Green Options » Emma Henderson

Wedding Bands That Won’t Break The Bank

Emma Henderson — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:33:36 +0000

Wedding bells are in the air at Green Options. Deb over at our sister blog Feelgood Style is getting married next week, and she recently wrote a fascinating article on greening your wedding.

I have a little longer left to plan fortunately and I’m feeling very inspired by an article I found at Portovert on making your own wedding rings, specifically making them from old silver coins. These DIY wedding bands could even be made from coins manufactured in the year of your - or each others birth, what a lovely touch.

This wikiHow article gives detailed instructions on making the rings as well as explanations of what can go wrong and why - always useful. But even if it does take a couple of attempts to perfect, at $3 a shot your hardly going to break the bank.

Help Is At Hand

Emma Henderson — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:08:43 +0000

My fingers are like dried up sausages wrapped in sand paper and the skin on my hands is so rough, dry and cracked I look like I’d be more at home on the beach amongst the barnacles. If its true that you can tell a person’s age from their hands I must be about due for retirement.

I love my job but sewing and handling fabric all day long can be really tough on your skin so I think it might be time to try my hand at something a little more rejuvenating.

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Winter Woollies

Emma Henderson — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:59:29 +0000

Daffodils in the garden, people eating their lunch in the park and the odd overly optimistic choice of clothing can only mean one thing. Spring has sprung! So when I saw this image I thought it could be a great way for our old winter woollies to spend the rest of their days.

If your jumper drawer is anything like mine it will be crammed full of unwearable sweaters, some have shrunk in the wash others are a bit baggy and many just don’t go with anything else. So perhaps making your own version of this luxurious ’sweater blanket’ could be the answer.

This isn’t just a great way to recycling old jumpers, Opos who designed and manufacture this blanket are also making a statement about waste in the garment industry.

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Eggs-tra junk? No thanks!

Emma Henderson — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:44:36 +0000

When we first discussed a week dedicated to reusing plastic Easter eggs my first thoughts were “what?” So I turned to friends and family for help and inspiration but the replies were all the same: “What are they?”

The reason being that this seems to be one of the few holiday-related retail opportunities that the UK hasn’t latched onto yet - and from what I’ve learnt I really hope we don’t. Don’t get me wrong, we certainly know how to create seasonal waste - the amount of packaging for the millions of chocolate Easter eggs lining the shelves is obscene.

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Design*Sponge DIY Contest Winners

Emma Henderson — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:48:33 +0000

For me, the term DIY dosen’t always conjure up the most inspiring of images. So I wasn’t sure what to expect when Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge announced that she would be running a DIY contest through her Brooklyn-based website. But I needn’t have worried.

Over 500 entries were whittled down to a 20-strong shortlist with an astonishing diversity of projects.

The winning entry, this super-cute dog bed is as ingenious as it is stylish. My only worry would be finding a suitcase big enough to squeeze my long-legged lurcher into.

My favourite entry though has to be this rather macabre baby doll coat rack. I’d love to make a version with teddy bear parts. What was great about this contest was the fantastic amount of reappropriating and reusing of materials that was displayed. Inspiring stuff.

Careful With Those Bags, Darling!

Emma Henderson — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:30:28 +0000

After a long running campaign to ban plastic bags in the U.K, Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced this week a plan to introduce a tax on plastic bags.

Fantastic news! We can rid the country of an ugly, harmful menace and give ourselves a big slap on the back whilst carrying our shopping home in natural resuable bags. Great!

Or… is it really all that great? Am I the only one who might be a little bit sad to see them go? I won’t miss the bags themselves but I will miss the creativity they inspire.

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Mapping It Out

Emma Henderson — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 09:17:31 +0000

Maybe its because I’m longing for a good holiday or perhaps its just that I love the colours and endless possibilities of maps but I’ve been seeing them all over the place recently. This image forms part of a collection of maps belonging to designer Benita Larson via Poppytalk. I love the way they are displayed and that some have being put to good use covering journals, books and boxes.

Inspirational design studio Lovely Design also have some great products made from maps including this very sweet ‘I miss you’ mail set and these beautiful ‘Take me to’ books.

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More is More

Emma Henderson — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 12:12:58 +0000

The first time I saw Stuart Haygarth’s work was at Designers Block in London back in September 2005, I walked into a dimly lit room and was confronted with the most amazing visual spectacle.

The Tide Chandelier was the first thing I saw, it is an extraordinary mish mash of found objects arranged in an amazingly intricate and precise way. For Stuart it is a statement about the amount of debris on our shores. Everything he used to create this chandelier was found washed up on a particular part of the Kent coastline.

The Millennium Chandelier is another narrative piece, constructed from 1000 Party Poppers collected on 01.01.00 after the millennium celebrations in London, it is a work of art so specific that it could never be exactly recreated.

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Tied Up in Knots About Recycling?

Emma Henderson — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:49:47 +0000

Recycling or reusing old materials is one of the best (and cheapest) ways to get eco with your crafting. There are loads of ways to do this but it’s solutions like these that really grab my attention. What I love about these new uses for old neckties is that the objects they have been made into are far more beautiful than what they were originally.

Based in London, Barley Massey creates numerous products from recycled materials. The top of my wish list, though, are her shirt and tie cushions. These are such a fun use of old materials and would provide a great talking point for guests.

I recently came across relatively new etsy shop prix-prix via design sponge, In addition to making some very sweet notebooks from recycled soda boxes designer, Laura Skelton also produces these one-of-a kind card cases and wallets from vintage neckties, further fueling my vintage tie obsession.

Perhaps my infatuation with ties stems from this lovely tie rose made for me by a close friend, adorning a little felt box on my desk. It always reminds me that there can be some extremely beautiful yet staggeringly simple ways to use our discarded items.

There’s got to be thousands of old neckties languishing in charity shops and this is just about all the inspiration I need to go and rescue every one of them.