[gallery link="file"] Check out the review on MagnifECO about the wonderful wood collection from April Hannah Designs sold exclusively at DIGS.com!
Click the link to read the article: http://www.magnifeco.com/april-hannah-contemporary-home-furnishings/living/
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Designed by: Rhea Alexander, Founder of DIGS
The goal was to offer retailers and wholesalers interested in importing from Egypt a cross-section or sense of the capacity and range these talented artisans have.
My inspiration was the nexus between old and new. During this historical time of the Arab Spring, how can we take the traditional iconic patterns and wood turnings then fuse them with a contemporary forms and materials to imply the transition or change occurring around us. The carvings inspired by the henna tattoos of traditional Muslim Women, the inlay from mosaic patterns and the ancient Egyptian architectural proportions balanced with contemporary finishes, needs and dimensions.
Available this Spring through Aid to Artisans
Helsinki, Finland: Saara Renvall is a designer working with furniture, objects, jewelry, spaces, and interior. After finishing her 3-year training as a carpenter, Renvall graduated from the University of Art and Design in Helsinki and received her Master of Arts in 2002. She has studied shorter periods in India, Denmark, Japan, and the UK; gaining expertise in different design cultures.
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Tawny Reynolds is a sustainable thinker and talented craftsperson working in Minnesota. At an early age, she had an interest in lenses and the heat they derived. After experimentation, she started melting glass with the Fresnel lens to create all sorts of forms and eventually came up with her jewelry collection. The cool thing about this process of melting recycled glass is that it has no emissions nor consumes any fuels. Wanting to examine her entire production footprint, her studio also uses partly recycled silver in the bindings and recycled paper in the packaging.
The process is mostly solar; first the lens is tilted until the sunlight is focused on a rock attached to a wire stand. The lens rotates both horizontally and vertically to adjust as the position and angle of the sun which changes throughout the day. The hot spot is concentrated and can get up to 3000 degrees Fahrenheit! Gravity and surface tension pull the molten glass into a lobe that cools as it falls and stretches into the sun drop shape. The final sun drop is connected to the strip by a thin stringer of glass, which breaks off to disconnect it. Tawny's earrings and pendants are made from recycled liquor and beer bottles to get their vibrant color. Can you guess which ones she uses?
Special Designer Offer: Use code NL0721 to receive 20% off Tawny's earrings and pendants!
New York, New York: Patti Carpenter is an International Product Design and Development Consultant and Trend Forecaster. A native of Washington, D, she now resides in New York City and holds degrees from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York.
With a career that spans more than three decades in the Fashion Industry, she has worked with a wide variety of high-end and designer brands and retailers. In 2001, she founded Continuum Home, Inc./Carpenter + Company. Patti is passionate about integrating new product development with cultural/artisan sustainability, fair wages, and environmental and social responsibility. As consumers of high quality goods expand/strengthen their interest in these concerns, she believes these attributes will be more influential on purchasing decisions, providing a clear business advantage to companies that make a genuine commitment to sustainability and responsibility.
Special Designer Offer: Use code NL0714 to receive 20% off Patti's gorgeous seed necklaces! Also check our her adorable Haitian Ju Ju Boy and Girl dolls; made from scrap yarn and cotton by Haitian artisans.
Brooklyn, New York: After graduating with a BFA from Central St. Martins of London in 2003, Shanan Campanaro has developed a vibrant studio practice and exhibition schedule, has received significant support from the New York Foundation for the Arts, and has worked as a senior designer in fashion textiles and graphics in New York City.
In the sring of 2008, she launched a line of bespoke wallpaper made to order. The surge in interest prompted her to launch ESKAYEL at the Brooklyn Designs Juried show in May 2009.
Since her launch of Eskayel her work has gotten critical acclaim and been featured in the New York Times, Interior Design Magazine, House Beautiful, Luxe interiors, and Daily candy.
Special Designer Offer: Use code NL0707 to receive 20% off Shanan's pillows!
Gainesville, Florida: Haskell and Melanie Martin, founders of Moksa, have created a clean revolution. "Our products allow us to do what we love and it allows us to work with progressive people and groups that help minimize society's impact on nature and eco-system. Our mission focuses on habitat preservation and conservation. Soap helps us accomplish that. That's what we call 'soapy love'."
No more bulk packaging, wasted materials, lists of ingredients a mile long that few people can pronounce, or ingredients and packaging that contribute to environmental hazards or questionable ethics. Their products will never include palm oils. Soap makers use palm oil because it's cheap and readily available. Commercial harvesting of palms for their oil is the leading cause of the ecosystem's loss of habitat and deforestation.
Melanie and Haskell have chosen ingredients with the least amount of environmental impact. Moksa's packaging is tree-free. They use post-consumer waste, recycled materials, and no virgin plastics. Moksa's ingredients are certified organic, fair-trade whenever possible, chemical-free, and support women's cooperatives, environmental advocacy groups, sustainable businesses, local businesses, non-profit environmental organizations, and they're certified carbon neutral!
Special Designer Offer: Receive 20% off Moksa's Athlete's Secret Body Butter and Kona Athlete's Body Bar. (For pampering even Dads love!) Code NL0614 at checkout!
Los Angeles, California: Kinda Hibrawi's artwork is a passionate journey of femininity, spirituality, and cultural convergence. Of Syrian descent, she grew up between Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, and the United States. Through her studies, she began to expand on the ancient tradition of Arabic Calligraphy by giving it a modern twist. As an Arab American, she felt the need for her artwork to reflect the richness of the Middle East coupled with Western diversity. Hibrawi's original work is sought by collectors worldwide and has exhibited in galleries across the US. Her 2007 solo exhibition in Washington, DC was a great success and she was named "an artistic ambassador" by Arab News.
As an artistic ambassador, she lectures on her work nationwide, recently she was invited to speak at the School of Visual Fine Arts in New York City. She was asked by the City of Los Angeles to premiere her work in their 2006 Cultural Calendar and City Guide, and is featured online for the Syrian Culture, Arts and History Center in Montreal, Canada. Her work has been acquired for the permanent collection at the Arab American National Museum in Detroit, Michigan. In 2008 she was selected by the US Art in Embassies Program to showcase her work for the United States Permanent Representative to NATO Ambassador Kurt Volker in Brussels, Belgium. As a result, she was invited by the US State Department to showcase her artwork in a 2010 US Embassy wall calendar, to be distributed to US embassies worldwide. Hibrawi runs a portrait studio MyPopArt.com in California and hopes to continue bridging cultural misunderstandings between Arabs and Americans.
This original Arabic Calligraphy Tee Collection was designed to promote peace and understanding through the positive message that each shirt represents. By wearing them, you join the movement to help change the world one shirt at a time. Cap sleeve, boat neck, and with hand thrown sugar crystals in the front, the english translation of the character is on the back. Proceeds from this collection will support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency's (UNRWA) Adopt a School Program in Gaza. Adopt a School is an ongoing campaign aimed at overcoming the negative effects on children of prolonged conflict and poverty, and increasing the quality of education at UNRWA schools in Gaza.
Special Designer Offer: Receive 20% off Kinda's Calligraphy T-Shirts! Use Code NL0517 at checkout!
Dallas, Texas: Three Blind Ants is a husband/wife owned company. Aaron is a long time advertising, branding and design veteran and owner of The Brand Hatchery. Amy is the other half of his brain and keeps everyone on task, on schedule and on budget. They are a creative team of designers, illustrators, and creatives who care about design and the environment. Their mission is to put a smile on your face and beg the question, "Now why didn't I think of that?"
Boxsal is their eco-friendly, modern picnic box dressed head to toe in a design style that allows you to tailor your picnic to your personal style. Whether it's the romantic taste of Today's Date, the inner-city style of Urban Picnic, or the casual coolness of Office Escape, Boxsal is a place to pack your creativity along with some tasty treats. Each Boxsal is completely recyclable and biodegradable right down to the knives, forks, and spoons included in the Boxsal Eatin' Tool Kit. Utensils and cups are made of compostable corn starch. The trays and bowls are created from sugar cane fiber. Each kit also contains recycled napkins and a compostable trash bag for your picnic left-overs. And while the Eatin' Tool Kit is disposable, the picnic box can be used over and over. It can even double as storage box, luggage, or portfolio case in the winter months.
Special Offer: Receive 20% off Three Blind Ants' Urban Pic Nic by using Code NL0426 at checkout!
Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina: Designer and Founder Ella Vickers' voyage to the creation of EVRSC began while serving as first mate on the sailing yacht Columbia, the first 12-meter vessel to win the America's cup. Ella saw untapped potential in the yacht's discarded sails and drew upon her creativity and training to design a handful of unique, attractive and practical recycled sailcloth bags. Ella Vickers, Inc. and the Ella Vickers Recycled Sailcloth Collection was born.
Ella Vickers Inc. has been creating quality marine canvas products since 1989. She started her business with no money - after receiving a business degree at a local NC college - relying on credit cards to fund her small enterprise. Today, the company owns a small factory at their headquarters in Wrightsville Beach, NC, and employs another 20 workers in Brooklyn.
Special Designer Offer: Receive 20% off Ella's Rope Tote! Use Code NL0419 at checkout!
Madison, Wisconsin: Heather Lins launched her eponymous home textile line in 2008 at the New York International Gift Fair. She was one of three winners selected to exhibit via the "A+: Young Designers Platform" competition for up-and-coming designers. Trained as a graphic designer, Lins brings a conceptual approach to home textile design. From the typography of eye charts to scientific diagrams, she uses images that are easily recognized but unexpected in home textiles.
Special Designer Offer: Receive 20% off Heather's Eye Chart Pillow! Use CodeNL0405 at checkout!
Santa Monica, California: Jon L. Wilson, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, is the co-founder and Chief Designer of FoodMap Design; a young, multidisciplinary design firm committed to reconnecting residential space and food cultivation. Their design concept is to use new modern and green design principles to construct spaces, landscapes, and products that support locally and home-grown foods. They believe that eating locally and home grown foods reestablishes the relationship between everyday life and a healthy and sustainable food source. Jon attended architecture school at Columbia University, Southern California Institute of Architecture, and Tulane University earning a professional degree in architecture.
Designer Offer: Receive 20% off Jon's Low and Tall Planters and create an edible garden anywhere! Use Code NL0329 at checkout!
This weeks giveaway: Win our Wooden Mat - handmade in Peru from FSC certified wood. Like DIGS on Facebook to find out how to enter!
Seattle, Washington: Darin Montgomery, a third generation craftsman and metal sculptor, founded Urbancase in 2002. His design philosophy is to create furniture and objects that contribute to a simpler, pared back lifestyle focusing on basic aesthetic elements and functionality. His wife, Rachel Illingworth, grew up in Tasmania, where she received a BFA from the University of Tasmania and is an internationally exhibited printmaker -- a show is currently scheduled for April in Australia. The Subway Cushion and Subway Getaway Blankets were inspired by a trip to Berlin, where they spotted military blankets at a flea market. They liked the idea of using an item that was intended for utilitarian purposes as an item of comfort.
Q: When did you first realize that design was something you wanted to pursue?
A: Whether I was decorating my room, sketching my dream apartment, or selecting the perfect handle grips for my bicycle, I can't rememer a time when I wasn't thinking about design. My parents were very encouraging and gave me the freedom to make my own aesthetic decisions at an early age. Even so . . . I think my Mom may have questioned that freedom when she had to paint over the black walls I left in my bedroom when I moved out.
Q: When did you first begin working in sustainable/green materials and why?
A: I don't think it was a conscious decision and it's not something we necessarily think about when working on a design. It's more about the materials we respond do. We don't connect with synthetic products in the same way we do natural materials and as a result I believe it leads to more sustainable practices.
Q: What inspires you?
A: For design inspiration, I (1.) scour files at the Library. It's a great source for ideas that may or may not have been successful and most likely won't make it into a recently published design book or magazine. (2.) Collaborate. (3.) Have a conversation with anyone who is doing something they feel passionate about.
Q: What music are you currently listening to?
A: Black Angels, Husky Rescue, We Were Promised Jetpacks, and Elvis Perkins.
Q: What is your favorite travel story?
A: Having cold meat, cheese, break, and a cheap bottle of wine on the veranda of a scrappy hotel room overlooking the rooftops of Paris with my wife.
Special Designer Offer: Receive 20% off Urbancase's Subway and GetawayBlankets! Use Code NL0315 at checkout!
New York City: Marie Havens is a designer and photographer based in New York City. She moved here at 17 to study fashion design at Parsons New School of Design, where she graduated with honors and the distinguished Designer of the Year award. Marie has worked within the fashion and photography fields for over a decade -- traveling the world from Europe, Asia, and Central America to Mexico, Australia, and Africa. She is currently the Design Director of MEND, the new accessories division of the media based non-profit Invisible Children. Marie also collaborates and consults for celebrity photographer Patrick McMullan; a ten year working relationship that includes photographing events and designing his top selling photography book and exhibition: so80s: A Photograohic Diary of a Decade. As a result, her design and photography work focuses on extremes in society, which greatly parallels her life and experiences in both New York City and Africa.
Special Designer Offer: Receive 20% off Marie's Green and Black Messenger Bags! Use Code NL0308 at checkout!
Special Designer Offer ends Tuesday, March 15, 2011. While supplies last. Winners of previous giveaways may not enter to win. Winner will be named via email on Friday, March 11, 2011.
Marrakech, Morocco: Frederic Alcantara was born in France. He is a seasoned freelance product developer who has designed and developed for many international brands and a consultant for non-profits such as Aid to Artisans. Today, he resides in Marrakech, Morocco, surrounded and inspired by unending streams of rich handicraft traditions.
Special Designer Offer: Receive 20% off Frederic's Tootsie and MagdaPacemats! Use Code NL0301 at checkout!
Raymisa was founded in 1981, located at 4,000 meters above sea level in the Peruvian Andes in the town of Tinki in the Cusco region. Its most important objective is to promote Peruvian handcraft, stimulate and preserve the creativity of artists and craftspeople, and also to promote the improvement of the quality of Peruvian products while respecting the cultural expressions and traditions in order to access the market.
Special Designer Offer: Receive 20% off Raymisa's Felt Bag with Long Strap inBlack or Grey! Use Code NL0222 at checkout!
Brooklyn, New York: Daniel Michalik is principal of DMFD, a firm creating furniture and objects from underutilized, environmentally responsible materials. Recent explorations have unlocked the vast potential of cork to perform in ways no other material can. Daniel was the recipient of the Fellowship in Design from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts in 2005. He has exhibited internationally, including at the Milan Furniture Fair, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the VIA in Paris. His work has appeared in such publications as the New York Times, Dwell, Food & Wine, Wallpaper*, Interior Design and American Craft, as well as the Sundance Channel and HGTV. He received his MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in the Department of Furniture Design, and currently teaches Industrial Design at he University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He lives and works in New York City.
Special Designer Offer: Receive 20% off Daniel's 12"Alentejo Bowl! Use Code NL0215 at checkout!
This weeks giveaway: Win a set of 6 Etched Glass Votives, made by hand from recycled soda bottles in Egypt. "Like" our facebook page for details on how to enter!
Ipapo, Oyo State, Nigeria: Funlayo Alabi started Shea Radiance to work in cooperation with the Women Foundation for Shea Butter Making Skills (WOFSHEMS) to establish a Shea Butter production venture in Northern Nigeria. Their goal is to establish a viable business entity that will be a sustainable source of income and economic activity for the women in the community. By processing the shea nuts into shea butter within the local communities, the women producers are able to add value to the product prior to export. This allows them to make a significantly higher income from the sale of shea butter as opposed to shea nuts. They invest in building capacity for the local cooperatives by providing storage facilities, transportation and appropriate technology. This support allows them to produce high quality shea butter that meets the quality standards that our customers expect from us.
Special Designer Offer: Receive 20% off Funlayo's entire Shea Radiance collection! Use Code NL0208 at checkout!
This weeks giveaway is something for your Sweetie (or yourself)! Win our Sterling Silver Chrysanthemum Ring in Red just in time for Valentines Day! Email your name and mailing address to info@digs.com to enter (previous winners may not apply).
Lima, Peru: Mery Luz Salva Diaz, a native of Lima, Peru, lives with her husband and daughter. As a fulltime working mother, she wanted to find a way to earn an income from home so she could raise her child. In 2006, with a curiosity in sustainable materials, she started to play with wooden beads, wire, fiber, and scrap felt from a toy factory in Lima. Designing and making her own "Bijouterie" got her many compliments and commissions. Later that year, she started a collection and showed it in local galleries, launching her home business. Today, she employs other mothers who make her jewelry from their own homes; allowing them to stay part of their communities, keep to their familial responsibilities, while still earning a fair wage to support their children.
In this weeks giveaway, we are offering Mery Luz' adorable Daisy May Pin! Enter to win by emailing your name and mailing address to info@digs.com. The winner will be notified on Friday, February 4.
Special Designer Offer: Receive 20% off Mery Luz' entire jewelry collection! Use Code NL0201 at checkout!
Lima, Peru: Industrial Designer Ricardo Geldres Piumatti, and plastic artist Kareen Nishimura Doy, established The Rika Collection in 2004. The name RIKA is a combination of both their names. Rika is dedicated to design and develop products manufactured with nonconventional materials, rescuing artisan techniques and adding playfulness to each singular proposal. They make use of materials reusing, adapting and recycling them in an innovative way.
They live in Lima, teach design at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica and have their studio just outside of Lima where they create their wonderful items by hand working side by side with their team and their mascot, Chingo.
Special Designer Offer: Receive 20% off RIKA'S Ojata Purse! Use Code NL0118 at checkout!