I have recently discovered the very fresh, and eco-friendly designs of Ashley Watson and can’t wait to buy my first piece. Ashley designs handbags exclusively from recycled materials including leather. She began in early 2005. Each bag she creates is unique, utilizing the distinctive characteristics of the material. She sells worldwide. For a list of online and brick and mortar shops visit http://www.ashleywatson.net … and enjoy!

The car company BYD (Build your Dreams) plans to start selling the first plug in electric car in China next Month, Dec. 15 to be exact. The model is the F3DM Hybrid sedan and can travel about 60 miles on a full electric charge or 267 miles in hybrid electric/gas mode. The car plugs into a household 220V outlet and can fully charge overnight or to about 80% capacity in 15 minutes.

Rumor has it there is also an F3E full electric model coming that would have a range of 186 miles and a top speed of 100 mph.

The cars are rumored to sell anywhere from $15,000 to $25,000- not bad for the first electric plug in. Oh and BTW- Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway just invested $230 million in BYD auto last month. I have a feeling the electric revolution may be here to stay this time.

Andy and Debb the design duo from Korea has made their NY fashion week debut, and all I can say is welcome- and thank you for coming!

The show was fantastic. Inspiration came in the form of a cupcake. While baking with her daughter Debb was fascinated by the candy colors, swirling textures and pleats in the wrappers. And what came to be was a line that is very elegant, fun and completely wearable. The micro pleating and intricate detail work was executed in such a way that each piece felt like a delicate creation. Their craftsmanship is absolutely impeccable.

Two of my favorite pieces were an ivory fine pleated organza top which fervently swayed as the model walked down the runway and a golden yellow silk blend sleeveless puff dress with a chocolate brown belt.

As an added bonus to attending this event we here at SKN provided our reusable totes as the gift bags. Upon entering the tent SKN bags were laid out in all of their colorful food inspired graphic glory. To Andy and Debb: It was a pleasure meeting you and being a part of this significant and inspirational show.

I’ll say it again:

Viva la fashion!

from left to right: Chris DeGregorio (SKN), Jennifer Stevenson (SKN), Andy & Debb

SKN is proud to have been invited to be a part of the Andy and Debb show for their Spring 2009 collection on Sept 6th at 2:00 pm.

Our organic and conventional cotton lines will be represented at the show and provided to each attendee starting their fashion week experience off with Andy’s and Debb’s fabulous work and SKN’s green and gorgeous totes.

SKN’s line of organic cotton reusable totes are certified organic and grown, woven and sewn right here in the US. We have previously been featured on style.com, ecofabulous.com, as well as in both Health and Town & Country Magazines. 

We look forward to seeing you all there. Long live fashion! 

SKN

T. Boone Pickens is the founder of Mesa Petroleum, one of the United States largest and most well known independent exploration and production companies of oil and natural gas. He is also the founder and chairman of BP Capital Management, one of the nations most successful energy-oriented investment funds. With his wealth of knowledge regarding the oil industry it is interesting that his latest project doesn’t involve oil at all- but wind power and natural gas.

According to Pickens the world’s oil production peaked in 2005. Oil is getting harder to find, more expensive to produce and there just isn’t enough of it to keep up with demand.

Currently the United States spends 700 billion a year to import foreign oil. (That’s four times the cost of the Iraq war.) Over the next ten years it is projected that the cost will be $10 trillion, the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of mankind.

Pickens plan of refocusing our energy needs onto wind power and natural gas will alleviate the outsourcing and put money back into our own economy. It will also be “clean” energy. According to the California Energy Commission, greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas are 30% lower than gasoline. It is the cleanest transportation fuel available today. Autos that run on natural gas are already available, and it is significantly cheaper than gasoline. In Utah and Oklahoma prices are less than $1 per gallon. Pickens calls the United States the ‘Saudi Arabia of wind power”. Studies from around the world show the Great Plains to have the greatest wind energy potential in the world- by far. A 2005 Stanford University study found that there is enough wind power worldwide to satisfy global demand 7 times over- even if only 20% of wind power could be captured.

To learn more about Pickens plan click on: pickensplan

This businessman and visionary may be on to something!

Now here’s something delicious to put in your SKN reusable grocery totes. Canned tuna fish with an eco-friendly, forward-looking, industry-sustaining, twist. It’s 100% Pole caught by American Tuna.

Why is this important? Actually, pole and line caught tuna has many advantages for both the environment and your personal health. It eliminates the bycatch of other sea animals such as dolphins, sea turtles, whales and sharks. When pulled from the water along with the desired tuna, most of the bycatch is usually dead due to the combination of being dragged underwater for miles and their pesky need of surfacing for oxygen (I’m looking in your general direction mammals).

“I’m not an environmentalist” you say. “I don’t care about dead dolphins so long as I get my tuna” you say. Well, there are both long term and immediate personal repercussions associated with traditional fishing tactics that should be considered.

First the long term detriment. Other fishing methods such as net casting and longlining deeply affect the surrounding environment through the associated bycatch by depleting food sources for organisms within the food chain that the tuna normally feeds on. This creates a cycle of less food for tuna to feed on, resulting in less tuna available to humans, which we then attempt to combat with more net casting and longlining to keep up with demand. The long lasting result of this is a depletion in the amount of tuna we can harvest. I know what you’re thinking - pretty silly to create a negative feedback loop that depletes our food supply right? Right.

A more immediate benefit of American Tuna’s pole caught tuna is that it generally has a lower Mercury content than catch from longlining and net fishing. Why you ask? In 2006, the Oregon State University Seafood Laboratory tested the levels of mercury in Pacific albacore tuna and found that levels were well below FDA mandated action levels. Since larger fish are usually older fish, they have more time to accumulate toxins. Older albacores, blue fins and yellow fins, are most often caught by longliners and can be over 40 years old. At that point you might as well just eat a thermometer.

American Tuna’s catch consists of primarily younger smaller fish from the Pacific Ocean, creating the best combination for finding lower mercury tuna fish.

OK so why American Tuna? You might ask. Because it’s delicious! And I’m not the only one who thinks so. American Tuna is incorporated into the menus of some heavy weights in the Restaurant industry like Four Seasons in Palm Beach Florida, Witchcraft Deli’s in San Fransisco, and Zabar’s Manhattan to name a few. Traditionally, commercial tuna is cooked as many as three times along their journey to the tuna can, then packed with water soybean oil or olive oil to replace the natural juices and often contains phosphates, too. American Tuna flash-freezes the fish right on the boats, then it is cooked only once in its own juices before canning. This canning process keeps in flavor and natural fish oils containing omega-3 fatty acids and eliminates the need to add anything but the fish. No water, no oil, no salt ( silver label. Unless you purchase their sea salt seasoned products in the gold labeled can), no phosphates. Nothing but Tuna Fish, which is all you were looking for to begin with right?

It’s worth pointing out that American Tuna is the only MSC Certified Sustainable Commercial Tuna Fishery in the world. Every can/package/loin of albacore displaying the MSC eco-label can be traced back to the vessel that harvested it.

Now that I’ve made you hungry, where can you get it? In addition to the restaurants listed above, American Tuna can be found nationwide at Whole Foods Market as well as at many local grocery stores and restaurants around the country. After trying it, let us know what you think.

At SKN design we’ve developed a line of designer reusable totes available in both organic and conventionally grown cotton. Besides considerations in their design, including functionality and aesthetic, we also paid special attention to the manufacturing processes used to create the totes themselves. We decided to have the tote manufactured in the U.S., where they would primarily be sold. It’s not a common practice these days, but we feel it was the right decision for this line.

It is often less expensive to have things manufactured overseas where the cost of living and salaries are much lower than in the U.S. This is a great move for profitability in the SHORT RUN, but has negative effects on both communities and the environment in the long run.

This is not a push for isolationism or a protectionist policy, but rather a push for moral profitability within the business community. Lets take the following example: Lets say I want to make … oh I don’t know, let’s see… a reusable grocery tote. Okay, so to make this tote I’ll have to get some fabric from China that is made from cotton grown in India and then shipped to the U.S. for sale either to customers within the U.S. or elsewhere. Now let’s add in that hang tag that’s made in Taiwan and that label that says made in the USA but actually gets made in India.

Now let’s add up all of the miles that the pieces of a bag have traveled to become your personal bag. Now I’m no mathematician, but it seems to me that all of those miles require a ton of fossil fuels to be burnt to bring this bag into being. So the short term gain of higher initial profits has caused negative long term effects. 1) A damaged environment that must now be cleaned up and 2) A depressed employment situation in the community the bags are actually being sold in, creating fewer possible customers for the company’s products.

Manufacturing locally cuts out a lot of this unnecessary travel, as well as helps employ people in the U.S. economy. We’ve recently taken the time to sketch a path for SKN design to manufacture locally everywhere we sell. After all, everyone should enjoy these benefits … but more to come on that later. It’s a work in progress.

We are not the type of Americans to tattoo eagles on our chests, or call French fries freedom fries. That is not the point. We feel that producing locally employs locally, and employing locally supports the local communities and families that the product is intended for. After all, we live here too. There is also the environmental factor. When you produce locally, you are not using the fossil fuel to ship from overseas, which emits excess CO2.

It seems like the smart choice to us. 

Color is in. As is the individual and consumer power. I can’t help but think about what these two things have in common and how wearing color gives us a voice without saying a word. 

It’s empowering, isn’t it? The bright bold color palettes that are taking over in today’s fashion and home trends convey emotion like never before. They correlate with today’s modern individual. The powerful personality walking our sidewalks – is a modern adaptation of the you of yester-year. 

Perhaps it’s all the “reality” TV or the over gentrification that has plagued many of our communities but I’m a little tired of “bland of the faux”. I want real, and I want it now. This gravitation toward bold palettes reintroduces style and the individual. 

Color can translate emotion, set a mood, and inspire. And I have to say, with all of the bright, bold palettes being consumed and fervently displayed, we hear you loud and clear. It’s your day- enjoy it! 

For some color inspiration check out:

The Sartorialist                                SKN                                        DWELL     
 

 

What is a good design?

In my mind, a well designed object is one that fits its function— doesn’t negatively disturb its environment and overall increases pleasure for its viewer/user etc.  

Shouldn’t well designed items—if they are so good— be sustainable and healthy as well? 

I am currently reading “Cradle to Cradle/ Remaking the Way We Make Things” by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, and I find it intriguing. The book makes the case for ecologically intelligent design and the term Cradle to Cradle implies that everything we create should either harmlessly biodegrade or be able to be recycled into a new item. In other words, there is no waste at the end of the life cycle— only useful materials and nutrients. 

They also brilliantly dispel the myth that sustainability and industry are inherently at odds with one another and one must suffer for the other. 

I think this concept is the future for design and the precept to a new industrial revolution. It’s a new way of thinking in terms of industry and design. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the subject and I would love to know your thoughts and opinions on the matter! 

We all know by now that refusing plastic and carrying your own reusable sack around is tres-chic. But where did this trend come from and why? And what’s all the hub bub about? The answer is quite simple. 

Up until the early 1900’s people bought what they could carry. You wouldn’t think of going to the store without bringing a basket or bag with you to carry home your purchases. In 1912 a small grocery store owner invented the paper sack to give consumers the option to purchase more. In the 1970’s the use of the plastic shopping bag took hold and they started becoming available in large grocery chains. The convenience and cost effectiveness made the use of plastic sacks take off. But today the bottom line has changed. We can no longer be the disposable society that we are. The effects of creating waste as a daily routine have taken hold, and we now realize we cannot sustain a life where we fill our planet with toxins and continually produce non biodegradable products designed to be single use and disposable. 

So the good old practice of bringing your own bag is back in full force but with a modern twist. Those fashion-conscious shoppers out there now have reason to rejoice. New reusable totes are becoming fashion and eco icons. Their visual aesthetic is now so fashion forward that boutiques across the country are carrying them for their most fastidious shoppers and on your arm they tell the world that you are not only trend savvy, but smart and conscientious as well. 

So enjoy the world’s greatest new accessory, and find a reusable tote that expresses your style as well as your ethos.