For the first eight years of my life, we celebrated Halloween in my house. From Wonder Woman costumes to Lambchop get-ups, come All Hallows Eve, we got down. Things changed when Mom became a born-again Christian. During the remainder of my time at home, I have recollections of church soirees, with my brother and I dressed as Mary and Joseph, or something similar. It was…different, to say the least. You can only imagine, then, the fervor with which I embraced the holiday back into my life once college rolled around and I’d moved away from home. I was shameless, hitting up houses dressed as a nun. I looked forward to the dark evening with a fever possessed by children on Christmas Eve. Or their birthday. Or a trip to the toy store. [image sourcing, clockwise from top left: blue jake, the farmer's wife, strite's orchard, mariquita, the daily green]
While I still feel this way, as I’ve aged, I’ve begun to look at Halloween through a new lens-through “green-colored glasses,” if you will. The holiday is ripe for critique, from an ecological vantage point. From the synthetic, packaged costumes to the additive/preservative/synthetic-everything content of most Halloween candy, this holiday could use a green make-over. I’m certainly not advocating an abolition of the night and all its attendant guilty pleasures (I don’t yet have children, but when I do, this might be the one time of the year that this high fructose corn syrup-free, all-natural, mom-to-be lets her hair down and gives the kiddos carte blanche). I’m merely suggesting that it might be worth giving the annual night of debauchery a once-over. Here are a number of simple, easy, small measures that will help in greening up the ghostly hour.
CLICK HERE for Ashley’s Hallow-Green (Putting the Eco in Ectoplasm) ideas after the jump!
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October 30th, 2009 - 09:00am
good morning! i am so glad it’s finally friday- it’s been a seriously TGIF kinda week. but before we get started with the rest of today’s posts i wanted to thank lucy for her amazing guest posts this week! today she’s wrapping things up with a great guide to her favorites in melbourne’s fitzroy area. click here to check it out!
i also wanted to share these gorgeous leather bike seats from leather artist kara ginther in madison, wisconsin. she creates these incredible hand carved brooks saddles that are almost too pretty to sit on- though i think i could get over that eventually ;) click here to see more of kara’s work online. thanks, kara!
[click here for this week's ask d*s column about vintage bike sources]
October 30th, 2009 - 08:00am
When we realized that we’d be doing a post so close to Halloween we decided to look for inspiration beyond a cleverly carved squash. We wanted to assemble an arrangement that embraced the darker, more macabre side of the holiday. Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the terror-ium!
Right up the road from San Francisco, California Carnivores looks to be merely a little greenhouse off the main drag. Upon closer inspection we found the equivalent to a botanical bestiary: hundreds of little meat eaters all under one glassed roof. The grounds of this carnivorous plant farm are more like a B-movie set than greenhouse, decked out with plastic creepy-crawlies and vivisected vegetation. But don’t let the campy decor fool: proprietor Peter D’Amato is a serious guy. He’s a walking, talking encyclopedia of carnivorous knowledge, having written several voluminous books on the subject. He guided us through the selection of our plants and gave us all the information we needed to successfully raise our little ankle-biters for years to come.
CLICK HERE for the rest of Studio Choo’s Terror-ium post after the jump!
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October 29th, 2009 - 01:00pm
today’s final before & afters come from jan willem schipper, who recently started a decorating business in france. jan recently finished these beautiful projects, for both a retail and private space. all i know is, i would move into this atelier in a heartbeat. i could curl up and sleep in a sleeping bag in the office. it’s rustic and perfect. be sure to view the whole post and check out jan’s full set of room makeovers. thanks for sharing, jan!
[have a before & after you'd like to submit for the d*s book or website? just shoot me an email right here with your images! (we're still looking for 5 more before & afters for the book)]
CLICK HERE for two more room makeovers from Jan after the jump!
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October 29th, 2009 - 12:00pm
kelly at high street market sent over this faux bamboo dresser makeover. she found her green dresser at a thrift shop and decided to upgrade it with new white paint, hardware and a little elbow grease. the final result? a fresh, clean start. thanks for sharing, kelly!
[have a before & after you'd like to submit for the d*s book or website? just shoot me an email right here with your images! (we're still looking for 5 more before & afters for the book)]
CLICK HERE for karen’s chair makeover after the jump!
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October 29th, 2009 - 11:00am
