Wall-e

Wow! I can't believe this movie has been out for months and I just recently saw it for the first time. I have been pretty busy with moving, coordinating a big Pepsi event, and re-designing scrap for Terracycle, among other scrappy things.

Wall-e had such an important message with a great delivery. Well, anything in cartoon form gets my attention. This one was particularly well done. Wall-e is the last robot on Earth who's programmed to clean up garbage by compacting and stacking it.

The movie is sending a message about changing the way we live and also giving us hope that we can change. All of the humans were sent to space while robots cleaned the Earth. The humans were huge and floated around all day on hovers and never had to walk. They drank their food. They communicated with the person sitting next to them via the screen right in front of their face.

I won't give away the ending, but will say that what they craved was plant life, swimming, dancing.... earth. All of the things you can't get from a hovercraft or blended drink shake.

boxes... and more boxes

I recently moved my design studio and even though the new place is only 3 blocks from the old, I still had to pack up every single scrap material in the place. If you've ever moved, you know the importance of boxes.... and more boxes. I certainly do - because it's how I keep all of my scrap materials organized.

If you've ever gone to the grocery store on recycling day you can find bales of boxes stacked like a tree fort (a replayground of sorts?). Help get a second use out of those boxes. It's just silly to buy new ones, when so many used ones exist.

I do understand that moving ranks high as one of the most stressful life events. So if you're running out of time for a full-on box recollection, the next best thing is to buy them used - like these from usedcardboardboxes.com.

fun with Pepsi

RePlayGround had a table at a Pepsi event recently and we had the best time showing everyone there how to upcycle Pepsi items into new, usable products.

We made soda bottle soap dishes and picture frames, cereal box wallets, Pepsi cup angels, and a whole lot more.

It just made my day when this email came through the inbox:

"We just wanted to say THANK YOU to you folks over at RePlayGround! It was our favorite tent at the Pepsi Festival and we are using all of the wonderful "repurposed" creations we made! We wanted to share these awesome photos of your staff as well. Wishing we lived closer so that we could join your group...

Future RePlayGround Interns???
Annie, Holly, Hattie and Tess"

Posted below are some photos that were sent from the event.







Happy recycling!

pop up funnel

Why would anyone buy a funnel when they can make one with a few simple cuts?

Some friends were recently at my design studio helping me cut up soda bottles. We're using the bottoms of the bottles to make soap dishes, the centers of the bottles will become picture frames, so the top portion was the only part that made it to the recycling bin. Then a friend held up the top part and simply stated "funnel".

Of course!

The Design Junkie on The G Word

Check out my eco-smackdown on You Tube. In this G Word episode on Planet Green, I face off in a car junkyard against design friend Evette Rios. We transform car parts into new furniture. Isn't it amazing what you can do with junk when you really put your mind to it?

Urban Gardening

If you're in the New York City area and you haven't been to PS 1 yet this summer, well go! The courtyard area has a really great urban gardening exhibit with vegetables planted in large industrial scrap tubes. The photo up there shows someone harvesting yummy cherry tomatoes. It's so fun to see a garden mixed with the urban skyscraper architecture in the background. More of New York City should look like that.

Reduce - Repackage

I was shoe shopping with a friend earlier this week and while the new shoes are cool, the shoebox is even cooler! This box from the company BC has handles attached so the box becomes the bag. No need for an extra shopping bag when carries these puppies out the door. What a smart design with a simple adjustment to the old classic. How often do you fall in love with a shoebox at first site?