recycled concrete cloud by drcraze

This little concrete cloud (somehow poetically perfect, no?) popped up on cosa verde earlier this week and I've had clouds on the mind ever since. (Maybe because I can't remember the last time the sun was out!) Here are some more eco-friendly finds inspired by cloudy days...

organic bag by Pansy Maiden

recycled silver cloud necklace from paper and gold

organic tea towel from bird mafia

knob cast out of aluminum recycled from car rims by Knobs

The fact that I'll have my very first nephew in a few months has me slightly obsessed with all things baby boy. And since the role of long-distance-aunt allows for some extra spoiling, I know that my search for fun and well-made baby gifts has only just begun. (Which, by the way, I am completely OK with!) So far, my favorite finds are these hanging mobiles by PinkPerch. Each one is made-to-order from eco-felt or fleece, and stuffed with a soft, bamboo filling. These made-to-order mobiles, like Outer Space Adventure, or Counting Sheep, will add a bit of whimsy to any baby's room, along with some guaranteed sweet dreaming.

Hooray!  I am so excited to be able to announce the start of an ongoing interview series with artists from cosa verde! I've been trying to get this up and running for a while now, but you know how things go... So without further ado, let me introduce you to Brian Western of Western Art Glass.

Name:  Brian Western
Shop:  Western Art Glass
Blog:  http://westernartglass.blogspot.com/
Website: westernartglass.etsy.com/
Location / Hometown:  Minneapolis, Minnesota

Brian sent in the speediest interview response ever, so he's up first. (Plus, we do love a healthy dose of irreverence.) For information on how to be interviewed for this column, shoot me an email at liz at cosaverde.com. Yay!

When Summer, aka Ottoman, emailed me last week to share some of her newest designs, I knew we needed to get her up here as a shop of the week, and soon. In addition to  awesome reclaimed wood doily paintings, Summer makes these wonderful felted creations inspired by the mosses she finds in her home state of Oregon.

I had the pleasure of holding one of the moss pincushions that Summer sent over for a giveaway, and it was a superb little thing. Great craftsmanship, and it really was like bringing a little inspired bit of the outdoors in. (Which would be perfect for me, as I inherited my mother's ability to doom any houseplant to a sad, painful death.)

And Summer puts great care into sourcing her materials, which range from repurposed stuffing and undyed roving to organic peppermint and lavendar. As she puts it:

I find it important to constantly re-evaluate my working methods to find environmentally-friendly sources for materials and shop locally whenever possible and still keep the aesthetic I am after.

Yes, Summer, please keep that aesthetic and that ethic. Because I love them both.

Wishing I had something to dress up for this week. Loving these eco-friendly finds:

organic jersey dress from mydearthing; vegan ballerina flats from TheGeneration; jute and organic cotton slouchy bag from iragrant sacsbio; upcycled wood and steel notepad from fort; yellow tomato upcycled fabric necklace from cinderellascache

As usual, I'm late posting about important news! But this time I'm happy to be a little late, to stir up the buzz again about the wonderful, wonderful efforts of Hearts for Haiti.

cosa verde member Nora, aka transient treasures, wrote me last week to tell me about her awesome efforts as an administrator for the Hearts for Haiti shop. Here's what she had to say:

HeartsForHaiti is a collective shop comprised of 100s of Etsy sellers who donate their work to be listed in the shop. 100% of the proceeds from sales (after Etsy and Paypal fees) are donated to Doctors Without Borders for their Haitian program. To date, we have raised more than $30,000!!  The shop is managed by a dedicated team of volunteers.

As I checked out the shop, I was so happy to see work by some familiar artists—members of cosa verde! And it was fun to see work from shops I'd never come across before. I'm so proud to be a part of a community that can bring together hundreds of talented people to support such a great cause. Kudos, everyone!

You can learn more about Hearts for Haiti on Etsy, or on their blog.

Here are a few pretty (and eco-friendly!) items I found browsing their shop this morning:

(above) Recycled Fabric Heart Bib from auclairdelalune.etsy.com

Mug cozy with upcycled buttons from kaitlinvroom.etsy.com

Recycled Billboard Banner Storage Bin from NottyPooch.etsy.com aka NottyPooch Design on cosaverde!

Uplifting Salt Scrub from LaPetiteVie.etsy.com aka La Petite Vie on cosa verde!

Eco-friendly zigzag quilt from nacyanne.etsy.com

Not that I can see the ground, with all the snow that we've been "blessed" with these past few weeks, but my mind has been on the forest floor, lately... waiting for something green to sprout up and prove that spring is indeed around the corner, I suppose...

recycled bottle yarn scarf from sparrownestknits

wool felted acrons by Fairyfolk

eco baby quilt from SewnNatural

upcycled toadstool from SleepingForest

recycled bottle yarn mitts from NotoriousKnits

upcycled pillow cover from Eristotle

I love seahagandwalrus. I love everything about them, including their name! What's not to love about earrings made from recycled shrink wrap?! Or vegan snarfs?! (It's not my word, but I sure enjoy using it!) I'm definitely going to have to get my hands on a pair of these beauties and, as luck would have it, I won't have to travel far. Seahagandwalrus items are available at Portland's very own Herbivore Clothing!* Yay!

*Herbivore Clothing is one of the very best vegan shops in the city. If you're ever in Portland, be sure to stop in and show your love! And, while you're there, check out the rest of the Vegan Mini-Mallers, too. SweatPea bagels are a weekly staple in this household.