life is beautiful

Goatmilk organic basics for kids

Kristina — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 21:29:04 +0000

As parents, we’re much happier buying less for our kids and buying what we believe in. Goatmilk organic cotton basics are the perfect example. They quality is amazing and the subtlety of the design is just enough to make them unique. They are the quintessential organic basic that you can stock up on and your child will always look thoughtfully dressed. Bravo Goatmilk! – Kristina

Even more beautiful the next time around

Kristina — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 16:35:13 +0000

There is nothing more beautiful than something made by hand. I love what Totem is doing with salvaging Indian textiles to create bags that have so much soul and character. We are big fans of “if you don’t love it now, turn it into something that you do”. Totem exemplifies what your creativity can come up with if you value both conservation and beauty. - Kristina

Eat Real Food Festival

Kristina — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 20:48:28 +0000

We took our families to the Eat Real Food Festival in LA and it was SO much fun. It’s all about local spotlighting local food vendors in a festival format to celebrate great food and learn where food comes from, who grows and makes it, and how they make it. All the food is made from sustainably-produced ingredients. The goal of the festival is to increase awareness and respect of the craft of making food. It was a yummy day for all of us. The favorite among among all our kids was their mid-day treat, a watermelon basil icy. And Nicole’s family found a local mustard that now is a crucial component in their infamous salad dressing called Hong Kong Habanero. It’s spicy, sweet and tangy and you can feel the love in how its made by its uniqueness and its flavor. Our family was take in by the Dripbar sponsored by Blue Bottle. After 9 months of sleepless nights, sampling local, artisanal coffee was pure bliss! - Kristina

A compost love story

Kristina — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 17:50:24 +0000

My friend Adele is French and beautiful. I love the way she sees the world. She always inspires me. Her latest creation are these gorgeous tomato plants. She decided to jump in and give composting a go just by throwing in her raw food scraps and leaves into an old wooden barrel on her patio. What popped up? A little tomato plant. Look at how lush and healthy they are and with no fertilizer. How Fantastique! Even if you don’t have lots of outdoor plants that benefit from your compost efforts, you can still put it to good use. There are tons of urban trees that would thank you for thinking of them - Kristina

A transformative eco tip

Kristina — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 18:41:30 +0000

Sometimes just changing your perspective can make things simpler and easier. After the birth of my second child, Lola, in October, I work smarter and more efficient hours to spend more time at home. Sometimes I don’t get it together to make coffee at home before I go to the studio and I pop into my favorite cafe, Spring for Coffee, and get a take-out. I finally resolved my feelings of being wasteful by keeping the to-go lid in my bag in a plastic zip bag. I realized that sometimes it’s not about the material that you use, it’s how much of it you use. Sometimes it’s unavoidable to use plastic. Try not to be so absolute in your eco-thinking and practical solutions will come to you that you will enjoy doing. Once you get into more habits, new ideas to conserve will start proliferating into your thinking. I love being home with Lola. It’s worth everything to me and I can let go of my small indulgence of a convenience by changing my approach of how I consume it. I want to enjoy every minute I can with her. — Kristina

From the Inside Source

Kristina — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 22:49:17 +0000

From Motifs to Materials, for Amenity Home, Sustainability is the Standard

Kristina De Corpo and Nicole Chiala, the thirty-something partners behind the home furnishings line Amenity Home, launched their business in 2004 with a simple concept: “We started with the idea of creating a lifestyle brand that offered beautiful and well-designed solutions for sustainable living,” says designer De Corpo.

The home furnishing design entrepreneurs began by designing duvet covers printed with nature-inspired motifs and made with eco-friendly dyes, but soon expanded to a full line of eco friendly bedding manufactured exclusively from organic cotton. Next came modern pillows featuring sustainable fibers like hemp and linen, followed by the introduction of an eco friendly nursery collection—a natural outgrowth after they both had children—which now offers green interior design products from pillows with forest animals designs to small, wooden environmentally friendly accessories like bowls and rattles crafted from woods certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). “Everything we’ve done from 2006 on has been conscious, responsible manufacturing,” explains De Corpo. “We’ve thought more about how we’re doing it versus the profit” [behind it].

Read the rest of the post.

Thanks Milena for writing such a great post about Amenity! We loved it.
— Kristina + Nicole

America Celebrates Design

Kristina — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:08:57 +0000

Design brings so much to our lives that we sometimes don’t stop and realize the magnitude of its significance. We were thrilled to see a well-selected group of industrial designers honored with a stamp collection.

The 12 industrial design ‘pioneers’ are: Frederick Hurten Rhead, Walter Dorwin Teague, Norman Bel Geddes, Raymond Loewy, Donald Deskey, Gilbert Rohde, Greta von Nessen, Russel Wright, Henry Dreyfuss, Peter Müller-Munk, Dave Chapman, and Eliot Noyes. Each stamp features the name of a designer and a photograph of an object created by the designer and the year the object was created. — Kristina

How you can help a public school

Kristina — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:15:24 +0000

I am one of the co-founders of Amenity. My son Roman (who was the inspiration behind our nursery collection - you can see Roman here as a toddler in our shoot), is now about to start kindergarten. His introduction to his school-age years has brought me to an interesting journey in my life, the support of public schools. I just recently embraced my public school, Micheltorena Elementary, in my urban neighborhood of Silver Lake in Los Angeles. It has been inspiring and eye-opening and I’m eager to participate.

I encourage each of you to walk into your local public school and learn about their values and goals and then consider how you can make a meaningful contribution to supporting their efforts. It can be a small or a big effort. Any effort can make a big difference! You will feel so rewarded that you are contributing to one of the biggest challenges in our country — how do we fix the public school system? We are too bright and resourceful as a population to let this be a continuing issue for our kids. We can solve this problem. – Kristina

Create a summer retreat at home

Kristina — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:43:44 +0000

We love summer at Amenity. If you’re longing for a beach house getaway vacation, create one in your own home with a few simple updates. Add some comfy and cozy Amenity pillows in earth-colored hues. A new set of organic bath towels from Coyuchi in oceanic-colored hues will also help set the vibe along with some potted succulents in hanging containers. We love this one available at Branchhome.com. It’s so stylish and simple. And to add just the right touch to transform your home into a real beach retreat, consider adding paper lanterns or something more special like these ceramic votive lanterns by Pigeon Toe Ceramics. Now that you’ve got the look, you’ll be sure to want to serve a quick snack to friends in style. Anything simple and organic looks great on our Amenity FSC-certified walnut trays. One of our favorites is chopped dark chocolate and fresh strawberries from the farmer’s market. Now you’re ready to sit back, relax and enjoy the summer. We know it’s going to be a beautiful one. — Amenity

Organic basics for Baby

Kristina — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 22:38:24 +0000

For those of you with babies, we want to tell you all about EGG. They have such a great assortment of organic basics for babies and in colors that are so vivid and unusual. The fit is great and the quality is amazing. And they have fantastic basics that are so functional, made well and made from hemp. We are all big fans!