Bringing plants inside your home is a quick and easy way to add accents of color, brighten up your décor, and filter your air. However, not everyone is blessed with a green thumb and some struggle to keep even a cactus or succulent alive. If this sounds like you then check out thePickaplant Jars by Pikaplant. By hermetically sealing specially chosen plants in glass jars a mini ecosystem is born. The plants recycle the air and water in a closed system and thus require no maintenance from you. Don’t worry about the plants dying anytime soon either. A prototype from the company has been going strong since being sealed nearly a year ago. Currently you’ll have to find a retailer that carries Pikaplant Jars through their store list, however a Kickstarter campaign is soon to be announced by the company as they debut a new no-maintenance plant product. Keep an eye out for more from Pikaplant soon.
Caruma by Eneida Tavares - $100
Some of you may be familiar with traditional pine needle baskets back from your days at Summer Camp, but these vessels by designer Eneida Tavares, breathe new life into the long-established craft. Tavares binds handpicked pine needles from local forests and ties them up into long coils that she stacks on top of one another, building the form. She pairs the pine cylinders with stark white ceramic pieces that are woven together. The end result is a beautiful modern sculpture that combines two traditional crafts into one unified piece and is meant to serve as an “intercultural dialogue.” Each piece is a handmade, one-of-a-kind design and can only be purchased through the timed sales on Tavare’s websitefor roughly $100.
Designs made from natural stone are always exciting, but the raw material is usually underutilized in many mass-produced products due to its weight and often-intensive manufacturing. However, this collection of Desk Accessories by South Korean designer Jeongwha Seo really grabbed our attention. Inspired by the volcanic landscape of the Jeju Island in South Korea, the collection consists of coasters, a business card stand, a paperweight, a penholder, and a pen tray, all carved from the local Basalt stone. Each piece is finished with a narrow coating of black acrylic paint to keep it from scratching desktop surfaces. Seo wanted to use the skills the islands traditional crafts people have developed to manufacture the series and while these aren’t in production yet, he hopes they will soon supply the local craftsmen with a consistent work flow to help offset the recent lack of jobs for these skilled artisans.