Sustainable is Good | Where design, lifestyle and packaging meet

Drink: Barbara Lynch's new Bar in Boston's Fort Point

I had the opportunity to check out some adaptive reuse at Barbara Lynch's new bar Drink on Congress St in Boston's Fort Point neighborhood. The bar just opened last month.

Architect and designer Jeffery Katz of C & J Katz was kind enough to let me join a group of Intar grad students from RISD he was leading on a tour of Drink as well as the new restaurant he and his wife are designing above the bar.

Katz and his firm did a wonderful job with Drink. They preserved much of the existing structure and their design showcases the building's character. Their work shows you can be both sensitive to sustainability as well as unique and cutting edge.

Drink's interior is one of clean lines meet industrial charm. The bar design creates plenty of unique space and includes a center section where fresh herbs are grown. Foot rests are made of pipe, stools from galvanized metal.

The mixology at Drink is of a very high level of sophistication.  What makes the bar's concept work is the approachable nature of the bartenders - they create an atmosphere of willingness to share their knowledge and skills with guests.  Combine these aspects with the creative license allowed to their expert bartenders and you have a winning concept. 

I also had the chance to see Barbara's latest restaurant, which is very much under construction. It has yet to be named but seems likely to follow her other gem No. 9 Park in name,

The restaurant will be incredible when its completed and is designed to provide the ultimate in service to customers.

Thanks to Jeffrey, who in addition to his design work has been a professor at RISD for many years and to the bartenders at Drink – what a wonderful, elegant bar!

If your in Boston and are looking for a classy drink and some beautiful design check it out.

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Finding Great Vintage Cookware

One of the primary items I search for at second hand shops and garage sales is vintage cookware.

My favorite items to look for are vintage cast iron, stainless steel and copper pans and pots.

For a variety of reasons there is an abundance of used cookware available often times at real bargain prices.  I find many items are donated to goodwill or sold at garage sales by people who have changed the style of their kitchens or who don't like the look of a weathered pan.

Being someone who places a premium on quality and who appreciates the look of a seasoned pan I am in heaven when I find used cookware.

Sadly most people who discard classic pots and pans often will replace them with an inferior product which is frustrating and completely unsustainable.

Some of my favorite things to find are vintage Griswold cast iron.  Their design is so simple and elegant and their industrial look is very appealing to me.

I recently found a great pair of stainless steel pots on eBay made by Polaris of Norway (pictured). The design is magnificent, clean lines, highly functional beautiful stainless steel.

Polaris worked with a number of top Scandinavian designers over the years and their products are known for being of superior quality. I use my two Polaris pots all the time I love them.

Five tips for finding vintage cookware:

Determine what you like – cast iron, enameled cast iron, vintage enamel, stainless, copper etc and spend some time learning about the different manufacturers and designs they have produced.

Buy pieces you like and don't be afraid to mix and match

Tag sales and church sales are where you'll get the best bargains on vintage cookware.

Look for vintage products made in the USA or Europe the quality on these items are usually very high.

If copper is your interest learn the difference between a decorative piece and piece designed for use. Keep in mind that often the best decorative pieces are ones that have been used for many years as they develop a beautiful patina and show wonderful signs of use. 

When I buy vintage cookware I am always buying pieces that are usable.  For me the enjoyment comes from using the pieces as well as having them in my kitchen.

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Five Places to Find Incredible Used Bargains

Last week I posted five tips for finding sustainable items on eBay.  eBay is one of my favorite places to find bargain quality items cheap.

Today I am sharing suggestions for the five best places to find quality sustainable items. I believe quality used items are sustainable as they aren't a new product, often prevent something from ending up in a landfill and many times are made better than similar new products today.

There are a whole of options for finding great used goods but five stand out as clear winners in my mind.

Garage/tag sales: Nothing beats a great tag sale. Look for advertisements in your local paper, on Craigslist or just around town. Almost every Saturday here in Rhode Island I am up and out the door early hitting the local tag sales. I especially look for moving sales as often the sellers need to move items and are much more willing to bargain.

Church sales:  These can be great! You'll often find the lowest prices at church sales. There is normally a large variety of items at church sales – often these sales are advertised for several weeks and are part of larger festivals or events.

Thrift stores: Thrift stores vary tremendously and their stock is constantly changing. Many times a trip to the thrift store is either great or you leave with nothing so it can be frustrating. Check your local area for chain thrift stores like Savers or the Salvation Army. Also many churches or community centers have thrift stores. Prices are generally higher per item than you'll find at tag or church sales but still tremendous bargains can be had.

Flea Markets: Flea markets can be great – check out one of my favorite blogs, Eddie Ross for proof. Eddie posts often about the finds he has from the various flea markets in NYC. There are flea markets all over the country – often the more rural ones tend to have lower pricing so keep that in mind.  Urban flea markets are usually more expensive.  I've been to flea markets all over the country and world and you never know what you'll find.  Down south in the Houston area many great furniture finds can be had for very fair prices.

School/organization sales: Like church sales sales hosted schools or other organizations to raise money can be a great place for bargains. The pricing is often higher than you'll find a church sale as many times tables are rented to people to sell their goods. These sales are like mini flea markets. Check your local papers and CL for locations

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Renee Loux Easy Green Living

Renee Loux's Easy Green Living is a practical guide to incorporating green and more sustainable habits into all aspects of your home and lifestyle. 

Easy Green Living is written in a very effective style.  Its not threatening and in your face like some other books on the subject and Loux doesn't take the doom and gloom approach.  She is very approachable in her writing.  The book reads as if it were a knowledgeable friend providing advice and because of this I think it has wide appeal.

Living a more sustainable life is new to many people and Loux respects that in her writing not talking down to readers who many have just realized the benefits of making a lifestyle change.  Just the same seasoned readers who have already incorporated green tendencies into their lifestyle will find Easy Green Living an informative resource with many suggestions on how to continue their pursuit.

Well over 300 pages of information including suggestions and recommendations for specific resources and products await the reader in Easy Green Living.

Loux has written two other books, Living Cuisine and The Balanced Plate and is the host of It's Easy Being Green on Fine Living.

She is known for her whole-foods philosophy and brings that same logic to the home, garden and even beauty routines.  Her style is to incorporate green choices in every part the home from kitchen to bedroom. Being informed is so important and that is where this book shines.  It allows readers to learn about different choices and options they have when making changes.

Renee Loux demonstrates that being green at home is easy, affordable, and better in every sense of the word.  She discusses the daily choices we face that can keep the home, personal care, and beauty routines free of toxins. 

The book is full of "5 step" lists, products and recipes for green cleaning, helpful charts, safer choices for every room, and inspirational advice.

If you are looking for an excellent all around guide to living a greener more eco-friendly lifestyle then I'd highly recommend Easy Green Living. 

Buy Easy Green Living on Amazon.com

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Finding a Good Used Coffee Maker

Reviving a Classic Braun Coffee Maker

If you are a coffee drinker you know the importance of a good quality coffee maker. Most of the units you can buy new these days aren't well built and are almost exclusively made in China.

I've always been a fan of the classic Braun coffee makers and refusing to participate in the disposable appliance cycle it seems everyone in this country is on I keep my eyes open at garage sales and thrift shops for the the older Brauns.

Many of the early Braun coffee makers were made in Germany and sold with reusable filters. The coffee isn't barista grade when brewed but its a damn good cup of coffee as Agent Cooper in Twin Peaks often said.

At a thrift store in Massachusetts I like to frequent I ran into a German made Braun model 3097 complete with a Schott carafe and swiss gold filter. I picked up the coffee maker for $2.99 all it needed was a cleaning.

Restoring a coffee maker usually only requires running a couple cycles of white vinegar and water through the system and giving it a good external cleaning. Using a Skoy cloth, castile soap and and old toothbrush I had the unit in coffee brewing condition in about a day.

I love the industrial design of the old Braun products.

I have two Braun coffee makers the other one I picked up at a church sale for $2 is an Aeromaster – which is a classic icon of industrial design.

Many of these older Braun's were deemed “out of style” by homeowners and replaced with other more modern looking units.

They are now at the height of fashion and look great in a kitchen. If you're looking for a highly functional and well designed coffee maker keep your eyes peeled for a German made Braun at a tag sale, thrift shop or on eBay.

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Five Ways to Find Sustainable Products on eBay

Internet auction site eBay provides a treasure trove of sustainable products. Buying used products is in and of itself sustainable. By buying a used product you are giving the item a second life often diverting it from a landfill.

So in that context eBay provides a world wide market place for the exchange of goods. I actually see eBay as one gigantic garage or tag sale – which I love.

I've been an eBay member for more than ten years and have bought and sold everything from cameras to vacuum cleaners (see photo below).

My approach on eBay is to look for high quality well made items that are in functionally sound condition.  Often times these items are of superior quality and build to similar new products sold in stores.

My philosophy is simple, why would I want to buy a new product made in China when I can buy a used product of better quality from the USA, France or Italy for instance?

Not only am I buying something that is inherently sustainable its also of better quality and unique compared to many of the new products on the market.

Some examples of recent finds I've had on eBay are:

12” E.Dehillerin Copper pan $88 (France)

Nilfisk vacuum (Denmark/Sweden) $175

Dormeyer hand mixer (USA) $5.99

Polaris Stainless 8qt Pot (Norway) $18

Five tips for finding sustainable products on eBay

1) Buy used products they are cheaper than new and often are perfectly functional – buying used saves something from the junk yard and also allows you to buy higher quality items.

2) Research brands in the product category you are looking for. Often times a little research yields new and exiting options you may not have even known existed

3) Ask questions – be sure to communicate with seller and address any questions you have that aren't answered in the listing. You can learn a lot from questions – trust me.

4) Don't be afraid of electronic items. Often people selling electronics are selling them because they have "gone out of style" or don't fit with a current decor in their home (particularly with kitchen appliances) You can get some real deals here and are much more likely to get a product made in the USA or Europe with a better build quality.

5) Spend time learning how eBay works especially concerning bidding. Develop a strategy that works for you in terms of when to bid and how much to bid.

I will be posting more on eBay and treasures found there so stay tuned.

If you have any great finds from eBay let me know send an email with a photo and info and we'll run them on the site.

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alchemy goods

An Interview with Alchemy Goods founder Eli Reich

JUST SETTLED INTO ITS NEW HOME IN SEATTLE'S SoDo DISTRICT THE COMPANY IS POISED TO CONTINUE ITS GROWTH 

image © www.sustainableisgood.com
PHOTO:  ALCHEMY GOODS Ad Bag ($30)

BY RIDER THOMPSON

For Alchemy Goods founder Eli Reich, having to move his two and half year old business out of the bottom floor of his house to a new location is a good thing.  The 29 year old Reich recently settled into his new digs in warehouse space in Seattle’s SoDo district.  His company needs the space to continue its growth.  In a recent phone interview, he talked about his new location and how his company has grown so rapidly.  Reich described Sodo (South of Downtown) as a “charming old industrial part of town.”   The new space allows Reich & his staff of four employees much needed room to store materials and work in less cramped surroundings.   “We were on top of each other in the old space,” said Reich.

buying things is fun

Enjoying shopping doesn't have to be a bad thing - It can even be Sustainable

BY NICK HEYWOOD

Yesterday afternoon I bought two shirts (a t-shirt printed with sailor's knots and a solid blue button-down), a picture frame (which I will probably not put a picture in for a few years), four tubes of toothpaste (massively on sale) and envelopes (to send out belated Christmas thank you notes). All of these items were made from recycled materials, used or organic, but that's not really what I'm getting at. Buying these boring tidbits was my favorite part of yesterday, between waking up earlier than I would have liked, working, studying for an art history test and sleeping. I like most of what I spend my life doing, but I think I like buying things best. In this I am not alone, as all of us go out every day to buy things we need, things we think we need and things we don't need at all.

This used to make me feel guilty, all this junk of life and how much I enjoy spending money, but my guilt was overcome with sadness when there was no money around to get the junk. There must be some alternative, I reasoned, some way to have fun and not spend money.

This is when I discovered the joys of The Considered Life. In the Considered Life you spend more time thinking about the things you will not buy than you do actually buying things, and about those things in life that you already have but could do away with. It's remarkable how much getting rid of things feels like shopping, and how seamlessly the act of collecting can be replaced by the act of abstaining. Did I really need the deep freeze in the basement? Not really, and donating it provided a nice tax break. Did I really need air conditioning? Not with a few fans and open windows, cool drinks and fortitude. What about hot water in the washing machine, or a dryer? Those were really the easiest to chuck, as the hot water makes no difference with the soap I use to wash, and my clothes smell better after drying in the breeze. Needless to say, all of these things are good for the environment, take little or no more time than the alternative and save money.

Clearly I'm preaching to the converted, but whenever I hear people suggesting these simple, sustainable changes in daily routine they leave out how much fun all of it is. I've come to realize that it's the act of choice that I enjoy with shopping more than the shopping itself, and that's something you can just as easily get at home without money. But buying things is still fun … I'm just careful what those things are, where they are made and what they are made of. And all of the changes at home leave me more money to buy these carefully chosen items.

dell recycling

Dell Recycling

image © rider thompson

Over ten years ago in 1996 I bought my first laptop, it was a Dell Inspiron 366mhz Pentium - by today’s standards it was a tank.  That laptop held up well let me tell you and I was able to upgrade it to Windows XP a few years back (which the chair paid for) it still worked up until the day I recycled it a couple of weeks ago.

Fortunately Dell computers has a takeback program for all of its products that does not require the purchase of a new product - they are currently the only ones in the US with such a program (Apple requires purchase of a qualifying computer or monitor).  Their program is one of the most comprehensive in the industry and the leader here in the US, they will also recycle non-Dell branded computer equipment with the purchase of a Dell product. 

In order to recycle a Dell product, consumers need to visit the Dell Recycling website enter the product information and then are prompted to print a prepaid shipping label from DHL to send the computer back to Dell for recycling, a quick visit to the DHL website and you can schedule a pickup. Dell either donates the product, giving it a second life or disposes of it properly.  Dell’s program, partially the result of an expansion of a mandated program in the EU is an important development for consumers here in the US.

The only similar programs in the US are at HP (you pay to recycle ahead of time then you get HP credit toward a purchase) and now after some resistance Apple (requires purchase).  Apple is the subject of a current Greenpeace campaign, Green my Apple, aimed at getting the computer manufacturer to produce a greener product and expand its recycling program to mirror Dell's. 

I found the Dell recycling program to be efficient, easy to use and a tremendous positive for the company.  They have recognized the need to deal with the growing problem of e-waste hopefully other manufacturers will follow in Dell’s footsteps.

Living with Asthma

Keeping a Journal Critical in Helping me Live with Asthma

image © rider thompson

BY KRISTEN HOGAN

Growing up, I was embarrassed to have asthma.  When I was having an attack, it made me feel weak physically which translated into feeling weak emotionally.  The reason for this is how my family responded to me having asthma- as a tremendous inconvenience.  That being the case, for years I suffered in ways that I did not need to.  Not being able to breathe well most of the time was something that became normal in my daily life.  When I say this, I do not mean that I was having asthma attacks on a daily basis, but that I constantly felt like my breathing was constricted.  That I was not breathing to full capacity.  At times I have asked myself, “is there a right way and wrong way to breathe”, and perhaps the problem is that I am not breathing properly.  I will get back to that at a later date

Only within the last few years have I come to realize that this does not have to be the case.  I came to the conclusion that I can take active steps in order to control my asthma.  What I thought was completely out of my control, now I know is not.  I would like to share some of the steps I have taken to figure out what was triggering my asthma and how I went about changing in accordance to these discoveries.

The first step I took was writing in a food journal.  Okay, here me out on this.  It is a pain, I will acknowledge that.  It is just another thing to remember along with “did I lock the door when I left the house this morning” and “do I have anything in the house to make dinner with”.  What I suggest is to buy a notebook that looks nice so that you will want to bring it out to write in.  Also, it should be small so that you can take it places.  Finally, it should be exclusively used as a food journal.  This last part I cannot explain… it just seems to work better.  Maybe it’s a psychological thing, I don’t know.

Anyways, this whole journal keeping thing was a big step for me since I have never kept any type of journal in my life and it took me some time to write in it every day and without “forgetting” everything that I ate/ drank.  Let me tell you, this journal not only helped me keep my asthma in check, but was also is a great way to honestly look at what I eat and drink during the course of the day.  For instance, having a coffee shop on each block in Rhode Island (where I was living at the time) was bad on my wallet.  I have come to realize how much money I have spent over the years buying coffee.  It is sinful.  Anyway back to asthma, I realized that I ate at fast food restaurants on a bi-weekly basis.  Since going to fast food joints was a frequent occurrence, but not so frequent that it would be a desperate struggle each day, the first step I took was to stop eating at these places.  I immediately noticed a difference.  First, generally speaking, I began to breather easier.  Second, I realized that I really did not like fast food.  Wow, so far this journal is really paying off.  I knew that this was the first of many steps of figuring out how much food impacts how well I breathe.  I also realized that although this very step was relatively easy… future changes may be much more difficult.

So basically, my first suggestion is to start small.  It will take some time to understand all of the things that effect your breathing. Therefore, start with something you are relatively comfortable with letting go, because you will be more likely to stick with “the plan” as a whole.  There are obvious exceptions to this of course.  If you eat something, and have a full blown asthma attack from it…. don’t eat it again.  Ever.