design for humanity: plastic bottle dining

Wouldn't you love to have a romantic meal on this floating dining room?

So luxurious.

With a little secret under the deck. (Well, not too secret since there is a peep window to below.)

Plastic bottles keep the raft afloat.

This beautiful dining room is a special project of the School of Fish Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides curriculum and subject materials for sustainable seafood preparation. Built by Goodweather Design, "the floating plastic represents the issue of our oceans becoming a collecting ground for discarded plastic; one of the many threats to our seafood supplies."
A six-course sustainable and seasonal seafood dinner (say that six times fast!) is catered nightly by C Restaurant. You'll have to travel to eat there, however, the dining room raft is moored at the False Creek Yacht Club in Vancouver, BC.

I find this design stunning and an elegant educational tool, though the price of dinner will keep many from enjoying it. Imagine this used to build inexpensive rafts for public swimming at lakes, though. What other applications could this idea be applied to?

School of Fish Foundation found originally at Re-Nest.

quick pic: hands across the sand

[Hands Across the Sand: Virginia Beach]
Part of nationwide protest of offshore drilling.
More images here. More information here.

happy earth day

Working for an environmental nonprofit, I went to several of Earth Day celebrations. I'm not really the hippie-type (see: this blog) but Saturday I lived it up dancing to bluegrass/ old time mountain music (which I love love love all the time), getting henna on my foot and tie-dying. Sunday I headed to DC for brunch with friends and a good time on the Mall for the Climate Rally. I finished the day off with tapas at La Tasca, eaten before I could even think to take photos. Papas bravas y gazpacho- yum!

My contribution to the brunch (on the right.)
Raspberry butter. Aka raspberry jam and butter, blended.
Inspired by Cupcakes and Cashmere's strawberry butter.

Mimosa= brunch requirement.

Art on the National Mall.
Wind Power Earth, designed by Karen Ami.

Another Earth statue, this one with no plaque to inform me of the artist.

And chilling with the whales!

music for action

In keeping with my New Year's Resolution, I've been going through my iTunes to find unplayed songs and asking friends for recommendations for new bands. Yesterday I found a free compilation "The Best of Bonnaroo" from Music for Action. Yup, you've got to email your Senator or otherwise take action on climate change, but you get 17 free songs from some of the artists at Bonnaroo 2009.


Overall, it's been enjoyable to listen to on the dreary day we're having here in Virginia. I think as far of compliations for climate change, I prefer the (sadly not free) Green Owl Compilation for Energy Action Coalition. What's not to love- Fiest, Of Montreal, Bloc Party, Juliana Hatfield, Asobi Seksu, and more.

your regularly scheduled program will resume shortly

I'm off to Copenhagen for the UN COP15 climate negotiations. I promise pretty pictures. Sadly there will not be as much sunlight as there is below. Nonetheless, despite this being a 'work vacation' I swear I will enjoy as much art, design and beautiful things as possible.

intro...

Everyday I read blogs on design, crafts, food and think how much I'd like to chronicle my own journey discovering the beautiful things around me and, more particularly, the beautiful things I can create. I have a job at a nonprofit that I love, love, love but know I have an intense need to be creative and create. Even at design school (a degree I don't particularly put into practice) I needed to do things outside of my projects in order to indulge my creative urges and have tangible objects at the end. I use design thinking at my job all the time, I just don't get to actually make things. That's what this blog is for. The things I create and the inspiration I find that makes me want to create more.