ArTea Party Update

Event date changed to Saturday 23rd June @ The Crib, Ponsonby Road, AKL

More info to follow......

Lite2go - No Packaging Required

Source: Evelyn, Inhabitat, 23May07

Here's another brilliant idea brought to you via those hardworking peeps at Inhabitat. Knoend's lite2go is an almost self sufficient sustainably designed lamp that comes wrapped in it's own skin - how novel is that!! This completely non-toxic lamp, which naturally comes with it's own CFL bulb, is packaged in it's recyclable polypropylene shade.

It can either be used as a table lamp or hung from your ceiling and as all of it's componants from to hemp twine are either biodegradable or recyclable, at the end of it's original use lifespan all the parts can be recycled - awesome! Knoend are also looking into using biobased plastics for future production. This is eco design at it's best!

Inhabitat article here / Knoend website here / Lite2go here

Seville's Solar Power Station

Here is another example of thoughtful, clever, aesthetically pleasing and sustainable design - functional and beautiful, Seville's Solar Power Station harnesses natural resources without damaging the planet.

Article: David Shukman, BBC News, 2May07
"...From a distance, as we rounded a bend and first caught sight of it, I couldn't believe the strange structure ahead of me was actually real. A concrete tower - 40 storeys high - stood bathed in intense white light, a totally bizarre image in the depths of the Andalusian countryside.

The tower looked like it was being hosed with giant sprays of water or was somehow being squirted with jets of pale gas. I had trouble working it out. In fact, as we found out when we got closer, the rays of sunlight reflected by a field of 600 huge mirrors are so intense they illuminate the water vapour and dust hanging in the air.

The effect is to give the whole place a glow - even an aura - and if you're concerned about climate change that may well be deserved..."

Full article here / A tour of the tower / How the solar tower works

More info and image source: Jorge, Inhabitat, 21May07

Ethical Fashion

Tam & Rob is a new London based ethical fashion clothing company for women. It is founded and run by two Lucy's who have been friends since school. Tam, a St Martin's fashion graduate, is the designer, and Rob runs the business side of their venture.

Taking inspiration from a variety of retro style ranging from 40's flapper through new romantic to 90's chelsea girl, the Tam & Rob Spring 07 collection consists of reasonably priced, simply elegant, stylish and well crafted pieces. All designs are made in IFAT accredited factories in India & Nepal from certified (by SKAL and Fairtrade Foundation) fair trade and organic cotton.

In their own words:

"Tam & Rob is a fairtrade clothing company for women who want ethical clothing that is designed to be trend led and individual... ...Our formula is pretty simple: fashionable, tailored womenswear that uses organic and fairtrade cotton. We make sure that all our producers are paid a fair wage and treated well, and we also offset all our carbon emissions, donate 10% of our profits to charity and generally make sure we treat our customers and suppliers with respect."

For more ethical fashion, clothing and accessories visit the sidebar listings - UK Clothing & Fashion on Ecomonkey

Upcoming Exhibitions

An assortment of work by Racheblue and fellow local artists and craftworkers will be available for sale at this fund and awareness raising event next month. More details will follow in due course....

Racheblue will also be exhibiting 6 pieces of work at The Original Art Sale from Friday 31 Aug - Sunday 2 Sep 07

Architecture Week 15-24 Jun07

From: Architecture Week 2007

How Green Is Our Space?

"Whether you're an architect, a teacher, an artist, or just passionate about the built environment, why not organise an event for Architecture Week - the annual national celebration of contemporary architecture?
Events including film screenings, talks, walks, tours, building-visits, exhibitions, excavations, excursions, pod-casts and children's activities will be taking place across the country this summer, coming together in celebration of the built environment.
This year's theme is How Green is our Space?, focusing on critical issues of climate change and sustainability, and the aim is to inspire people to think creatively about the spaces around them.
Can you envisage a children's event which shows the relevance of architecture to every-day life? Could you screen a film that explores an architectural theme or organise a 'talk and tour' of a significant building? Are you an architect who is interested in opening your practice to the public or taking part in the RIBA Architect in the House initiative? Are you a gallery with a relevant exhibition, or a musician with an interest in sound and space? You could even be a photographer, designer, chef or actor who would like to join in and celebrate our built environment. We are looking for all these kinds of events and many more..."

regional contact - tel: +44 0207 973 5246 / email: archweek@artscouncil.org.uk

Wind Farm Highways?

From Inhabitat, Jorge, 30apr07

"The great thing about collaborative design sites like Archinect is that they allow brilliant student ideas to escape the confines of studio and get the attention they deserve. Case in point is Arizona student Joe who posted this amazing idea on his Archinect school blog for a highway wind turbine would harvest the wind created by fast-moving automobiles to send power back into the grid. If feasible, this wind turbine project could be easily retrofitted to transform most of the world’s highways into endless power sources. Imagine highways being known for their power generation instead of their traffic!"

More here

Landscapes and Recycling

Current To Do List:

Working on some landscape images - they can be viewed here on Flickr and will be uploaded to the bAd galleries shortly...

Turning that huge pile of unworn clothes, fabrics and habedashery I've been hoarding over the years into new recycled items - pictures to follow shortly...

Planning work to enter into The Original Art Sale 2007 - it will be held at the TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre (Manukau) on Fri 31August - Sun 2 September and promises to be even bigger and better than last year...

Also working on images and flyer for Fair Trade event I'm organising for June called ArTea Party. The event is based around the NZ Fair Trade Fortnight (28 Apr - 13 May 07)/Oxfam Coffee Break but as it will involve art & craft too I'm holding off until June to give artists time to contribute and give me time to organise!

ArTea Aims:
To raise awareness of Fair Trade products and encourage people to buy Fair Trade wherever possible, thus enabling farmers and growers to earn a decent wage for the work they do.
To raise funds for Oxfam in support of their work to create positive change for poor communities around the world
To promote and sell work produced by local artists who care about the world they live in

If you are or know of an Auckland artist who may be interested in contributing to ArTea Party, drop me an email with details of the work you wish to donate for sale. 20% of the sale price of all art & craft work will be donated to Oxfam

More details of the ArTea Party to follow....

P.S. Click here for some places you can buy Fair Trade products in Auckland: