Flat-Pack: Cafe America

Our new chair, Cafe America, which we are showing at Model Citizens in New York May 16-18, was designed to compress for flat-pack shipping. This improves shipping efficiency and saves on packing materials and costs. We can actually ship two in one box so I suggest buying a pair! Above is James demonstrating the assembly process. All that is needed is a few minutes and an allen wrench. 

Getting ready for Model Citizens...

We're in New York getting ready for Model Citizens (which opens Saturday May 16th) and loving all the press going around. Check some of it out here:

Design Glut interviews Erika Carmichael and Mark Goetz about the inspiration behind Model Citizens and shows our Ty Recyclable Shower Curtain.

Cool Hunting gives a preview of the exhibition and shows our Cafe America chair (pictured above).

Core77 gives its preview of the exhibition, including a list of all the designers, and also shows our Cafe America chair.

Hope to see you all at the show May 16-18th, 475 10th Avenue at 36th Street!

Grain in New York for Design Week

Reminder: If you are in New York for Design Week, come check out our newest work at Model Citizens!

Model Citizens  

Exit Underground 

475 10th Avenue (@ 36th Street) 

New York, NY 10018

May 16 - 18, 2009 11:00am to 6:00pm 
Cocktail Reception May 16 5:00pm to 7:00pm 

We will be showing our Ty Recyclable Shower Curtain and our Café America chair (pictured above) along with a few other surprises. Model Citizens is a newly formed organization committed to connecting an international community of independent designers. We are excited to be showing with old friends Nathan Thomas, Niels Cosman and Audra Wolowiec of AND Department of Mineral Science, and

e. carmichael, as well as with new Seattle friends iacoli & mcallister.

Hope to see you in New York!

Grain in the Bainbridge Review

Thanks to Dennis Anstine, Editor of the Bainbridge Review, for the nice article on Grain today! Check it out here. Photo of us with our Ty Recyclable Shower Curtain by Brad Camp. 

Heroes and Pilots: Vote Here

Our very own Sami Nerenberg is set to take off on her pilot eco-home makeover show, Room by Room! After Timberland has chosen her as an EarthKeeper Hero of 2009, this summer, 10 inner-city teens will compete in six weeks of eco-design bootcamp to be the best eco-designer and win their very own healthy home make-over!

Within the home one can find environmental burdens such as lead paint, mold, pests, and toxic cleaning products under the sink that can lead to things like learning disabilities, asthma, and even cancer. These burdens fall hardest on low-income often minority communities. It's her goal to share ways to make healthy, beautiful and affordable changes that we can all do during this time of uncertainty and rebuilding.

With the Majora Carter Group as her media consultant, Timberland as her publicity outlet, RISD and Brown University as her cohorts, this project is set to take off!  But she needs your help!

Vote for her idea on ideablob here so she can win $10,000 to pilot the show!!!

Brick by brick, block by block, Room by Room, together we can help to restore and redesign this nation!! Design for America!

Timberland's EarthKeeper Hero!!

Good News! I've been recruited by Timberland as an Earthkeeper Hero for 2009!  What does this mean?  Well, Timberland has partnered with a social network called Changents.com to develop the Earthkeeper Heroes program.  Together, they are "talent-scouting" around the world for six high-potential green agents of change from Generation Y and providing a promotional/consumer engagement engine to "break" these individuals onto the global environmental scene.  I am one of the six! 

The objective is for Timberland to position its Earthkeeper brand and ethos as a vehicle that helps individuals become the catalysts of environmental change around the world.  For me this means more horsepower to drive exposure for my work in Design for Social Entrepreneurship at RISD and my upcoming summer project! 

Please check out my story area on Changents and if you care to stay updated on my adventures, "back" me! 

Ty at Did You Know? in Rhode Island...

If you live in Rhode Island, you will be able to check out our Ty Recyclable Shower Curtain at the Did You Know? store in the next few weeks. They specialize in "products that sustain you, and the planet too" and have locations in both Wakefield and East Greenwich. Yeah Rhode Island!

Cafe America on Core77!!

We were happily surprised to find our new chair, Cafe America, on Core77 this morning!! The chair, which is being finished as I type, will be shown at Design Within Reach Seattle tommorow as part of the M+D+F exhibition. We are also taking it with us to New York next week along with our Ty Recyclable Shower Curtain and our Appropriated Series Bench for Model Citizens NYC 2009. We just figured out pricing, so I hope to get Cafe America up for sale in our Grain shop soon!

In the meantime, here is a little more info on Cafe America:

Café America is a surprisingly comfortable indoor/outdoor chair. Taking inspiration from ubiquitous chain-link fencing, it recontextualizes the unsung material. A unique cushioning effect is created by the lightly tensioned chain-link seat and back. Café America is made of recycled chain-link whenever possible and flat-packs for efficient shipping and storage. 

Materials: 

Recycled galvanized steel chain-link, with stainless steel rod and fasteners. Color powder coating available.

Environmental / Social: 

Recycled Content, Environmentally Preferable Finish, Handmade in the U.S., Flat-Packs for Shipment, High Durability, Recyclable

Origin: 

Hand made in the Pacific Northwest, U.S.

> grain

> grain shop

Ty available at eConscious Market!

Our Ty Recyclable Shower Curtain is now available for purchase at eConscious Market!

eConscious Market is a "for-benefit" online shop based in Boulder, Colorado. They sell "the finest ecologically and socially responsible products available and donate up to 10% of every purchase to the exceptional non-profit organizations listed on (their) website".

We are really proud to have been selected as a new vendor!

Reminder: DWR Seattle M+D+F Exhibition Thursday May 7th

Come see Grain's latest chair, Cafe America, at Design Within Reach Seattle's M+D+F Exhibition along with the work of 7 other local designers this Thursday May 7th, 6:00-8:00 pm at Design Within Reach Seattle 1918 First Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101. One night only!

M+D+F 2009 is a juried exhibition of innovative furniture by emerging designers in the Seattle area. Organized by the DWR Seattle Studio and juried by Seth Grizzle and Jonathan Junker, of graypants, and Craig Brooks, Principal of KONTENT PARTNERS, M+D+F provides an opportunity for peer, public and professional recognition for up-and-coming designers and firms. 

> grain

> grain shop

Ty on Interior Design's Design Green blog!

Emily Pilloton, founder of Project H Design, just gave Ty a nice little mention on the Green Design blog for Interior Design magazine. Thanks for the post Emily, and more importantly, for all the great work that YOU do! We are huge fans!

Grain at Supermarket!

We are super excited to be offering our Ty Recyclable Shower Curtain on Supermarket! Supermarket is a "curated collection of awesome design products." Think Etsy only better. We are proud and humbled to be part of this collection of talented designers. 

> grain

Ty photoshoot (take 2)...

See all the photos here. Read more about Ty here. 

> shop

> grain

Grain in NYC for Model Citizens!

We are thrilled to be a part of the Model Citizens exhibition May 16-18th in New York! Model Citizens is a "newly formed organization committed to celebrating and connecting an international community of independent designers." The site of the show is Exit Art (475 Tenth Avenue), a few blocks from the International Contemporary Furniture Fair. We are excited to be showing alongside old friends such as Nathan Thomas and Niels Cosman as well as new Northwest friends such as iacoli & mcallister. The show is open 11:00am to 6:00pm each day, with a cocktail reception 5:00-7:00pm on the 16th. Hope to see you in New York!

> grain

Ty photoshoot...

We tried to give Ty a proper photoshoot the other day. We were determined to fight wind and fading sun but results were poor at best. Hope to get out there again this weekend for a re-shoot. In the meantime, here is our Ty Recyclable Shower Curtain on a windy Northwest beach outing. 

> shop

> grain

RI's Environmental Justice

A quick update from RI's Environmental Justice illustrated book. Bee has done a phenomenal job of bringing the story of the Centredale Manor Site to life and we're looking to go to print by the end of May! Here's our team including Ally Waters and Alison Cohen, two Brown Environmental Studies students who have been consultants on the project and teach the middle school class this book is for! 

Stay tuned for the final version!

Grain at Design Within Reach's M+D+F Exhibition!

We just found out that our new chair, Cafe America (designed by James) was selected to be shown at the DWR Presents: M+D+F 2009 exhibition in Seattle on May 7th! The above image is of an early prototype of the chair which uses chain-link fence as its main structure. We are so lucky to be working with the amazing 12th Avenune Iron custom forging and fabrication shop on the final piece. We are hoping to engineer it for flat-pack shipping as well as re-use old chain-link. Very exciting!

Read about our work in the DWR Presents: M+D+F 2008 exhibition here and here where we won the Green Award. 

> grain

Ty at Greenward

We are thrilled to have our Ty Recyclable Shower Curtain at Greenward in Cambridge, Massachusetts! Greenward is a locally-owned shop run by husband-and-wife team Scott Walker and Simone Alpen who "strive to be responsible citizens of the planet and our neighborhood." Their specialty is eco-modern goods which they define as "always elegantly designed, attractive and funtional." If you can't make it to Cambridge, check out their great web shop here. 

> shop

> grain

Calling all designers...

Our dear friend Erika Carmichael is looking for submissions for an underground independent design exhibition that she is co-curating called Model Citizens in New York this May 16, 17 and 18.

The exhibition space is around the corner from the Jacob Javits Center during the International Contemporary Furniture Fair. The goal is to celebrate young up-and-coming designers who are not represented at ICFF.

The deadline is April 12th. For more info contact Erika at info@modelcitizensnyc.com. 

PEVA vs. HDPE

We have had a few questions about Ty - specifically how it is different from the PVC-free Polyethylene Vinyl Acetate (PEVA) shower curtains already available at many retailers such as Target and Ikea.

Here's what we know and why we developed Ty...

While PEVA claims to be both PVC-free and recyclable, we've found it difficult to locate information on how to recycle PEVA curtains. Being #2 High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) plastic, Ty is PVC-free and readily recyclable all across the U.S. (even curbside in many locations).

If your local recycling program does not pick up #2 plastic, you can mail Ty back to the material manufacturer or use one of these sources for HDPE recycling.

Currently, it is not recommended to machine wash PEVA shower curtains and they are just as likely to develop mold and mildew as vinyl. Ty is mold and mildew resistant, extremely durable and even machine washable. We expect Ty to have a much longer lifespan than existing alternatives.

We also make and source Ty right here in the U.S., so there is less transportation in the process.

Hope this helps!

> shop

> grain