An Eco friendly Store: We Love Priscilla Woolworth

Priscilla Woolworth refers to herself as a curator, finding special things and interesting information.  Her constant research of eco- themed living brought about her vision for a store where she shares her great selection of findings.  As she learns to turn her home into a chemical free, non toxic, energy and water saving, healthier place to live, she hopes to also inspire others to feel pride in knowing they can buy and contribute towards making our world a better place for our children.

Her store features her "finds" as well as her own designs, such as the Valentina Composter.

"It really is satisfying to make your own compost using your very own kitchen and yard waste. It's the ultimate in recycling and such an easy way to reduce waste going to landfills. When I think that the rotten bananas, lettuce or tomatoes, don't need to be thrown out in the regular trash bin but can be turned instead into very useful, nutrient rich soil conditioner, to replenish the depleted soil in my garden, is phenomenal.

DID YOU KNOW... that each individual effort helps, and that if we all started composting, we could help prevent global warming by reducing emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas which gets produced when organic waste decomposes when it's been buried in landfills."

I love this Cotton Cloth Bea Bag Handmade in Nepal.  It is made by a women's cooperative in the remote mountain villages of Tipling, Sherhung and Lapa in Nepal.  Sturdy and bright, sure to make you feel good, just holding it. Not just a great utilitarian product, it also provides Humanitarian aid through Fair Trade.

This Soft Black Blanket is handmade in Los Angeles and "embodies ease, relaxation, coziness and comfort.

If none of those things grabbed you check out her website and blog for more great finds including a recipe for Oven Roasted Kale. I am sure you will find something to inspire or delight you.

Our New Video "Modernism & Glamour - Filmed in Montecito, California"

Please Start the Video Let it play for 10 seconds then start over, it will stream much smoother.

Modernism & Glamour from John Maienza & Gregg Wilson on Vimeo.
This is our new Video "Modernism & Glamour" This video shows the result of our extensive rebuild / renovation of  a mid century, Hollywood Regency Style Estate, originally designed by the famed designer John Elgin Woof who's  career spanned five decades from the  1930's -1970's. Woolf's client list was a virtual who's who of Hollywood. Here's a great link to an interesting article written by Vanity Fair editor at large Matt Tyrnauer "Glamour Begins at Home" written about Woolf, his work and his unique legacy.

See also:
Previous Post : Fashion and Glamour, "Valentino the Last Emperor"

Video Music:
Zero 7 - Song: Polaris
From the Album "Simple Things" released June 12, 2001
No copyright infringement is intended and Music can be purchased here on iTunes.

Eco Luxury & Eco- Conscious Design Finds

Tonecoon Indoor /Outdoor Water Hyacinth Lounge By Pie at Vivavi

Rock Floor Sculpture at Cantoni

Sea Anemone Light Box by Jefdesigns

 Bamboo Easy Lounge by Bannavis Andrew Sribyatta for Pie at Vivadi

Beata Light at Pinch Design

Volcano Lightning Video: Hawaii Video and Photos from Iceland

Photograph by Marco Fulle, Barcroft/Fame Pictures  - Volcano Lightning in Iceland

Photograph by Marco Fulle, Barcroft/Fame Pictures - Volcano Lightning in Iceland


Check Out National Geographic Daily News for amazing photos of Volcano Lighting in Iceland. 

iPad & Cat.. If you're a Cat Lover You will love the Cat and iPad

Mao Mao

When I get my new iPad 3G 64g that I got for my birthday (thank you Gregg) Mao Mao our Abyssinian cat who is smart and active may have to get her own Apple toy! Here she is playing with a toy chimp given to her by Jane Goodall when she came to a benefit dinner at our home for the Jane Goodall Institute!

Recycled Plastic Self Suffecient Island the size of Hawaii

Netherlands based firm, Whim Architects are planning to turn existing plastic waste that is floating in our ocean and turn it into a Recycled Island the size of Hawaii.  This plan proposes to clean our oceans from plastic waste, create new land and set an example of how to create a new sustainable habitat.  A grant for the project was issued in January 2010 by the Netherlands Architectural Fund.  The location will be in the North Pacific Gyre, NE of Hawaii, where the largest concentration of plastic waste has been discovered.  Due to it's floating character, the position could eventually be altered.

Habitants will live in plastic homes and work on farms or grow seaweed.  The island will be completely self-sufficient, producing its own food and energy and managing waste.

"By recycling the plastic waste into a construction material for new islands, it will have new econimic value."  This will stimulate gathering plastic from the oceans and create new land, thus cleaning our oceans.

 

Energy will be powered by solar power and bio wave technology by Bio Power Systems.

Seaweed will be farmed right offshore to be used for food, fertilizer, biofuel, medicine and Co2 absorption.

I wish I'd thought of this.  Brilliant.

Post Author
Tamara Wallop for Globally Gorgeous

Eco Luxury Underground Carbon Zero Home

 Manchester United Soccer star, Gary Neville is working closely with Make Architects in the design of a Carbon Zero flower-shaped underground home.  The 8,000 square foot home includes four bedrooms, an underground swimming pool, gym and concealed garage.  The flower-shaped layout with "petals" hosting areas to eat, relax, entertain, work and play, all around a central kitchen.  Built into the hillside near the clients current home in Bradshaw, Bolton,  it "enables the surrounding moorland to seamlessly flow across the roof", according to the design team at Make Architects.  It will include a wind turbine, solar panels and ground source heating. The high cost at 8 million dollars will be an impactful venture with high eco-standards.  Neville is heavily involved in the design process and is passionate about preserving the natural beauty of the area.  

"We have designed a beautiful and functional family home that consumes less energy than it uses, the positioning and orientation of the property have been carefully thought about, a ground source heat pump will provide the heating and photovoltaic panels and a wind turbine will generate on site renewable energy."

The structure has already been selected as an exemplary project within the Government’s ‘Planning Performance Agreements for Renewable and Low Carbon Energy Schemes’, and it is anticipated to be so advanced that the government is considering using the scheme as a benchmark for all future zero-carbon developments.

Hundreds of neighbors turned out to oppose the windturbine due to the noise they fear it will create.  Neville's planner assures it to be fact that people will hear nothing and the turbine would serve 14 houses.

photos courtesy Inhabitat

The home has been compared to the Tele-tubby House, although it shares similar characteristics, Make Architects claim it is inspired by Skara Brae, a neolithic underground settlement in Orkney. (Below)

See our current project slated for LEED Platinum Certification, including solar panels, Net Zero Energy consumption, a living green roof and sustainable building supplies.

Vintage Art from the South Pacific: Paul Jacoulet's Woodblock Prints

John and I had purchased our first home in Hawaii, on Royal Circle in 2004.  Shortly after we happened to be at an art fair in Honolulu when we came upon a lone woodblock print by Paul Jacoulet sitting on the floor of a vendors stall.  It spoke to both of us from its color and composition, and by the time we were leaving the fair, we decided we had to have it.  Turns out that a well known collector of art in Honolulu was also negotiating a deal on the same piece, at that very moment, so we had to act quickly.   We told the sellers, a local Hawaiian family, that the piece would never leave the islands, that it would remain in the Pacific as long as we owned it and that clenched the deal for them.  Today, it hangs in our home, its colors as radiant as they were when it was new, and is one of the most stunning pieces we own...it also matches our home in vintage and color!

 Above is an image of the piece we own.  A young boy from the East Carolinian island of Ponape and dates from 1930.   The vibrancy of this piece is as bold today as it was 80 years ago when it was painted.  We are lucky to have found it and as it is titled 'The call of the Sea', it called out to us!

Paul Jacoulet was a French born artist, (1902-1960) is little known in this day and age, but who was a remarkable portraitist during his time.  He was the son of the French Ambassador to Japan, and was raised in Japan since childhood, and studied art as a young native born Japanese boy would have.  His immersion into Japanese life as a young man, led him to live out World War II in a Japanese countryside as a farmer, rather than return to Europe or move elsewhere in the west.  He was a childhood friend of Isamu Noguchi, the internationally acclaimed artist, having been taught english by Noguchi's mother.  He did work for the US Government at the request of General Douglas MacArthur, but more intriguingly he became a part of MacArthur's own art collection, as well as a part of Greta Garbo's and Queen Elizabeth also has a large collection of his work.  His work has been shown in leading museums around the world for decades.

This piece, from the Marianas islands shows a native islander in an amazingly detailed costume color national dress.  Note the detail on the woven mat.

Jacoulet is also recognized as one of the few western artists to have mastered the art of woodblock printing sufficiently to be recognized as a sensei (master) in Japan.  He mastered the traditional ukiyo-e style of woodblock printing as well as enhancing those techniques into his own style.  His remarkable career spanned nearly 40 years, and his subject matter, the peoples of the asian world in traditional costume in everyday poses and circumstances.  He traveled widely throughout the sparsely populated Pacific in the 20s. 30s, and 40s, often capturing local islanders and costume in vibrant colors as only a multi-process woodblock print can.  Some of the Pacific Island nations have used Jacoulet's portraits to reconstruct the imagery of their native costumes from the period, as his is the only record of such.    

Jacoulet, incidentally, was a very 'out' gay man, in a time when it was neither popular nor acceptable.  He would frequently wear kimonos and kabuki makeup while at home or while entertaining dignitaries, collectors and friends.  He was barred from entering the US in his lifetime due to his flamboyance.  Times have changed, but one thing is clear, Jacoulet's genius of color and woodblock withstands the test of time!

2010 Heal the Ocean Event..Planning is Underway!

We are very excited to announce that we have been asked to Chair the 2010 Heal the Ocean Event Committee!  This years event will be held at the Coral Casino on October 9, 2010.  We have been brainstorming and have some exciting ideas and look forward to seeing all of you there!  We will keep you posted as to when tickets for this popular event will go on sale. 

Heal the Ocean in Santa Barbara is committed to ending ocean pollution by relying on the premise of studying the problems of leaking sewer pipes, offshore sewage discharge and leaking coastal landfills or septic systems and then recommending practical solutions instead of lobbying the government for action.  When the public is presented with answers to the problems and the costs are understood, they are more eager to move forward with the cleanup and more willing to pay the price. 

We are very excited to work with their team to put on a fundraiser that will help Heal the Ocean in our community!

Executive director, Hillary Hauser, has been a writer/ journalist/news reporter since 1968 with published books about sea and underwater exploration and many magazine articles published in many publications including National Geographic, Surfers Journal, Geo and Islands.

The Debut of Solar Impulse a Solar Powered Plane!

"In a world depending on fossil energies, the Solar Impulse project is a paradox, almost a provocation: it aims to have an airplane take off and fly autonomously, day and night, propelled uniquely by solar energy, right round the world without fuel or pollution. An unachievable goal without pushing back the current technological limits in all fields..." 

Everything went perfectly as the Solar Impulse made it debut in the clouds this morning after seven years of hard work and planning.  The solar-powered plane powered by 12,000 solar cells flew for 87 minutes at an altitude of over 4,000 feet. It performed test maneuvers, taking off and landing.  The Solar Impulse is made out of carbon fiber concentrate and looks like a glider with a wingspan of 60 meters and is the largest and lightest plane ever to take flight.  

Swiss psychiatrist, Bertrand Piccard (below) was the first aeronaut to do a non stop flight around the world in a balloon.  He will soon be attempting the non stop flight around the world in a solar powered plane he helped design with co-founder Andre Borschberg, fighter pilot, engineer and graduate in management science.

“This first mission was the most risky phase of the entire project,” Piccard said.  “Eighty-seven minutes of intense emotion after seven years of research, testing and perseverance. Never has an airplane as large and light ever flown before!”

Here is what test pilot Marcus Scherdel had to say about the test flight in an interview with Martin Reichlin

Markus, you just completed the very first flight with the Solar Impulse. I suspect you feel like an Olympic champion now?
Well, I never was an Olympic champions yet. But I think the feeling is quite similar.

Could you enjoy this feeling already during the flight?
The first 20 minutes I had very little time for anything else than to do my job. After that I had gained enough altitude to have a look out of the window during my first turns and to enjoy the amazing panorama of the Alps.

Speaking of looking out the window: You were piloting something like an "aeronautic convertible" today as you had no shell around the cockpit. Wasn’t it pretty cold up there?
Not at all. I was wearing my special underwear and a windproof overall. In addition to that I got shoes and gloves with built-in heating. You see, we thought of everything.

But what about insects hitting your face as you had no windshield?
There were none. It’s still too cold for flies.

Probably the most critical part of the flight was the landing. Was it difficult for you?
Actually no. At that time I had already learned a lot about the plane and knew everything about its behavior I needed to know.

And how did it behave?
So far it was very well-tempered. But I have to say that today we were flying very slow – at one point the ground speed had dropped to 12 knots per hour (22 km/h) - and we never intended test the critical parameters of the plane. This will be one of the goals in the upcoming flights.

If you feel passionate about the program, join the challenge and experience it from the inside. Become an Angel Ambassador or Adviser.

See Also: The Cool Website for Solar Impuse
See Also: EAA website

An Eco Luxury, Net Zero & LEED Platinum Home Under Construction in Montecito, CA

Here is an update on the Eco Luxury House we are building at Butterfly Beach in Montecito, Ca. We collaborated with our friend and colleague Michelle Kaufman on the design of this home. Early on in the process we had intended this house to be a modular or prefab home because at that time we had the belief that this was the most proactive way for us to be as green as possible utilizing Michelle's five eco principles . This was not necessarily the case, and in the end we are actually building a custom home built on site that is as green or greener than our original prefab plan. In fact we are right on track to be the first LEED For Homes PLATINUM CERTIFIED home in Montecito and also hope to achieve and annual Net Zero Energy Equalibrium.  I know that Michelle is thrilled that we are determined to figure out how to make the most sustainable project as is possible now. It is the positive result of what turned into a somewhat unfortunate experience.

There is a sad tale with a happy ending that took us in our current direction. As many people know Michelle Kaufmann's company MKD Homes Closed it's doors in June of 2009.  We were slated to begin the prefabrication process of the original design for this house just as the factory and Michelle Kaufmann closed theirs doors. This was a terrible consequence of the poor economy last year. After we stopped reeling from this unfortunate news, we reorganized our process (at a cost of 4 months and substantial redesign expenditures) and became even more determined to build a sustainable home. In the end, we are building a very high end, high quality, custom, sustainable home. We are happy that Michelle reorganized is practicing architecture and design is still a champion of sustainable and even eco luxury design. Here's the new Michelle Kaufmann Studio.  Also, MKD Homes are now offered by  MKdesigns by blu homes which we think is fantastic that all of Michelle's intellectual collateral will continue on.  We wish Michelle and blu homes smooth sailing ahead!

Here's a Link to Our "Net Zero' Post
Here's a Link to Michelle Kaufmann's Blog Post aout this Eco Luxury House
See Also The New York Time: The Rise of 'Green' Modular Homes by Francesca Lyman

Easter Brunch Try a Little Bunny Food with Eggs: Baked Eggs with Spinach

This recipe....is one of those easy but sophisticated ones that can serve as a late morning breakfast, or brunch staple....baked eggs and spinach.

First, you blanch some spinach, dropping in boiling water for 30 seconds to a minute, and then lining a lightly greased oven safe bowl with about a half a cup of the spinach.

Break two eggs over the top of the spinach, and pop in the oven at 375 degrees (200 C) +/-, for about 15-20 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked to your liking.

The result is an almost quiche like consistency, that is tasty and there are no carbs.....it is also something that can be served at a table in the garden or at the kitchen counter, where traditional egg dishes can get cold quickly or are impractical....really simple and simply delicious!  Thanks again to Donna Hay!