Vermont Wooden Spoon Co. is the brainchild of wood carver Jordan Marvin, who handcrafts rustic kitchen wares from local, sustainably harvested hardwoods like cherry, maple, black walnut and apple. The range includes spoons, spatulas, ladles, salad sets, serving sets and bread and cheese boards, all of which are food-safe and sealed with a light layer of mineral oil. The......read more
What does a waste-free building look like? Something like this, apparently. Dutch design firm Doepel Strikjers Architects has pulled out all the green stops to create this extraordinary office building in Rotterdam. The HAKA Building is a pre-war factory that the architects have converted into a "Living Lab" for clean tech companies and eco organizations. The architectural vision was driven by......read more
This 550 square-foot cabin sits on a tiny parcel of land on a remote Maine island. Designed by Alex Scott Porter, the getaway is entirely off-the-grid. In the architect's words: This three-season retreat house is situated on the outermost inhabited island in Maine. The island has no roads, stores, electricity, water service, year-round inhabitants or ferry service – no grid. The house ......read more
Bring some warmth to your kitchen with this wooden Bar Bottle Opener. With a locally-sourced agath plywood base, the wallmounted unit features an American-made, cast-iron Starr X opener for easy beer cracking. The base is screen-printed by hand and urethane-sealed using water-based materials. A pre-drilled hole and included hardware makes installation simple. Hand made in San......read more
Considering her background in industrial design, it should come as no surprise that Martha Davis takes a structural approach to designing footwear. "My approach is always fairly architectural," she explained to Cool Hunting. "I don't do a lot of decorating." The multifaceted designer, who has more than twenty patents registered in the US, spent the last few months at San Francisco's......read more
The food-based locavore movement is maybe best defined by the "100-Mile Diet," which involves eating only what's available in your region. Now, that concept is being applied to architecture with the "100-Mile House," an approach to homebuilding that involves using only materials available in your immediate environment (duh). The idea is being promoted by the 100 Mile House......read more
The work of Vorarlberg, Austria-based architects Bernardo Bader reflects a commitment to simple, clean forms with an emphasis on energy efficiency and local materials. The newly built Haus am Moor (House on the Moor) is a prime example. Located in the picturesque forests near Krumbach, Austria, the house was constructed from spruce, fir, and elm sourced from the woods around the site. Around......read more
A few weeks ago, I was kicking around in Adams Morgan on a Saturday morning. The residue from Snowpocalypse 2010 had finally melted, the sun was shining, and I was feeling fine. I turned the corner onto Columbia Road, and saw a big white delivery truck where a smiling, bearded man was handing happy people boxes of gorgeous produce. “What’s this?†I thought. I meandered over to......read more
This video is either the perfect visual interpretation of the new Band Of Horses song, or totally off the mark. Directed by photographer Christopher Wilson, the trippy nature photomontage seems a bit detached from the rootsy vibe of the tune. But then the intertwining landscapes somehow fit with vague lyrics questioning the existence of God. In any case, it looks cool. The new Band Of Horses......read more
If you happen to be making a list of (or song about, coffee table book on…) the world’s filthiest and/or ugliest vegetables, please make sure to include salsify on your list. Would you just look at how ugly these things are?!? But, through the miracle of Photoshop, look how purty I made them. I jest. No Photoshop trickery here, just some peeling, boiling, mashing, mixing,......read more