Trend: Bottling Sustainability

randy-polumbo

Artists throughout time have always been inventive with the objects around them, continually searching for beauty in most unusual places. Similarly, marketing teams and packaging gurus are continually on the hunt for new inspiration, hoping to design appropriately for the future. Though the motives often differ, the end results are generally similar. Artist Randy Polumbo of Joshua Tree, CA has always been passionate about using found objects to create art and was recently highlighted in the New York Times about his life long architectural endeavors. “I had very specific rules, to use nothing new except steel — it’s already a recycled material and no paint and no Sheetrock,” rules that laid the groundwork for creative explosions. Inside there are embedded tequila, wine and soda bottles in the wall, a flashlight chandelier and countless other treasures that most anyone would agree, is quite striking.

stuarthaygarth1

Lighting designer Stuart Haygarth creates beautiful pieces from man-made debris, breathing life into objects that would otherwise be tossed away. His “Tide” chandeliers are literally created from washed up trash found upon the Kent coastline.

costaverdehotel

Looking for an eco-friendly kitsch vacation stay? Look no further than the Costa Verde Hotel in Costa Rica, recently featured on Inhabitat. A salvaged boeing 727 jet from San Jose was transported piece by piece through the jungle where it was then reassembled onto a 50 ft. pedestal and now doubles as a hotel. No matter the size, sustainable methods for living can be applied to products of all shapes and sizes, proving that creativity paired with determination can lead practical, inventive, and beautiful solutions.

Additional reporting by Emily Gup.

April 15, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Gifts: Marking Your Territory

futureperfect-crayonrings

It’s always a little tough finding gifts that are foolproof. Unless instructed otherwise, I always try to go the creative route, as I love initiating artistic moments. While at the home goods concept store, Future Perfect, in Williamsburg this past weekend, I stopped in my tracks at these ingenious crayon rings. The chic pyramids come in a playful palette of primaries and can be coordinated with any wardrobe. Doodling on the go just got more fashionable.

graffiti-longchamp

If you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to DIY fashion, check out Wishing Fish’s T-Shirt Graffiti, as it’s under $10 and a perfectly sensible gift for any child (or adult). If you’re aiming for personable luxury, Longchanp offers a blank canvas for their signature Le Pilage bag, though I’d be worried about making a mistake with every mark!

April 7, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Artist Profile: Jo Meesters

jomeesters-furniture-copy

Over the past few months, Pattern Pulp has noticed more and more artists taking the sustainable highroad. If you’re a creative person, the spark’s not going anywhere but recent material and budget restraints have forced designers to reinterpret their concepts and retool their executions. Jo Meesters, a Dutch product designer with an eye for sophistication, is a master at breathing life into used materials. Green Oasis is an initiative that was brought about in an effort to incorporate greenery into public urban spaces. Reworking 34 discarded wooden beams and 16 leftover blankets, another Meesters project entitled, Odds and Ends, is based on the idea of woven rejuvenation. If these prototypes ever go mass, they’d be a seamless fit in Anthropologie’s home goods department.

jomeesters-table-ceramics2

Combining fabrication with jet cutting technology, Meesters’s approach to the traditional tabletop is quite stunning in his collaboration with Marije van der Park entitled, Reshaping Wood. Showcasing contemporary symbols such as airplanes, windmills and the infamous McDonalds gold arches, Ornamental Inheritance is a menagerie of current industrialism.

March 31, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Event: Patternpalooza

housingworks

Though Pattern Pulp typically veers away from gimmicky marketing, the creative efforts made by New York’s Housing Works, shouldn’t go unnoticed. Housing Works raises millions in yearly aid through their high-end thrift stores, selling discounted local merchandise in an effort to combat AIDS and community homelessness. The next time your couch or sweater needs a home, consider calling this wonderful organization, as weekend sales events like Patternpalooza help keep the organizational wheels oiled. Stop by the west village location this weekend for more info…and a cheetah sweater.

March 25, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Food: Perishable Marketing

mandm-raspberry

In another lifetime I’d be designing window displays. Not the corporate-sheik windows that come in a box over from China, but the ad hock masterpieces that merge high-end concepts with low budget materials. One of the cheapest tools designers can use to showcase their ideas is perishable foods. A mass market example of this can be found in M&M Premiums latest advertising efforts, where monochromatic sculptures reveal the latest flavors. Combining everyday materials for a more permanent display, Anthropologie sews bread loaves together with red shoe string to convey fashionable kitchenware in their Fifth Ave location.

anthropologie-bread-display1

Continuing with the bread theme, Anthropologie creates a splash of texture contrasts, spiraling doughy slices against the back wall. The resulting sun motifs are as clever as they are creative. Even Simon Doonan, Barney’s famed Window Dresser agrees to using perishable foods, vowing that this trick of the trade is as crucial as it is humorous in his book entitled, Confessions of a Window Dresser.

March 25, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Follow-up: Bargain Basement Wallpaper Solutions

followup-nytimes-wallpaper

We recently featured a few ideas on how to decorate your walls on a budget. If you’re looking for more inexpensive ways to brighten up your home, The New York Times recently challenged five interior designers to renovate and refresh the rooms of recently unemployed people on a budget of just $300. Click here to check it out!

March 16, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik