Neozoon- New Animal

The street art crew Neozoon based in Berlin create these amazing dynamic pieces of work using second hand fur coats picked up in charity shops.

They 'upcycle' the old fur coats back into animals to highlight the urbanisation of areas where these animals used to roam free and unhindered by human activity.

http://www.neozoon.org/

Keeping it cool.....or possibly hot.

Whilst supping on your steaming hot Starbucks vanilla latte do you ever wonder just how dark your carbon foot print is? Even before we get embroiled in to the debate of the demon that is the Starbucks monster or indeed any other coffee house, just take a look at your innocent enough take away cup. Can you honestly say that you seperate the cardboard and plastic and put in the the recycling bin? Or are you just chuffed with yourself if you actually manage to put it in the nearest refuse point at all?

Well worry no more about your black footprint and take a look at the Keep Cup. The first barrista standard reusable coffe cup is here and $AUS12 (thats about £7) your bank balance and your eco conscience will both be feeling pretty smug.

The sleek design comes in a multitude of colour ways and the cup is made frome recyclable polypropylene with a personalized silcone grip band so that you can always identify your Keep Cup. Plus the sealed splashproof lid ensures that your bevereage will not spill even when you shove it in your bag on your mad dash 'I'm running late and it's 8:59am' get to work on time sprint.

With the average customer knocking back 8 starbucks a month (thats 96 cups a year) its about time we all took a closer look at the re useable options on the market and I've got to say the Keep Cup is at the top of my list.

http://www.keepcup.com.au/

The boy's done good

The somewhat legendary young man pictured here with his take on a traditional Alaia board is James Kamo; Surfer, skater, designer, photographer, animator... a general all round creative genius.

In his spare time in california James has been working on this beautifully crafted Alaia.

"...they're wooden boards coated with linseed oil. The hawaiians used to ride them 100s of years ago and they're starting to get popular again because of modern surfers, Tom and John Wegener. Typically they're very thin finless boards made out of paulownia wood. Paulownia's good since it's lighter, strong and already semi waterproof. The linseed oil coating is far better for the environment than resin and fiberglass which is used on conventional surfboards."

The board, as you can see is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship and truly pulls the essence of surfing back to its roots. Check out James developments and creative wonderments at:

http://www.scosurfing.com/

If you are interested in learning more about your surfboards carbon footprint visit T. C Schultz's 'Cradle to the Grave' project:

http://best.berkeley.edu/~schultz/documents/The%20Surfboard%20Cradle-to-Grave.pdf

Or if you're interested in investing in a squeaky green Alia check out Tom Wegener's sit at:

www.tomwegenersurfboards.com/html/home.html

More images of Jenny Welwert Gil's debut collection.

Jenny's website is now up and running. www.jennywelwert.com

Fashion Graduate lights the way for the Industry

Ethical Epiphany

This stunning collection from University College Falmouth Graduate Jenny Welwert Gil is the perfect opening for the blog. Beautifully crafted clothing from a designer who refuses to compromise on her ethical and sustainable ideals.

Jenny, who recently graduated with a first from the newly established BA(Hons) FasHion Design course at UCF took great pains to ensure all her materials and fabric were sourced locally, when her search for salmon skin in the UK returned a blank she turned to a small Amazonian village to provide her with this Fairtrade unique material which was then tailored to perfection in the form of trousers and jackets. Eco leather and beautiful organic, un-dyed wool all come together to create a modern luxe collection that screams the future of a fashion industry that is slowly becoming aware of how big a part it plays in the fight for the consumer to become ethically and sustainably aware.

As a beautiful and bright finishing touch Jenny leaves her labels blank so that each (and hopefully) every future owner of the garment can customize and personalize the garment for themselves.

For more info contact Jenny at: jennywelwert@gmail.com