Delicious dishes

By delicious dishes, I don't mean cooked up recipes. I mean the trendy, stylish, eye catching dishes that one might display on a kitchen or coffee table, perhaps even filled with scented decorations or fruit. Following are some environmentally friendly and unique designs. The difficult part is deciding which one I should buy....oh what the heck, I should just buy them all!

Ecohomewares.com.au have this delicate oval Buffalo horn dish which is one of their many Fair Trade products. Beautifully designed in France and handcrafted in Vietnam, I would have to say it's a steal at $36AU for such a unique piece.

They also have a couple of other Buffalo Horn pieces such as a Salt and Spice Dish, and Salt and Spice Spoon, both at only $19AU each. Such lovely gift ideas for someone who has everything!

Oxfamshop.org.au have a nice Hand-formed mother of pearl lacquer dish. This piece is one of the many items Oxfam offer which are made by Mai Vietnamese Handicrafts, who are a small group of predominately female social workers helping poor and neglected children gain schooling in Ho Chi Minh city.

This dish currently retails for $75.95AU.

What a great way to utilise discarded posters!

A group of Vietnamese artisians have crafted a nice range of recycled platters, bowls and coasters. All available at Oxfam.

The Recycled Plate shown retails online for $29.95AU.

ECOutlet.co.uk have something for the wine lover, and it's not wine! It's a condiment dish made from recycled wine bottles formed into the shape of a wine bottle.

The dishes are made by an artisian called Jane in North Shields on Tyneside. She sources the wine bottles from a local italian restaurant and recycling plant.

All in all a fabulous buy at only 15.99 pounds.

Orsonandblake.com.au provide these sleek and stylish organic ceramic dishes, bowls and platters in both ivory and black. The prices in this line range from $24AU for the dip dish to $210 for a large salad platter.

Orson and Blake are a luxury designer furniture, homeware and fashion brand. They are well known for their quality products and modern design rather than being associated as an eco-friendly label. So I guess this range is a bonus.

A Few Quick Tips to Make Your Home More Eco-Friendly

We all want to do our part to protect the environment, but without a large paycheck, that can be seem difficult, if not impossible. But doing your part doesn’t have to be hard. Small steps add up to a big difference, you just have to know which ones to take.

Use less water
Saving water is all about small steps, here are a few that will help save big.

• Shut off the water while you brush your teeth
• Take showers that are a minute or two shorter
• Only flush the toilet when you need to
• Only run full loads of laundry and dishes
• Buy from sustainable producers. These are farmers, ranchers, and other producers that use techniques that pollute less and use less water. You can do some research online or ask at your local organic market to find these products.

Use less energy
If you don’t have the money to buy a hybrid car or convert your house to solar power, you can make a big difference with small changes.

• Buy energy efficient appliances. They may be more expensive, but make up for the increased cost in lower energy bills.
• Unplug chargers when you’re not using them. Cell phone and other chargers use up powers even if there’s nothing attached to them.
• Put devices with remotes, like T.V.s, VCRs, and stereos, on a power strip and turn it off when you’re not using them. These devices use a lot of power to run the remote receiver even when the device is off.
• Walk or ride your bike for short trips.
• Buy local products. It takes energy to transport food and other products across the country. Buying local not only supports your local economy, it helps them use less energy.

When it comes to saving energy and water, it’s a great idea to get the kids involved. You can even make it a game. Have them track how much water and electricity everyone is using. You can compete to see who uses the least water. You can often count on your kids to help keep you on track when given the task.

Reuse
Most of us know the three R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle, but when we work on conserving, we often leave reuse out of the picture. While you can often find tips on how to reuse common products from other people, what you need most is creativity. With a little thought there are many items around your home that can be reused.

• Toilet paper holders can be used to sow seeds for the vegetable patch. Old yogurt containers can be cut into strip to make plant labels.
• Old food jars can be refilled with homemade foods or can make great impromptu vases.
• Broken glass, mirror or vases can be used to make mosiac items.
• Mend your clothing rather than throwing it out and buying again. Get creative and revamp your items to bring them into season.

Use environmentally friendly products.
When you go to the grocery store, you probably see more and more “natural” or “eco friendly” products every time.

If you want inexpensive, natural, safe products, why not consider making some of them yourself. Vinegar is a great way to clean and disinfect glass and other surfaces.

Need to remove stubborn stains? Just add some baking soda to your vinegar cleaner. Some quick searching online will lead you to hundreds of other natural safe home-made cleaning products.

We all knowing that going green means better for the environment, but it’s also better for you. Conserving resources also helps save you money, which is something most of us are happy to live with.

Trash for fashion

It's so refreshing to see how many handbags, wallets and purses are being made from recycled rubbish mostly from the ever increasing rubbish dumps in third world countries such as the Phillipines, India and Cambodia.

I'm pleased to have come across Ecoist.com who have a gorgeous selection of handbags and purses made from candy wrappers, food packages, soda labels, and other waste-bound materials.

I'm clearly not the only one in love with their bags as several celebrities such as Justin Timberlake and Jessica Alba have been spotted sporting their goods. They're also good enough for Samantha Jones (actress Kim Cattrall) who wears the Mega Silver in Sex in the City 2.

My favourite would have to be their pull tag range such as the Leda bag shown on the left. This one is hand crocheted with 700 recycled aluminum pop-tops. It was also handmade in Brazil by women's cooperatives. So it's good to know that when you buy one of these bags it's going towards supporting a community in need.

Each piece is signed by the artisan that made it and for every item sold Ecoist plant a tree. Now that's committment.

To check out more of their glamourous bags go to Ecoist.com.

Vintage looks bring so much flavour

If your home is looking a tad dull and lacking in character, going vintage could turn this around completely. You could add splashes of vintage and retro flavours to your home or even do a complete makeover.

Reduce your ecological footprint by re-using second hand items from flea markets, thrift shops, antique stores, garage sales, ebay or even items hidden away in the attic such as family heirlooms. Heirlooms add sentimental value and that "homely feel". Sometimes they happen to be great conversational pieces as well.

The 'vintage' era refers to the post-war times around the 1940's and 1950's. A lot of people had to make do and mend their items so don't be afraid to mix and match and do a bit of polishing up if a piece needs it.

Vintage fabrics and lace can be easily added to items. I have a nice swirly wrought iron lamp base that is very old and was given to me. All I did was hand stich some black lace to both the bottom and top of the shade and voila it was in use again.

Distressed furniture works well. This can be achieved by firstly rubbing wax over the edges and corners. Then apply a thin layer of paint. Once dry, rub over the waxed areas with sandpaper or steel wool to create the worn in look.

My all time favourite is using vintage photographs, posters, advertisements, magazine or vinyl record covers and framing them. Instantly add a touch of class by utilising a matted frame.

So I think you get the idea by now. I should give you a word of warning: once you pop you can't stop because this style can become very addictive!

Following are a just few places to buy vintage wares online.

Steptoes Dog - www.steptoesantiques.co.ukHere you can chose from 1000's of authentic vintage, retro, collectable, antique, kitsch, unique and unusual items such as housewares, clothing and accessories.

That Vintage Shop - www.thatvintageshop.com.au
They have a large selection of antiques homewares, furniture, dolls and collectibles.

Vintage Market - www.vintagemarket.com.au
A great selection of vintage and retro homewares, books, clothing, jewellery, accessories and gifts.