’s program at the Royal College of Art. This project produces pencils sustainably by using waste from various departments of the school with the goal of supplying drawing tools for students. Each pencil has a center filled with graphite from the glass department, and its body comprised of sawdust from the wood workshop, clay from the ceramic department, and flour from the cafeteria.  Watch a video on how these pencils were made on DesignBoom

July 10, 2011 by Designsquish

Above: DIY wooden toy car

Above: DIY scarecrow

Above: DIY sleds

Above: DIY bird feeder

Above: DIY stool

Above: DIY bench

-DIY Russia on folkforms

June 21, 2011 by Designsquish

Great way to save space and reuse/store old magazines:

- http://www.njustudio.com/index.php?/project/hockenheimer/

June 15, 2011 by Designsquish

June 11, 2011 by Designsquish

Avoska, translated as “just in case” is a Russian net bag.  Avoska collapses to fit inside your fist and expands to hold 12 grapefruits. It is easy to wash and boxes edges do not rip it’s threads. Best of all, it prevents plastic bags from gathering in your kitchen corner or the world’s landfills.  With the popularization of plastic bags after the 90’s (after the fall of Soviet Union) avoska bags gradually went into disuse in Russia.

Above: Russia 1959. People carrying avoska bags. Photo: Carl Mydans.

Contemporary Russian folklore:  Once upon a time in Russia there lived a simple little net bag - Avoska. Everyone loved her.  People took her with them everywhere - to the store, farmers market and even birthdays. But then….plastic bags came and people forgot about Avoska.  To see what happens next watch this really adorable 3 minute film on Youtube:  http://www.youtube.com/avoska

Above: Boy hugging avoska bag from short “Avoska” film (See above)

Read blog dedicated to Avoski:  http://avoski.livejournal.com/

June 07, 2011 by Designsquish

Jar lamp by UpCycle.  This lamp is made from re-using Avoca glass jar. A hole is drilled in the cap and a lamp fitting is offered through.

May 11, 2011 by Designsquish

All I need is a thermos and a tin/aluminum lunch box.

“Today, lunch boxes are generally made of vinyl, with foam insulation, and an aluminum/vinyl interior. As a result, they’re usually much better at retaining their temperature but are less rigid and protective.  Health concerns came to light in August 2002, when the Center for Environmental Health discovered that many popular vinyl lunch boxes contained dangerously high levels of lead..”.- from Wikipedia

Ready to say goodbye to plastic bags and other plastic food containers???
Stainless steel “Eco Lunch Box”:

May 01, 2011 by Designsquish

Great blog from Vancouver, BC - http://www.old-chum.com/

April 12, 2011 by Designsquish

REVISITED is an independent design collective based in Brooklyn, New York City.
Revisited makes pillow cases from old shirts found mostly in thrift stores.“While seeing those hundreds of shirts waiting to be tried on we knew we wanted to make something out of them, something new. Many of them were too big or simply had an outdated shape. We selected the best fabrics, interesting structures in natural blends and were ready to rework them” - R

-http://www.revisitedmatters.com

April 06, 2011 by Designsquish

Vertical garden in Barcelona, Spain.

March 26, 2011 by Designsquish