Category Archives: green

Go soap-free, it’s the way forward

Posted on January 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

For a couple of days now, everyone seems to be talking about going soap free. When we started reading this article from Sean Bonner – co-creator of Metblogs – celebrating its first year anniversary of going soap free, we must say we were a bit sceptical. We thought BO, greasy hair and skin, etc. But after further reading, we revised our position.

According to Sean, the first couple of weeks are a bit hard, but his skin and hair very quickly adjusted to his new washing routine, and were actually healthier than before. We stand corrected! And it has other benefits: saves you loads of money, and better for the environment (all that plastic wasted!).

It actually all makes sense. Soap, and other chemicals in shower gels/shampoos/etc. actually disturb our naturally balanced ph levels. So going soap free seems to be the way forward!

 

Totally unrelated to this is the video of the now famous homeless guy with a golden radio voice, in case you have managed to escape all the coverage of this amazing and uplifting story – he got a job following the success of this video.

 

(Source: Boing Boing. Pictures: Design Geek and The Cool Hunter)

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Posted in Conservation, environment, green, home

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Happy new year!

Posted on January 4, 2011 | Leave a comment

The Baby Creative team is back, a few pounds heavier, ready to rock 2011 after a nice rest over the festive period.

Here is a link to an interesting study regarding cats’ reaction to bearded men. We thought it quite amusing, and we are still trying to understand why on earth would someone run such study. It will definitely cheer you up in this first week back at work, after what we hope has been a good break, filled with joy, presents, food, wine, etc.

And here are some interesting statistics looking back at the way the world has changed in the last decade. More serious than the previous research, but interesting nonetheless. We are very surprised at the huge difference in figures between 2000 and 2010. It looks at several aspects of the world, from demographic to environment.
Click here for a version of the image that you can actually read, this one being a tad small.

 

(Source: Neatorama and io9)

 

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Posted in environment, green

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Garbage: Your bins got talent!

Posted on October 29, 2010 | 2 Comments

Gilles Eichenbaum is a very talented craftsman, we literally fell in love with his work. He transforms old, banal objects, from kettles to scales and toasters, into beautiful lamp shades by performing patterns and assembling other random objects to it.

It all started when he was travelling, and started building lamps with what was at hand, hence the use of everyday objects. Following the success of his work on flea markets, he decided to turn the hobby into a business, and voila!

Each piece is obviously unique, and it’s all recycling making his work even more special! He named it Garbage:  Your bins got talent! Each object are already quite beautiful and charming in themselves, as when we talk kettles and toasters, we mean antiques rather than modern.


He explains:

All this stuff cluttering your basement can be used again, another round… Today the memories they evoke shall pinch you. Or their revival makes you laugh and it’s just a lot.

Our favourite is the Le Creuzet perforated dish.

You can check out more of his work on his website.

(Source: Tree Hugger)

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Posted in art, creative, design, environment, green

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Leap into a leaf pile and… FOOMF!

Posted on October 19, 2010 | 2 Comments

The past week has been reasonably pleasant for a month of October, making us forget about the coming winter. But today was a harsh comeback to reality, with its typical autumn weather: wind, icy raindrops, and the night falling far too early. Goodbye summer (if we can even say we had one over here).

Autumn is, for sure, the season of nostalgia, as we know that days are getting shorter and colder, and summer is still so far away. But with autumn comes one good thing: the leaves. Yes they can become very slippery and dangerous, and sometimes hiding bad surprises, but they can also be gathered into appetising piles in which all we want to do is just leap and… FOOMF!

It might be hard for some to achieve, as it does require a large amount of leaves, so just watch this video. It made us feel all good inside, and wanting to run outside looking for the bestest leaf pile in London despite the bleak weather!

(Source: urlesque)

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Posted in green, Uncategorized

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A little gadget selection

Posted on October 6, 2010 | 1 Comment

We might be a little bit obsessed with design here at Baby. It’s not that most gadgets are particularly useful, but some are definitely very cool. And we are always amazed at how objects keep being redefined. Today we’ve stumbled upon some pretty cool gadgets that we like, all for different reasons.

First, there is Samsonite new baby: a suitcase that also works as a scooter. Or vice versa. Definitely something that could prove quite useful to businessmen whose lives are half-spent running from one airport terminal to another. We only wonder how practical it is to carry: the wheels, handlebars and all must be quite heavy. Well, we guess the whole point is to let it carry rather than the other way around, but probably not when stairs are involved.

Then there’s the 2 in 1 switch shaker, or how to make us even lazier. Press the button to swap between salt and pepper. But, we love the way it looks, and it would probably be quite fun to use!

At first, we weren’t sure what we were looking at. It looks a bit like storage of some sort. Turns out this is a pocket-sized, solar powered lamp. Perfect for camping in style, and no need for batteries!

Our favourite is this phone: the Nokia E-CU. We don’t think it looks that great, with it’s crackled-skin-like case, and its strange shape, but we love how it works. Unlike any other phone, it doesn’t get its juice from a plug, but from heat. Just stick it in your pocket or on a heater and you will never run out of battery. And that’s also good news for the environment.

(Source: NotCot here and here, TreeHugger, Dezeen)

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Posted in creative, design, environment, green, home, transport

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The Solaris Sun Shading System

Posted on September 24, 2010 | Leave a comment

We’ve just come across something amazing! We can’t believe no-one ever thought of it before.

The Solaris Sun Shading System is no traditional sunshade: it is multi-functional, looks great, and it is eco-friendly, and that, we particularly like.

The umbrella is made of solar panels, using the light it shields you from to generate energy. It features 3 power sockets, rechargeable battery pack, and a power indicator. Workaholics and geeks will no longer be stuck indoors during summer holidays.

We also love the way it looks, we all know that solar panels are not always very appealing to the eye. And well… it protects the environment. For once, we don’t even have one little negative comment to add.

It just makes us a bit sad as we so wished summer was back!

(Source: My Modern Met)

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The appliances of the future

Posted on September 23, 2010 | Leave a comment

Electrolux Design Lab held a competition, asking 1,300 industrial designers to come up with the electrical appliances of the future. On the brief, they stated that by 2050, a person, on average, would only have 35.2 square meters to occupy. Let’s face it,  that’s not a lot of space. It scares us a little bit. So the appliance had to be designed not only to be uber high-tech and potentially eco-friendly, but also to be very small.

Here are a few of our favourite ones:

Michael Edenius’ Clean Closet

Not only does it easily store and browse your clothes, it also cleans them using molecular technology. This is the end of water wastes and polluting detergent, hooray! We’re just a bit concerned about its size. It is definitely not taking much space, conforming to the requirements of the brief. But that also means that it doesn’t leave much space for the clothes themselves!


Matthew Gilbride’s Kitchen Elements

It’s an all in one kitchen, literally. These shelves are simply magical. They work as a fridge, a cooker, and… well, shelves. The best part? No doors and no wires, and they could even be solar powered. The whole white and minimal look will definitely appeal to the Apple fans.


Nicolas Hubert – External Refrigerator

At first view, it doesn’t really look like it would save any space. It’s pretty much the same size as current fridges. But it’s actually meant to be fixed outside a window. The sliding door makes it easy to access. It’s also good because it means at winter, it won’t need to run on power, and during summer, the heat generated can just draft away.

Ahi Andy Mohsen’s Eco Celaner – portable Dishwasher

It is, for sure, very portable. But most importantly, just like the Clean Closet, it is water-free, as it uses ultrasonic waves. What’s even better, it turns the food into reusable waste. Eco-friendly. Period.

We are so impressed by the ideas that have come out of this competition. Especially as we like when people focus on more than just looks, which tends to be the case far too often at the moment. Check out the other finalists on the website: there’s a virtual kitchen, a gooey fridge, a micro induction heater and a very strange washing machine.

(Source: Wired)

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Shenzhen’s Logistic City

Posted on September 14, 2010 | Leave a comment

We are in awe of Julien de Smedt Architects’ new project, and it’s definitely not for its looks.

They plan on building a city tower in Shenzhen standing 1,111 metres high. This will be gigantic! Just looking at the pictures gives us a bad case of vertigo. At the moment, the world tallest structure, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, is ‘only’ 828 metre tall.

Not only will the structure be ridiculously tall, but also self-sustained. Plants will abound in the tower: along paths, gardens, etc., working towards the re-forestation of the city. And as opposed to a standard skyscraper, the building will mostly be open, letting plenty of wind and sunlight to the core. The use of solar panels is still being debated, but wind turbines will be integral part of the tower.

And just like any city, it will have housing, stores, offices, and its own public transport network, with trams resembling roller coaster connecting levels.

And they haven’t forgotten water. Watering plants so high up would definitely require a lot of energy, hence why the top tier sections of the structure will be adorned with systems that will store and recycle water.

This project just seems great. We like that sustainability increasingly becomes a concern for development.

(Source: Inhabitat)

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Posted in creative, environment, green, home, Plants, transport

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The beauty of fractals

Posted on September 10, 2010 | Leave a comment

Fractals are fascinating things. In mathematical-like language, it all sounds like that:

By iterating or repeating fractal-generating equations many times, random outputs create beautiful patterns that are unique, yet recognizable. (Wired)

Simply put, a fractal is made of smaller versions of itself, in turns made of smaller versions, and so forth. The repetition of chaos creates order. If you look closely at a cauliflower, it will all make sense: a cauliflower is basically the assemblage of mini-cauliflowers.

What is so cool about fractal patterns is that they are not just mathematical concepts, but are everywhere in nature. And they are just stunning.

Snowflake

Thunder

Waterfall

Broccoli

Clouds

Peacock

River Delta

(Source: Wired)

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Posted in art, environment, green, Plants

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Upcycling plastic bottles into pretty bowls

Posted on September 8, 2010 | Leave a comment

We love these bowls by Artist Gülnur Özdağlar. They are elegant and delicate. And surprisingly enough, made from plastic bottles.

However, this is no traditional recycling, but what Özdağlar calls upcycling. She explains that she substitutes the physical value lost during the process with labour and artistic value.

She has called the collection Tertium Non Data, a latin phrase that means the third is not given. It’s also an alchemic term referring to the process of combining to distinct elements to produce a third one. In this case, the two bottles turning into a very nice fruit bowl.

All this arty and alchemic talk seems a tad complicated to us though. And we just think it’s some very pretty and impressive recycling art.

(Source: If It’s Hip, It’s Here)

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