Trashy Bags

My family is from Ghana so I am a little bit biased towards cool stuff that comes from there. I just found about this fun new Ghanaian company and couldn't wait to tell you about them!

Trashy Bags is a cool and environmentally-minded project: old plastic bags which normally pollute the streets (in which things like single serving water and ice cream are sold, see here) are collected and turned into fresh new reusable totes, backpacks, duffle bags, and even briefcases! The people who collect them from the street get paid for bringing them in, the people that assemble them get paid by the company, the company makes money from the sales of the bags, and Ghana has cleaner streets. Everybody wins!


I'm gonna try and order some right away!

(via Boing Boing)

Bryant Terry - Organic Soul

By some lucky stroke, I discovered Bryant Terry via Facebook friends. We know a lot of the same people but have sadly never met. He is a fresh and exciting young black chef combining a true appreciation of soul food with an organic and health-conscious sensibility. Reading his recipes and great posts make me salivate and wish I'd be invited for a dinner party at his place.

This is his book, Grub



This is his website. On there you will find links to his few blogs.

Check it out.
Support this brother!

Bazaar Latino

I finally made my first Etsy purchase on the great little shop Bazaar Latino.



Thank you very much to this very kind soul for shipping to Slovenia! I am very happy with my beautiful new earrings and hope I can cop other things from the shop soon.





If you haven't checked out Etsy yet, head over there. While the interface could definitely use work, it is still easy enough to root around and purchase the purchasables and covet the pricey!

Tunnel House

(via Design Verb) This sculpture by Dean Ruck and Dan Havel is a few years old but no less compelling.

&Larry

Via NOTCOT

Witty design from Singapore. The tape lamp.





More on &Larry's website

Zulema Griffin

Zulema Griffin is a beautiful and talented black designer who was featured on the reality show Project Runway. In true PR style she has broken away from the fashion pack and is doing things her own way by shunning the Bryant Park tents and putting her fashion on Youtube for the masses.



The collection are a bit stark but beautiful, Griffin says the designs were inspired by the classic black church fashion shows, and the big hats make that pretty clear. I must say that the models in full body black catsuits remind me a lit of Leigh Bowery, but that's not a bad thing, as a matter of fact I think that so far it's the wittiest response to the dearth of black models that I've seen.

You can find out more about Zulema and her beautiful designs on her website.