welcome back....

It seems as though a lot of us seem to go awol around this time of year, with various visits to relatives, illnesses and general rushing about for the seasonal activities.We were no exception, as we have really only just got back to grips at the studio after the mini break.

But we are now back and raring to go, and we are now thinking about what 2011 may have in store, eco wise?

Well, there are many people out there willing to put forward their two penneth worth, so here are a few bits we have found on the web...

The rise of service design - where items are REPAIRED instead of discarded and thrown away - I think this is due to the economic downturn as well as the elements of perceived greenness. The throw away culture of excess that we have grown to take as the norm is now being questioned by many who may not have considered their position before.

The rise of the amateur - again - craft has been enjoying a newly found and well deserved resurgence in popularity as people appreciate the skills and human qualities of hand made design. Perhaps this is another revolt against the large scale industries which we are starting to distrust as we hanker for the nostalgic and simpler may of life? I am all for this prediction and I hope that craft will continue to become a major player in the small scale retail industry. Remember peeps - quality over quantity.

Urban farming is another trend that seems to be popping up all over the shop, and with money belts still tight and a continuing distrust of large manufacturers and the dreaded supermarkets, I reckon this is one which is here to stay for 2011. Will we get back to the war time front and back garden allotments? Perhaps not, but look out for more edibles popping up in your street, and fantastical proposals for mobile, skyscraper and city centre farming utopias. I thought that cutting gardens would also enjoy a resurgence in 2010 as people get used to growing their own and become more aware of where their weekly bunch of flowers come from (we designed two gardens in 2010 for cutting), but maybe I was a little too keen. Maybe this is another one for 2011.

Sharing seems to be another big hitter in the prediction fronts - from skills sharing to bike sharing, car sharing and food sharing. I suppose this sort of goes back to the sort of medieval barter systems which have been resurrected in a time where cash is short. This could be in a 'you can have some of my chicken eggs in exchange for some of your apples' sort of way, or larger scale, involving skills exchange between companies. Our studio has signed up to a skills share programme in Brighton where we offer our expertise and time to design needy charities and social enterprise projects, so again, this is one to stay for 2011.

I think local food and farmers markets will also continue to grow, along with small scale foraging (I spent all of Christmas engrossed in John Wright's fantastic River Cottage Mushroom, Hedgerow and Sea Edibles handbooks) and home preserving.

Green design in general will become more accessible (heard a lot of people asking for eco bits whilst out shopping for pressies) especially now people are questioning the throw away / landfill fodder purchases of old.

Lastly, I am quite optimistic about the design industry in general. The last two years have made it hard to sell something essentially 'invisible' but I think things are on the shift. People and businesses are realising that quality of life is more important that the amount of things you have, and so are looking to designers to maximise their opportunities available and create them spaces to enjoy being in at home and at work. Business are realising that consumers are examining them as well as their products before making a purchase, and are responding accordingly.

Check back next year to see if I am right.

twinkle twinkle...

Seasonal Shorts 3 - lighting up the season...

There are many things which are synonymous at this time of year. Mulled wine, mince pies, turkey, crackers and trees. Oh, and enough lights to create a spaghetti network of landing strips through all of our streets.

A trip to any of the DIY sheds at this time of year will reveal a myriad of lighting options for your tree, inside your house, outside your house, on your house. Coloured, plain, static, flashing. Mains powered, battery powered, solar powered.

So, what would be our eco choice for lighting?

Well, lets start with outside of the house. I am not a particular fan of trotting reindeer and the like, so we opt for plain and simple lights, placed on our pyracantha. Even though we could get exterior grade lights outside, we have a fantastic set of warm white (slightly yellow rather than blue white which is cold) LED fairy lights from the Solar Centre. They have a few fade or flash settings with a timer and are powered by the small, efficient and easily located solar panel.

If you are partial to an icicle or two, you can also get solar versions of these in varying lengths, again from the Solar Centre - check them out here.

Next, inside. Solar panels are obviously out, but LEDs are in - using vastly less amounts of energy than the usual 'bulb' string types, along with the benefit of being very low temperature - so your vintage handknitted bauble from grannie will not go up in smoke. LED lights used to be the exception in the DIY giants - now they are the norm, with most places stocking a variety of colours and lengths. Or you could check out these guys...

Outside - done. Tree - done. Table? Yep - do not forget about the eco alternatives for your seasonal table.

Candles - you can opt for soy candles, or beeswax candles, or even organic candles such as these. Or you can have more LED lights like these. Or you can have, movable, solar powered lights such as these - charge 'em up outside, then bring 'em in, or use independant, rechargeable lights such as these.

There are so many eco options that we are now spoilt for choice, so whatever colour you choose, have a green, twinkling season!

decs in the halls...

Seasonal Shorts 2 - the decorations...

Yesterday I wrote about the tree, so it only makes sense that today I talk about what to drape along and onto the boughs.

And this can be a real bone of contention. Some people have the same decorations each year. Some purchase a whole trees worth each year, with a different colour scheme to match 'the in colour' as reported in the glossy lifestyle magazines around November.

Do you purchase plastic ones which will last years and years but will end up being binned when the cat bashes one from the tree and you end up standing on it, usually barefooted, early in the morning before the coffee has taken hold, or do you go for natural decorations which may not last as long but are, well, natural and probably compostable?

But what about vintage glass ones (which I found a whole box of, from the 1940's in a charity shop last week for £1.50) - surely they are better, if not incredibly more breakable, than that modern plastic counterparts?

There are many, many standpoints, and so it goes on.

We have a combination of all of the above, which, in all honestly, is what most people have. The amount of people who do have that 'picture perfect' television chat show style co-ordinated tree are few. Most of us have a few old baubles and decorations inherited from our parents when we set up home, a few newish ones and maybe even a few made each year from pine cones, ivy etc. For me, the best type of tree is the eclectic tree - one with a real personality and history of the people who have lovingly decorated it.

But, if you are going to buy new decorations, I would urge you to consider recycled and natural options. And here are a few of my favourites:

Nigel's Eco Store - recycled glass, cd and circuit board decs.

Ecotopia - Fairtrade, recycled paper mache baubles

Love Eco - how about a British wool taxi cab or a seedy paper bauble?

Plant a Bloomer - yep - more plantable baubles!

Or, why not make some of your own?

Mini-Eco - lovely and simple origami decorations

E-how - a myriad of pine cone ideas...(I would just leave them natural though!)

Or how about some gingerbread wonders? check this out!

So, get decorating!

back into the Wilderness...

Seasonal shorts number...1 - the tree...

Now we are officially on the countdown to Yule /Christmas, there will be a veritable flurry of blogs - one each day, looking at a whole raft of seasonal greening up. Today is the first - the tree...

I am a big one for tradition, and there is a very seasonal tradition in our lives that is undertaken, each year, usually split between the months of both November and December.

On the first of November (or the closest Sunday to it anyway) we choose it, and in the middle of December, we go and dig it up.

Yep - I have blogged about it before here, and here, and this is the tradition of choosing and subsequently collecting our annual fir tree, which is always, without fail, collected from the truly wonderful Wilderness Wood in Hadlow Down, Sussex.

We always have a Douglas Fir, which has beautifully fine, fluffy and fragrant needles, and we always have Sussex tea and gooseberry conserve and elderflower cordial cake (or ginger cake) when we both choose him and collect him.

If we are feeling extravagant, we also have an organic sausage from the outdoor barbeque.

I love it, and if you are in Sussex you MUST consider doing this next year.

You can read all about the wood (which you can of course visit all year round) here.

to 'critical reclaim'...

Well - we have finally done it.

It has taken an age to do so, and if anything, the snow finally gave us a chance to get to grips with and set up the studio shop.

That's right ladies and gents - we now have our Ebay shop online!

'critical reclaim' will feature all the studio designed bits and pieces, including our limited editions and one off pieces along with the very best in interesting and beautiful reclaimed and salvaged items we find on our travels, from vintage furniture to lighting, industrial stuff to random stuff.

Our teacup bird feeders are online now, (as posted previously) and we will be adding more items over the next few days, so keep your beady eyes open!

you daily eco read...

The wonderous thing about the internet is that you can find so many fantastic eco bits and bobs - news, products, general stuff.

But, the hardest thing is finding time to find it all.

So now you don't have to. We have done it for you.

You can now read the 'claire potter design guide to eco design daily' - our NEW and pretty damn good online paperless paper which rounds up the best eco stories of the day from one of the studio's Twitter lists.

Read it and subscribe for free here...

teacups now online!

yep folks. it is getting to be THAT time of year once more.

here in Brighton we have already had the city lights up for a while, along with a smattering of trees and 'seasonal decorations.'

I have to admit - I have even started to do my own seasonal shopping...

so, with this in mind, we thought it was about time we got our online shop up and running to make it easier for those of you who like to do your eco shopping from the comfort of your own home.

and the first to be online?

well - our best selling reclaimed teacup birdfeeders...

more to follow soon!

and if you like that...

as a follow up to our video about White Night (which you can view below), we now have our very own YouTube Channel, where you can see our past videos and a whole series of new ones which we will be working on regularly from now on.

well, if by regular we mean around one a month. sometimes more.

there will be eco bits, stuff of interest and stuff we are doing, so quite a varied bag.

follow this link to get there now - we will let you know when new bits transpire.

http://www.youtube.com/user/clairepotterdesign

Mini Murmuration White Night Brighton 2010

finally - here is the little video we have created for our fleeting White Night Brighton 2010 installation, 'mini murmuration'.

enjoy.

trains, no planes and many bicycles...

Last week I was very lucky to be invited to attend a series of workshops over two days in the beautiful Delft, with a whole bunch of other eco designers and businesses from the South Coast.

the day started early, which, for a self confessed owl like myself, was a bit of a troublesome affair. very early actually, as we picked up another two-day-tripper en-route to the train station at the grand old

time of 4.40am.

Joy.

On board the first train to St Pancreas, we departed Brighton at 5.09am, very bleary eyed and in need of coffee.

And so began the first of many connections which would take us via public and self powered transport to Holland.

Next train - the Eurostar to Brussels, which I adore to travel on. Once at Brussels (after a coffee and baguette break) onto the high speed Thalys train to Rotterdam. Then another train from Rotterdam to Delft, (which unfortunately was not one of the amazing double decker trains - brilliant use of space!) where we were met by a smart young gentleman with an ageing racing bike.

Now, I have been to Amsterdam before and know how bikes literally are THE way to get around, but I had completely forgotten how they dominate the road, path and cycleways. They are everywhere. And most are not locked up - just 'located' somewhere where they can be lent on one another like a tangle of wiry dominoes until the owner comes to untangle them and wind their merry way onwards. It was really inspiring, but I cannot help but think what would happen to bikes stacked in such a way in England. They would probably be deemed an ironic health and safety risk and removed for the wellbeing of all. hmmm.

Anyway - as we were not in possession of bikes, all 20 or so of us took our life in our hands and walked from the station to the truly extraordinary Delft University. I am a big fan of highly considered design, and there were many many little details which showed a wonderful attention to small things - like this stairway. In this building the bike store was in the basement, so beside the cast concrete steps was a thin ramp - just big enough to safely and smoothly guide you bike to the depths below without bumping it down the stairs. small yet beautifully considered.

We turned the corner and were confronted with the vast and stunning faculty of Industrial Design. Coming into the building, which was mostly an open space with a variety of mezzanine levels and layers, one of the

first items you see are the individual workstations of the students - each with a desk, small pillar drill and various other tools. It made me think of the pathetic facilities we had at University. No wonder the Dutch design education is so highly regarded - it is because they regard it highly themselves - and it really showed.

A small networking lunch with the other attendees from Holland and France then moved into workshops on Sustainable product design development and Sustainable social marketing practices - both of which were fantastic.

Dinner followed at the faculty - a wonderfully healthy mix of salads, fish and cheeses, washed down with a couple of glasses of red wine (which went straight to my very tired head)

The walk to the hotel was refreshing (if you can call a force 5 gale refreshing) an

d my room was lovely. I had the attic, which had a grand view over the square in Delft, complete with a chiming clock tower.

The next day was pretty much the reverse of the first day, with more workshops at the University before a final lunch and then the long old trip home.

It was a fantastic two days, and I had the privilege to meet some truly grand people (from Holland and France as well as the South) and we are now forging great new relationships, both close and from afar. We hope to be helping two separate businesses from Holland for example - one dealing with city dwellers edibles and another with cargo bikes. Let's hope we can help...

It was tiring, but all good things are, and we hope we can travel back again to learn some more and meet some other eco minded peeps.