5 Ways Wood Was Wonderful at Paperworld '09

The resurgence of sustainable, reclaimed or authentic wood as a key design statements is even affecting basic office and school supplies. At Paperworld this week we found many ways wood was going upscale in beautiful finishes and grains or going casual with green with sustainable applications. Here are 65 Ways Wood Was Wonderful at Paperworld 2009:

Graf Von Faber-Castle:
Trend Hall:Lindaver: Read More..

Feeling Sensory Deprived

We live in a world of cold, flat surfaces. Computer keyboards, granite countertops, stainless steel and hard plastics greet our hands and fingertips all day long - we are sensory deprived. Adding an element of tactile, touchable elements to products is a growing trend satisfying the consumers need to utilize more of their senses.

This very cute, slightly shaggy desk chair from our coverage of Casa Foa in Buenos Aires is not only fun, it's a sensory experience on wheels perfect for the younger generation.

The addition of tactile elements as the supporting element to color, product or materials at the retail level allows the consumer to have a sensory experience with a brand. Plascon Paint's Living Concepts in Australia does a great job with their showroom - each color display features a tray of natural materials that give sensory support to the colors offered by Plascon.

What's in your drawers? L' Atelier A Francais gives you the illusion and dimension of overcrowded drawers, but the idea of cabinet doors with an intriguing texture or unique shape is something that could shake up kitchen design.

The Adidas store in Paris is willing to show you how they make shoes and they invite you to touch and feel the materials that will make up the products you will buy in their store.

To compliment the shaggy chair, we have the shaggy light fixture. While we're at the Maison et Objet show in Paris later this month we will have to make sure to catch Chiara Lampugnani's Atmosphere series of shaggy lighting. The lamps are made of optical fibres and LEDs on bases of ceramic and metal and are sure to be a sensory experience in both sight and touch.

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Green Back to School Supplies

The Daily Green has a great comprehensive list of the best eco-friendly school supplies hitting the shelves this year. Lots of great information backpacks and bags made of eco-friendly materials, sustainable pens and pencils, green classroom projects, and lots of ways to create waste-free lunches. (Read the whole article here, you can also read our previous coverage of the IndieFixx back to school guide here) Some of our favorites include:

The Simple Shoes Combover bag using recycled PET straps and coconut buttons:

The Laptop Lunch Box was designed to resemble the bento box and is made of lead free plastics and includes all the perfect sized containers to pack a waste free, nutritious lunch:

Recycled paper Post-it notes for those important "Don't forget your homework" notes:Recycled and refillable Woody Pens:Ecojot created stylish and fun notebooks made of 100% post consumer waste and vegetable dyes: Read More..

Back to School Guide by Indiefixx

Oh, yes, it's almost that time again! And, if you're looking for some back-to-school inspiration one of our favorite indie-design sites, Indiefixx, has started their Back-to-School-Guide series.

You can see day three of their series here, which also has links back to the first two days of their fun and funky guide. Even better, there's a contest going on - leave a comment each day telling Indiefixx your favorite item and a random winner is going to win their wishlist! A few of our favorites? Here they are:

We've posted on Rosie Ro's cute designs last year (see our post here), and she's back with another Peek and Hoot bag, perfect for that intelligent back to school look:

Are you looking for your pencil? Look no further, this canvas notebook from Chikabird keeps you neat and organized. Visit their site for more patterns and cute designs:

Speaking of pencils, are you looking for a chic and stylish way to keep your writing utensils in check? This case by Peek Keep brings modern pattern and color to a basic school staple:

These corkboard tacks from Uncorked are cute, and green of course, using cork grown in sustainable forests in Portugal:

The Mustache iPod Case from Adorkable Crafts is just dorky enough to be endearing:

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Unusual Office Furniture

Looking for that perfect piece of furniture for your home office or to deck out the dorm room of your back-to-school college student? Maybe one of this pieces might do the trick! Weburbanist featured nine unique and unusually creative pieces of office furniture and here are our favorites:

The Bookinist is basically a portable chair that just happens to have book storage space for 80 paperbacks built in along with a lamp and comfy seating.

The House on a Table is the perfect solution for your busy, often chaotic office space. It's like a cave that fits on top of your desk and gives you your own little fort inside your office giving you that personal space in the corporate world.

The Nethrone is in an adjustable work station that allows users to adjust the tilt of the chair and monitor. The end result is sort of like a customizable cradle that provides a relaxing work environment, now please try not to fall asleep during the mid-afternoon slump!

The Trey Chair may look like an ordinary piece of office furniture, but it's actually two distinct pieces that can come apart and be used separately for different functions. The seat becomes a low rocker, perfect for playing video games or doing homework, while the wheeled base becomes a tiny table or comfy ottoman.
Read more about all the pieces at Weburbanist. Read More..

Stationary Show 2008 - Colorbok

Here are some great shots from Colorbok, the colors, designs and natural motifs reflect their "eco simple" story. They plant one tree for every item purchased from that product line - now, that is simple!

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Paperworld - Kiddy Trend Hall

The "Kiddy" trend area at the Trend Hall was definitely lighthearted and fun-inspired. Softened colors and sweet motifs were key for girls, while silly creatures and graphic illustrations were strong for boys.
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Paperworld 2008 - Live Coverage

We are seeing TONS of pearlescent metallic. Less of the super-glossy and overtly metallic variations, but everything from pens, pencils, notebooks and leather had a subtle pearlescent sheen at the Trend Hall. We love this softer, more elegant interpretation of metallic finishes!

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