IIDA Shows Us the Future of Design

February 6th & 16th mark important final deadlines for the 38th Annual IIDA (International Interior Design Association) Interior Design Competition. The IIDA focuses on finding new talent and helping seasoned professionals nurture those are just starting out and acts as an advocate for legal issues that arise in the field.

The goal of The Interior Design Competition, according to the call for entry:

To recognize and reward outstanding interior design, and to encourage new ideas and techniques in the design and furnishing of interior spaces.

The winners will be published in Design Magazine and are archived on IIDA.org. 
Click the image below to view a slide show of the 2010 winners. 

It’s fascinating to be able to have a sneak peek at the new ideas trends in interior design and how they’ll shape the future. What’s even more important in the future of design is making it sustainable and environmentally friendly. Winners were recently announced for the Student Sustainable Design Competition, also from IIDA. They had a record number of entries in 2010 - nearly 3 times as many as the year before! The Grand Prize went to Katie Barons, Amanda Martin and Richard Abi Saab of New York School of Interior Design for “Fashion Showroom at One Bryant Park” which utilizes natural light to help keep down cooling and heating costs through unique angles that take in less light and warmth in the summer when the sun is high and more in the winter when the sun is lower. The floorboards would be made of organic bamboo and many areas will be decorated by arrangements of natural moss that will thrive in a self-sustained manner.

You can view the full design, as well as the other winners by clicking on  the image below.

Keep your eyes on other IIDA competitions to see the future of design happen right in front of them!

Wearable Collections Keeps Cloth Out of the Trash

One of the things I love about making linen sheets is that it doesn't create a lot of scrap fabric. When compared to clothing manufacturing, which is very wasteful, Linoto does pretty well. We use nearly all of the fabric.  Flat sheets and duvet covers use the entire width of fabric with virtually zero waste. The Linoto linen tote bag, for example, is made from scraps after the fitted sheets and pillowcases are cut. 

Linoto linen tote bag made from linen sheet scraps

Linoto donates the scraps that can't be used to Wearable Collections, an agency that collects and recycles clothing and textiles scraps. The scraps can be ground up and turned into short staple yarns for knitted items like socks and sweaters or even insulation. So far we have spared about 300 lbs. worth of linen scraps from going into a land fill.

Wearable Collections can set up collection bins near you and will even work within your building's restrictions to make it work. Usable clothing and rags are resold internationally while what is unusable is sent to facilities where they can be broken down and rewoven into new textiles. They can also help your charity organization by sponsoring clothing drives and will then pay you for for what is collected.

The average annual amount of textile waste in the United States is well over 193 tons. So far Wearable Collections has diverted over 2 million pounds of clothing and fabric from landfills.  They are currently located primarily in New York City, but will soon be expanding to Long Island and Central New Jersey. Imagine how much we can save if Wearable Collections goes nation-wide!

There are drop off centers at these locations:

Friday- W 97th St. between Columbus Ave. and Amsterdam Ave. from 8am-2pm
Saturday-Grand Army Plaza in Park Slope  8am-4pm and Union Sq. @ 14th St. and Broadway 8am- 6pm
Sunday-Tompkins Sq. park @ Ave. A and 9th St. 8am-4pm
Monday-Union Sq. @14th St. and Broadway  8am-6pm

You can also follow them on Facebook, Flickr and Twitter and help them change the way New York recycles clothes!