We’ve talked about VivaTerra’s Root of the Earth Bowls. They are beautiful and make a great gift idea, but it’s time to feature some larger items that can really help surround you with nature in the comfort of your own home.

Set the stage for your magical getaways (a.k.a. books) with this whimsical book shelf that utilizes dense elm wood as well as Indian root and trunk materials for outer decoration. Finally something to hold all your Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and other nerdy fantastical escapes!
There is also a matching Root Wine Rack for those who like to live dangerously and drink while reading.

Now where will you set your book down while you get up to get your wine from the favorite reading spot? On this
Branch & Glass Side Table of course! Yep, with branches working together to support the snazzy glass top it looks like nature is here to serve you. A matching Branch & Glass “Console” Table (whatever that means) is also available.

Last but not least on today’s list is … say it with me kids … a STOOL! Yay for stools! (pun intended).
OK now that’s out of the way what else can be said about these reclaimed wood stools? Well they are made of wood, beautiful Japanese teak in this case, and they are great for an impromptu sit down, or end table, or they can even be magical chairs out in your secret garden.

It’s pretty much perpetually sunny here in San Diego, CA, but if I was living in an area that had winter to make me stay indoors, I’d be sure I had some eco-friendly nature inspired furniture to help keep me company.

Posted by Sean in Household, Unique
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It was many months ago that I randomly discovered ibride. They were featured on several design blogs and I instantly fell in love with their line of ornate wall art trays. Since they were seemingly everywhere at the time, I didn’t bookmark any online stores. Of course the name ibride quickly slipped from my memory and I have spent the last few months keeping en eye peeled for those gorgeous baroque flourishes and collages of anthropomorphic animals. Quite a hybrid of style, eh? In fact, the name ibride is actually a play on words that is meant to represent “hybrid”. The company consists of 4 French relatives, Rachel, Benoit, and Carine, who I wish I could find more info about online. Their official website is in French and is Flash based so it doesn’t lend well to translating. Anybody know more about them?

Their stunning art trays come in 3 different themes; vintage ladies, animals in nature, and hybrid human/animals attired in exquisite vintage clothing. The imagery is simply amazing, but it’s the colors that really grab me: brooding, muted shades with splashes of vivid color. Everything they make is truly a hybrid of modern and classic. Better still, the laminated trays are made from a recycled wood core!

And lest I forget to mention their newer offerings: furniture shaped like the lower half of an animal. The Basset Stool and Dog Stool (both shown above) are available in black or red. Joe the Polar Bear book shelf measures nearly 4′ tall and is super limited edition.

All but 4 of the trays offered at Burke Decor include Free Shipping in the USA.

Posted by Lauren in Household, So Pretty, Splurge, Unique
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Image (c) roboppy

A couple months ago a friend emailed to tell me about a berry that I “might be interested in”. She pointed me to the now infamous NY Times article about the “Miracle Fruit“, and I proceeded to flip out. For those of you who haven’t been introduced to this truly magical berry, it makes sour things taste sweet and food in general just tastes better. How exciting is that? It contains a substance called “miraculin” that binds with your taste buds for up to 2 hours of “everything tastes like heaven” fun. Wow, talk about a natural sweetener. Sign me up!

But there’s just one problem: availability. Wikipedia says Miracle Fruit was documented way back in 1725, yet it only gained popularity in America in 2008, thanks largely to the “flavor trippers” referenced in the NY Times article. Without a solid growing infrastructure in place, it’s been really difficult to obtain the berries or the packaged tablets. Most retailers run out of stock for months at a time! I tried to find some seeds so I could grow my own, but at the time nobody had any stock available.

This morning I opened up an email from my homies at Think Geek and almost fell out of my chair when I saw they are now selling Miracle Fruit tablets! The date on the email said it arrived yesterday, but by the time I arrived at their site they were already sold out and taking backorders. Noooo! But since Think Geek is located in the USA (unlike most retailers) and has amazing customer service, I’m just going to backorder a couple packs now. What can I say, I have an insatiable sweet tooth and the idea of sucking on a lemon and having it taste like candy is too novel to resist.

Every story I’ve heard about Miracle Fruit has been funny and amazing. If you’ve tried this miraculous berry, please share your story in the comments. I’ll report back when my shipment arrives

PS- I predict that this berry is going to be so instrumental in getting people to eat healthy. We’ll start by eating a miracle berry before a big leafy green salad – you know, so even the most picky tastebuds can “tolerate” real food. Then we’ll only need a half berry as our bodies become used to eating well. Then one day we’ll realize that we don’t even need to “flavor trip” anymore. Did this idea occur to anyone else?

Posted by Lauren in Fun, Unique
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We just watched a documentary called Garbage Warrior which is about renegade architect Michael Reynolds and his uphill quest for sustainable housing. “Earthship” is the phrase coined by Reynolds for his version of sustainable houses built from mostly trash (used tires, bottles, cans, etc.) and dirt that he’s been developing and improving on for 30+ years.

The advantages of the Earthship are it’s self sustainability (off the grid), ease of building, uses recycled materials, has no need for AC or heaters regardless of the climate, ability to grow all your own food indoors with recycled water, it’s natural disaster resistant, and the list goes on.

Before we watched we had so many questions like; why aren’t these more popular, what does it take to build one, how long as this guy been doing this, and when can I get one? Light was shed on all these questions after viewing the documentary and what we learned the most is how inhibiting our own government can be for advances of new ideas. There is so much red tape involved with building these homes that it literally took years for the smallest step to be taken.

In the end Reynolds was met with much less resistance in other countries, especially those hit by natural disasters. Fortunately it seems this is where people can benefit most from these Earthships. Reynolds and his team were able to teach tsunami survivors how to build an Earthship from debris, trash, tires, and rammed earth. This is the “proof in the pudding”, and shows some huge payoffs for the many years of experimental buildings, uphill battles, and overall determination Reynolds shows in this documentary. Read more about the movie from the official site.

From my point of view this is definitely worth buying a copy to watch and share with everyone you know. I rank it alongside the eye opening 20 minute documentary The Story of Stuff as must see documentaries.

DVD available from eBay, Amazon, or directly from GarbageWarrior.com

View Trailer:

Posted by Sean in Green Living, Unique
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Father’s Day is just around the corner and buying brand new factory produced items is so 1900’s so be sure to give something special to your Dad. Now you could bust out your craft supplies and make a macaroni portrait of yourself made with love, OR support some professional crafters and buy from Etsy’s Father’s Day Showcase.

Supporting Etsy stores helps keep crafters crafting and spreads the knowledge that we don’t need to shop at big box stores for everything. There are many ways to browse an online store, but Etsy makes it even easier with their Gift Guide section that uses the community to pick gifts for special occasions or that special someone.

Don’t forget about eBay as well. They have a handcrafted category that is worth checking out as well. Below is the most popular item from the HandCrafted category.

Posted by Sean in Indie, Unique
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Mother’s Day is May 11th.

Mother’s do so much for their children and they get one day out of the year (other than their birthday) to be treated extra special, so make it count!

Mable’s has hand picked many unique Mother’s Day gifts that will make mom remember you are her favorite child and those other children must be adopted. OK, so maybe that’ll only work on my mom, but we are sure that if you pick a unique gift she will remember it when your birthday rolls around.

Perfect Gift Tip: If you really want to give a unique Mothers Day present that will be remembered and cherished, go to mom for advice! Give her a call and just listen. Chances are, your mom will give you lots of clues about the things that she wants more of in her life. With that info, you’ll find a Mothers Day gift idea that’s just perfect for her.

Posted by Sean in Unique
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Hammacher Schlemmer just released their new product catalog for Spring 2008 and it’s got lots of people in a tizzy due to it’s sheer awesomeness. For those of us no longer using outdated technology like a printed catalog need to visit their site out for the sweet items.

Inside the catalog, i-Sobot stands out from the crowd since being recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as “The smallest humanoid robot in production” and Hammacher has it at the lowest price available online. Watch the video on their site to get a taste of the robot’s impressive skills like a 200 word vocabulary, 180 programmed movements, and witty responses to verbal commands.

On the more extravagant side of the spectrum is a – perfect for summer – Single-seat Water Cycle, priced at a whopping $2,999. Basically it is a recumbent bicycle strapped to a funky kayak that can go up to 7 MPH (as fast as an Olympic swimmer, and faster than most paddle boats), as well as a lifetime guarantee from Hammacher. Get yourself in a tizzy.

Posted by Sean in Fun, Unique
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Today most people will examine their personal “footprint” on Earth, looking for ways to become more sustainable. But why limit our efforts to just one day? This planet is ours to enjoy, but we’re responsible for protecting it as well. That’s why we love the green slogan Earth Day is Everyday: it reminds us to cultivate concern for “the environment” (you know, that things we’re all living in) every single day.

Mable’s has green gifts all year in our Eco-Friendly Gifts category. We are consistently looking for new green gifts to add to these categories as all of our products are hand picked.

• Eco Living
• Eco Home
• Recycled Gifts
• Organic Clothes
• Plants & Gardening

Mable’s looks for gifts that use sustainable materials, recycled materials, organically grown materials, were fairly traded, reusable, and hopefully come from a factory that uses sustainable energy.

We also just added some BioDiesel Kits to easily convert your diesel engine to run off a more sustainable and cleaner burning fuel, vegetable oil. I’d be all over this kit, but I haven’t found a diesel powered scooter… yet. I guess my 80 MPG gas scooter will do until then.

Posted by Sean in Green Living, Unique
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It was only a few days ago we were saying how cool it would be if Threadless reprinted the Staby McKnife design so we could get one. They must have read our minds, because we soon received their newsletter with another opportunity to purchase this friendly knife. W00t for reprints!

Also just announced is the 2007 Bestee Award Winners where you can view the designs of the year, best collaboration designs, groundbreaking design of the year, best use of one color, and more.

Although our friend Staby McKnife didn’t win any awards, another reprint did win Slogan of the Year. Get it while it’s hot.

Posted by Sean in Clothing and Accessories, Unique
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Blik Surface Graphics provides awesome designs that we can easily affix to our walls, tables, mirrors, and other flat surfaces. Plus they are easily removable so it doesn’t ruin the surface it was once adhered to. They have many different designs to fit many decor styles, but I’m a big fan of bringing nature into our homes. My favorite nature inspired graphics is the 7.00 Wall Graphic which comes with seperate branches, branch nodes, leaves, and birds so you can arrange it all however you like. I really appreciate the modular setup Blik has with their wall stickers so the customer has more creative freedom with their decor. Buy some for your own place, or send them as a gift, either way they will surely bring a smile to those who get to enjoy them daily.

Other nature inspired wall stickers by Blik:

Flying Birds

Undersea Theme

Retro Googie Nature

Posted by Sean in Household, So Pretty, Unique
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