If you’re a maker just starting out your journey in sustainability, it can be overwhelming to figure out how to get started. From understanding the types of materials to utilize, learning what steps will help reduce waste and emissions, and finding inspiring new ways to explore creativity that don’t have a negative environmental impact. The good news is there are plenty of resources available for DIYers looking for ways to make their projects more sustainable – from simple switches you can make today, big-picture ideas for longterm change, or exciting new ways makers are helping push sustainability into the future. In these blog posts we’ll look at tips tricks and ideas specifically tailored towards diyers and makers on the road to creating projects with greater eco consciousness so that not only will you create something beautiful but also respect its impact on our planet!
Product designer Marel Karhof coupled an antique sock-knitting machine to a windmill. She collects the knitted material at regular intervals, and its length thus reflects the “windiness” of the period over which it was produced. The N+1 step, it seems to me, is to somehow make the amount of wind effect the scarf’s color over time. Perhaps by adding one of these CMYK thread color-matching machines to the mix? [via CRAFT]
Dr. BP Agrawal has won the $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability, and for good reason! He’s innovated a new rainwater harvesting system for communities in India: Aakash Ganga (AG) is one of the signature innovations that Dr. BP Agrawal developed under Sustainable Innovations (SI), a non-profit organization. SI harvests innovations in systems, technologies and entrepreneurship […]
“Maker Mig” sent us news of this little act of maker-y kindness, done in support of GOOD magazine’s Neighbor Day. We asked, if people did anything in support of this event, to let us know, so Miguel let us know of this trashcan repair: A couple of months ago, my neighbor was upset that the […]
Portland, OR company Grove makes these customizable (upload your artwork) engraved iPhone cases from bamboo. [Thanks, Michael Mandiberg!] Commenter Chris notes that the artful designs are laser-etched, but do you think they CNC mill the bamboo into the shape of the iPhone?
In honor of Earth Day last Friday, Whorange included a neat little compilation of “vandalized” vintage plates. The plates in question have been augmented with images from Star Wars, choice descriptors/cuss words, and pinups. These are step beyond the layperson’s way to salvage chipped and cracked plates that we’ve previously shown you how to do.
Like ya do. Pictures above come from this Japanese page, and here’s an English-language tutorial from Amanda of Creative Blythe. [via Recyclart]
That’s perhaps a bit unfair, as the PET from which designocrat Marcel Wanders’ prototype “Sparkle” chair is made may well come at least partly from recycled sources, for all I know. What I should say, really, is that the chair suggests direct recycling without actually doing so. It looks like it’s made from actual bottle parts, even though it isn’t. Which is a rather strange kind of eco-marketing, IMHO. Still, I like it as a purely aesthetic object. Is it because I’ve been programmed to desire bottled water, and thus respond favorably to an object that mimics its form even in a totally irrational way?
