Dry Grass
Bamboo Fiber Soaks It Up
Sunday, December 30, 2007
The latest arrival in trendy bathrooms is bamboo. Not on the floors or in cabinets, but in the towels.
Pure Fiber’s 100% bamboo towels are plush and soft. But besides the softness and silkiness of cashmere, bamboo yarn gives you the absorbency of fine cotton. Even better, bamboo yarns are more environmentally friendly than cotton, which accounts for a quarter of all crop pesticide use worldwide. Bamboo fabric requires less dye than cotton, modal or viscose, and the color is much more vivid.
And when you’re ready for new towels, the old ones are biodegradable. As a natural cellulose fiber, bamboo can be 100% biodegraded in soil by microorganism and sunshine.
Pure Fiber’s towels come in a range of colors like midnight blue, coastal blue, zesty orange, sunny yellow and, of course, white and natural. A set of bathtowels retails for $42.
Locally, Bambu Batu stocks bamboo towels and other bamboo items.
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Rest Easy
Sheets That Are Soft On You -- And The Environment
Monday, June 18, 2007
You can sleep peacefully in Coyuchi linens knowing that you’re nestled in organically grown cotton. The Point Reyes Station company produces a full line of luxurious and comfortable cotton bed linens, throws, blankets, baby bedding, towels and robes.
We particularly love the damask and sateen sheets that get softer with each washing. And you’re not limited to white and cream anymore: you can now punch up the color and still stay organic. The wisteria jacquard pattern comes in lavender, nearly the exact color of the flowers themselves. Complete the ensemble with a slightly darker lavender blanket, and add crisp contrast with white sateen lavender marrow stitched cases, flat sheets and shams. You’re stylish and safe.
Coyuchi is fussy about their cotton: they pay premium prices to small-scale growers for their organic cotton fiber to encourage practices that protect not only the environment, but the farmers, their families, and their communities from exposure to toxic agricultural chemicals. Cotton uses 25% of the world’s insecticides. Now, wouldn’t you rather slip into organic cotton sheets?
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Out of Africa
Traditional Textiles from Tanzania
Friday, March 30, 2007
Put a little of the savannah on your sofa with pillows from Tanzanian charity Haba Na Haba. The textiles are hand-crafted treasures, made from sustainable resources native to Tanzania.
Products are primarily manufactured by small, women-owned businesses that provide on-the-job training to at-risk young adults. The organization donates 10% of profits to Tanzanian non-profit agencies that provide educational opportunities to young Tanzanian women and youth, many orphaned by AIDS.
Haba Na Haba’s current featured artist, Flotea Massawe started her business literally from scratch—begging merchants for scraps of fabric so that she could sew. She hired homeless orphaned teens and trained them in manufacturing skills. Now, Flotea’s textile workshop, based in Dar es Salaam, produces high quality home furnishings and clothing sold internationally. Her pillow designs draw on patterns found in nature throughout Tanzania. Another of Haba Na Haba’s offerings is a line of cushion covers made from handwoven Kuba ceremonial cloth. Tablecloths and runners round out the selection.
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The Final Throws
Enjoy End-of-Winter Reductions on Cashmere Blankets
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Today is the first official day of spring. So it’s exactly the time to be thinking ahead to winter! Yes, there are good deals to be had on woolies and upscale Italian linen house Frette is no exception. Their finely woven cashmere and silk throws are 20% off until March 31. The fringed blankets are available in wonderfully subtle colors like ivory, light blue and tea rose. Cuddling up with your blankie has never been quite so luxurious!
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On a Roll
Hanging With the New Wallpapers
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Every couple of years, you hear the prediction (or is it a threat?): “Wallpaper is coming back.” It hasn’t quite happened yet, but at least one design studio is working to make consumers look twice at wallpaper.
Trove uses photographs to create wallpaper the likes of which you’ve never seen – it looks more like wall painting than paper. Images of flowers, grasses, petals and other themes from nature are repeated in an all-over pattern using color shifts that at times lend an other-worldly quality to the designs. Use them liberally or make a statement with an accent wall.
Trove offers not only custom colors and color matching for their existing range, but will also design a completely custom paper for special projects.
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