{eco} design: paula barnes

I came across Paula Barnes' home some time ago in an issue of Living Etc., one of my favourite design magazines, and was struck by her lovely home.  First of all, you can never go wrong with wood and white.  While her home may be a little too rustic for me, I love elements of rustic decor, and she's pulled it off with a lovely lived in, family friendly but chic manner that appeals to me.  When I looked into her design firm Eliza Barnes, it turns out that she is a 'reuse-ist'!  She runs an architectural salvage and design firm that specializes in salvaging materials, and making what was once old and unwanted, new and beautiful again.  Her own home, featured today, is a good example.  Keep posted for more Eliza Barnes...she's got some new projects on the go!

{love the custom patchwork sofa...she recovered it with salvaged fabric}

{I love the mismatch stools, the farm table island, the white, the wood beam, no upper cabinets...}

{again, love the mismatch...gives it such an eclectic feel, without feeling too busy...also digging those lights!}

{this chalkboard table idea is awesome, definitely something I'd like to do for my kids.  it reminds me of my childhood family table...it was pine, so you can literally read years of homework that have been indented into the top}

{books are a must in every home!}

{eco} vintages: Modern 50

When I started writing PureGreen, vintage decor was regularly featured.  I find something so satisfying about the 'hunt' and the knowledge that I've repurposed and made something beautiful once more.  For this reason, my entire house is filled with vintage stuff.  And then, for some reason, I stopped sourcing vintage decor online.  When I look through my site traffic though, that is one of the themes my readers most enjoy.  And so, I'm bringing it back!  Starting today with Modern 50, an absolutely amazing industrial vintage curator.  Their website is full of treasures, with beautiful styling and set design to boot.  I spent a little time gathering a few images to share with you - don't think this is the last you'll see of them either.

{eco} style: Preloved

Preloved has been a favourite of mine for a long time, so I'm happy to share it with you today.  When creating recycled clothing, Preloved pays amazing attention to fit and style - no looking like a 'raggamuffin' here.  So, you can look great and still pay homage to the planet by diverting waste from our landfills.  What's more, Preloved is Canadian!  You can visit their Queen street store in Toronto, or their Blvd. St. Laurent store in Montreal, or of course, shop online!

Preloved creates one of a kind clothing from reclaimed vintage fabrics. Our passion is design and our philosophy is sustainability. Attention to fit, comfort and style has been our driving force."

{preloved is now making a home collection!!!  may soon become a Sustain addition.  who knows!}

Blog It Forward - {eco} inpsirations

Welcome.  I'm very excited to be participating today in SFGirlbyBay's blog it forward mashup.    A wonderful exercise filled with wonderful people writing wonderful things.  I wanted to congratulate Pretty {much} Art for a lovely post yesterday, and for passing me the pen, so to speak, today.  If you are new to PureGreen, I'm very pleased to meet you, and I hope you find something inspiring here today, and perhaps stay awhile! PureGreen is traditionally about stylish green living - I own an eco building and design shop in Canada, so I am constantly looking for green inspiration.  I am one of those people who is inspired by everything!  It was really hard to narrow my choices down, so I appreciated this exercise as it helped me narrow my focus and really think about me.  When was the last time you did that....?  So, I slowed things down, opened my eyes, and here is what resulted.  enjoy.

{i am inspired by starting anew...such as turning the first page of a new book, anticipating the first sip of hot cup of coffee, or even a fresh start on you calendar.  life is filled with potential.}

image: rebecca lily, morBCM & cottageindustrial

{i get so unbelievable inspired when i look at any creative medium.  a ball of yarn. a book of patterns.  a stack of beautiful fabric.  now, if only each project turned out like i'd imagined.}

images: dottie angel, daisy janie

{perhaps one of my favourite things to do is wander in nature.  walking my dog rusty is a surefire way to get my juices flowing.  a pen & paper are always nearby, as this is when i do my best thinking.  the colours are always so vivid.  this is where i feel at peace.}

images: in most light

{place i've been.  places i want to go.  by plane, car or train.}

images: yvette inuflio, rebecca lily, seattle miles

{again, possibilities.  i'm not afraid of getting my hands dirty, and there's nothing better than a carrot, fresh from the ground.}

images: ben heine, ingrid in oz

{ever notice that in this day in age, we are hardly ever alone?  every so often, this is something i need, to reconnect with myself, and get back to what inspires me.}

images: in most light, shana rae

{to my love of recycling, i am so inspired when something unwanted is granted a new life.  salvage.  look for possibility.}

images: eliza barnes, salvage architect, monde ruelle

A most sincere thank you.  Please visit r's adventures Monday for more!

{eco} design: Monde Ruelle

{I think this is the biggest design crush I have ever had!}

I am going to hero worship my mom for the rest of my life for finding me this!!!  Monde Ruelle is a design collaboration studio that makes use of scraps and refuse to make amazing new products.  As you can guess, the one above is my favourite - a magnetic board with twiggy magnets, designed by TaKtik Design in Montreal.  You can buy everything on the Monde Ruelle site, for refreshingly reasonable prices.  Keep scrolling for more of my favourites.  Thanks again Sylvie.  You rock!

{by CapraKarton; made with recycled doors}

{my mom's favourite; made by Helene Lemieux using an old lamp & cotton sweater}

{made by Hh using reclaimed Quebec pine}

{a doormat! made by Couper Croiser using industrial scraps}

{made by El-Seed using a vintage chair}

{made by MCP Lebeuf with recycled office furniture from Hydro Quebec and exotic wood scraps}

{eco}: Wellie Warmer DIY & London-Wul

Whew!  Sorry about my absence, sometimes things just get just a little bit out of hand.  I began last week by introducing my mother, Sylvie, and by announcing that the week would be dedicated to her amazing finds.  Well, that obviously didn't fly, so I'll be picking up where I left off today - we've got great reclaimed finds from Montreal and an amazing green destination to bring you this Thursday (instead of the usual Friday, as I'll be participating in Victoria's {from SFgirlbybay}Blog it Forward Mash-up!). 

Today, I'm bringing you beautiful, organic wool and a super cool DIY to complement it.  I asked my mom about organic wool a little while back, and next thing I knew she'd run amok on the internet and I was rich with her finds.  Here is one of my favourites.  As for the DIY, this is something I came across on Threadbanger.  I've been wanting some wellie warmers for ages, so I was really excited to find this DIY to go with my much pined after pair of Hunter Boots.

{the DIY}

Click here for the full DIY instructions.

{the wool}

London-Wul is an organic, Canadian wool producer that my mom came across.  Located in New Brunswick, Heidi has been raising her sheep, harvesting the wool and hand-dyeing/spinning the wool.  Her farm is based on animal friendly practices - be sure to check her blog for some cute pictures of these adorable 'wool farmers'!.  Her yarns are full of colour and richness; visit her Etsy shop to order.  If you don't see the colour you like, create a custom listing and she'll make it for you. 

Hope you enjoy.

{eco} style: Harricana

This week is special on PGD.  This week, I am honouring my mom;  she deserves to be an honourary guest because, not only does she support me (my dad does too!) in everything I do, she tirelessly searches the internet for cool stuff for me.  Whether its new products for the store, or something she thinks I'd like in general, she readily calls me on any given day with a list of links.  She's awesome, and has become my unofficial personal reasearcher.   She insists that she enjoys doing it, but, this week I've decided to feature Sylvie's finds, just to let her know that I really appreciate her.  So, today, being {eco} style day on PGD, Sylvie (my french mom) brings you Harricana.  She actually had found several ethical fashion brands, but this one was my favourite, partially because they have a great website.  So, who is Harricana - they recycle old stuff into great new stuff, and they're based in Montreal! 

{creator: Mariouche Gagné}

"Since 1993, our expertise allows us to communicate emotions from generation to generation by recycling high-quality fashion apparel. By recycling old furs, we have saved the lives of more than 600,000 animals over the past 15 years. It has also enabled us to extend the life of more than 60,000 coats, silk scarves, cashmere scarves and wedding gowns, which would never have been worn if they had not been remod-elled. We give gorgeous materials a second life and transform them into unique pieces, proving that fashion can also be sustainable.

Since we are very concerned about ecology, we make it a point of integrity to produce all of our crea-tions in Canada under ethical manufacturing conditions."

Here is a look at their winter collection - stay tuned for their summer collection {think a little less fur, more silk.}

{they have a home collection too}

Mary Wins The Inukshuk

Congratulations Mary - using random. org, I entered numbers 1-10, and lucky number 2 was chosen (which is weird, that's the same number that won the last giveaway on PGD)! Please email me {puregreendesign[at]gmail.com} with your contact details and I will ship you your prize!

*You have 5 days to contact me, after which I will pick another name.  I hope you enjoy your gift!

Stay tuned to PGD for more giveaways, green design & green living.  Thanks to all who entered.

{eco}: read: Make Your Place

I came across this little book, Make Your Place: Affordable, Sustainable Nesting Skills - a quirky and charming hand-illustrated book that is kind of like home-ec for greenies (from what I can discern on the internet; I have yet to order my copy for only $5!!!)  The book illustrates home made solutions and remedies for a well-kept green home.  It's hand-drawn nature reminds me of one of my favourite cookbooks, Mollie Katzen's The Moosewood Cookbook (if you're a veggiesaurus this is a must).  I haven't featured books here yet on Pure Green, but it's one of my favourite past-times, so why not?  My reading list is also a mile-long, so I'm doing a little vicarious reading with you here as well.  So, if you feel inclined, pick up this 'zine' published by independent publishing house Microcosm Publishing.  They have many great reads that I'm dying to browse through.  I also love that they are so upfront and sincere about their limited marketing budget, and so I am more than happy to answer spread the word on their behalf.  As a small company, I certainly get that.

{eco}: design: Joe Manus & Shiner

I got an email today from Joe Manus of Shiner, designer of INCREDIBLE furniture made from recycled materials.  I've seen this type of thing before, but often the designs are either not aesthetically pleasing or not functional.  These are neither.  I'm thoroughly impressed, and am more than happy to post about it.  Shiner is full of personality - using common materials for uncommon designs.  I love how he describes himself and what he does:

"Joe Manus remembers his first black eye. He was 7, he deserved it, and he wore it like a badge of honor. Ever since, the shiner has become his personal emblem for something tough, dark, and proudly damaged.

Now Joe applies the manufacturing techniques and brutal aesthetic that earned his reputation for high-end boutiques and nightclubs in Atlanta to his first collection of modern, eco-friendly furnishings. It’s dirty, sexy, clever and dark. Of course, he named it Shiner.

All materials are selected with environmental responsibility in mind. Steel is 85% recycled. Cardboard is 100% recycled. Plywood comes from responsibly farmed, new growth timbers. Hardwoods come from drop cuts from board manufacturing that were destined for the landfill.

All goods are cut using CNC technology, which means maximum yield because of close nesting of parts on a panel, low labor overhead and low energy equation overall.

All leftover materials from cut panels go to fuel the timber kiln that dries our hardwoods or to be used in the production of biodiesel."

{the lights are probably my favourite.  made with recycled cardboard!}

{a few of my other faves}