Room by Room Wrap Up

After an intense 6 week eco-design bootcamp, Sami just wrapped up Room by Room - the healthy home make-over show with inner city teens!

Each student had a $100 budget to make over their rooms to be healthy and beautiful in an affordable way.

Check out below a clip from some of the last day's silliness and some of the pics from the final presentations.

Getting set up for final presentations! Aileen and Melvin's!

Jaymin and Donnie's Goods just before final presentations!

Room by Room finale!

Doing some filming for the intro of the show!

As a Timberland EarthKeeper Hero, Sami has been blogging about her experiences here! Stay tuned for video clips from the show!

'Design To Go' opens tonight!!

And no, James and I aren't there, but Brit will be, along with Erika and other Grain friends like Jamie of Iacoli McAllister and JOIN. It should be a packed event! We are really excited and humbled to be showing with this group.

Above and below are the photos that have already popped up on Cool Hunting and Flavorwire. Read more about 'Design To Go' on Core77 and T Magazine.

Below are our Cheri necklaces next to Kiel Mead's birdie light.

Above are our Cheri necklaces again!

New designs in the Grain shop!

If you haven't been to the Grain shop in a while, it is worth a visit. We added two new pieces today: Cheri and Zero Waste.

Both of these designs are making their debut in the American Design Club section of the 'Design To Go' pop-up shop in New York tonight. Both will be available for purchase there until September 26th. If you aren't in New York, you can purchase from Grain shop directly. As with all our designs, wholesale/trade prices are available along with custom orders by emailing us directly here.

Thanks to all who have supported the shop thus far! Look forward to more soon!

Grain at 'Design To Go' in New York!

We are thrilled to have been selected to show a couple of pieces at the 'Design To Go' pop-up shop organized by AREAWARE opening this Tuesday August 18th at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York (above image is of the space). We will be in the American Design Club section of the shop with two new designs: a bag called Zero Waste designed by e.carmichael (of Model Citizens NYC) for Grain and a necklace called Cheri (see below for images and descriptions of designs).

Other designers to be included in the American Design Club section are: Kiel Mead, Annie Lenon, redstr/collective, Lindsey Adelman, Emily Rothschild, Susan Clark, Rich, Brilliant, Willing and more.

If you are in New York, 'Design To Go' will be open through September 26th at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, 641 Eighth Avenue (@41st Street). To order either of the below designs from Grain directly email me here.

Added 08/17/09: Don't forget to RSVP if you attending the opening on August 18th (7:00 pm - 10:00 pm) at rsvp@areaware.com.

Zero Waste (above and below four images) is an everyday city bag made from a single sheet of #2 plastic. Its pattern allows for zero cutting waste in manufacturing. Zero Waste can be used as a travel log, allowing you to record thoughts, inspirations and messages directly on the bag. Light weight, durable and machine washable, each bag includes a non-toxic marker that can be used to personalize Zero Waste with doodles, sketches and notes.

Cheri (above and below images) is a statement of sentiment. Each plaque is an individual note of memorial or remembrance. Originally created to celebrate loss, worn as adornments these plaques have the ability to celebrate life. Sentiment changes from person to person, by the type of chain, and how they are positioned.

Model Citizens NYC is growing...

Our friends over at Model Citizens NYC have some exciting news: They are offering an independent fashion exhibition to their roster this September! It will be held at Exit Art again - only this time it will be the whole upstairs (7,000 sq ft) space! The plan is to have their second annual Design Week event (during ICFF 2010) in the upstairs space as well. See images from last years Design Week event here and here.

Read more about Model Citizens NYC on their updated website here or on Design Glut here.

JOIN: Design Seattle on Core77!

This morning Lisa Smith, designer, educator, writer and co-founder of Object Design League, posted a rich article on the recent design club movement bubbling up in the US. The article highlights the efforts of our very own JOIN: Design Seattle, as well as the America Design Club based in New York and Object Design League in Chicago.

The article goes beyond just identifying this movement, and begins to investigate the forces behind its development, including the lack of federal support for up-and-coming designers like that which is available in most of Europe.

Lisa Smith writes in her closing paragraph:

"Though groups have always organized to promote ideas they believe in and young people have always collaborated to produce experimental work, the significance of AmDC, JOIN and ODL is that rather than collaborating, they aspire to help young, independent and struggling American designers by creating durable relationships and creative opportunities. In their optimism for self-organization and their outwards engagement, these clubs are part of a larger Obama-inspired zeitgeist that prioritizes restructuring over coping, and could very well bring about significant change in the American design scene."

Check out the inspiring and optimistic article on Core77 here.

The following photos are: JOIN's recent Ctrl+Alt+Design exhibition, logos of the American Design Club, JOIN: Design Seattle and Object Design League, the Brite Collective lighting workshop and results, and the commemorative pillow from Ctrl+Alt+Design.

Ty at Perch in San Francisco!

We shipped off a box full of Ty's to Perch in the Glen Park neighborhood of San Francisco this morning! Perch will be our first retailer in San Francisco (first in California, actually) so we are super excited. Perch is "focused on an eclectic mix of modern and vintage products," which actually includes one other Bainbridge Island artist, Susan Najarian.

If you are in San Francisco, Perch is on Chenery Street between Castro and Diamond. Otherwise, you can visit their website here.

Blu Homes Featured on NPR!

Our friends at Blu Homes were featured this morning on the NPR Marketplace Morning Report on sustainability. The last year has seen the diappearance of several established prefab home companies, yet Blu is continuing to grow despite the struggling economy thanks to their unique approach. Part of their equation is a design sensitive process that is more Ikea than Armani.

"...the recession isn't killing prefab, it's finally making it cost competitive." - Maura McCarthy

Read or listen to the full article.