As part of the IKEA Live LAGOM Community, I get invited to loads of great workshops. There is no need to feel left out though, IKEA run workshops for everyone all through the year and you just need to check your local store to see what is going on. Today’s workshop was about cosy homes and living in a drafty …
LiveLAGOM, working with IKEA to be more sustainable
Two years ago, I nearly deleted an email titled ‘congratulations’ from IKEA. I’m so glad I didn’t because it was an invitation to become part of IKEA’s Live LAGOM community and it has been truly life changing. I forgot I had even applied in the first place! The application process was incredibly easy; all I did was answer a few …
Frugal Family Takeover 2 – Money & Mental Health
How having a budget can make you happier… I have worked with all sorts of people, with an array of financial realities. I can testify that money in itself does not make you happy or prevent mental and physical health problems. It can however be a powerful force for good, and our relationship with money is a very complex affair. …
Frugal Family Take Over 1 – 6 Things You Can Do To Save The World
Claire Who? Hello! I’m Claire and I run The Frugal Family, the aim is to help families to save money, but at the same time save the world – you can see that Lisa and I would have lots in common… We have worked together over the last 18 months on lots of really exciting projects that I am very …
Free emotional support posters with tear off strips
Last month the lovely Anna in our Facebook group posted a link to an emotional support poster that had tear off strips. Each strip had words of comfort and support on it. I printed one out and taped it to the nearest lamp post. View this post on Instagram Lovely Anna posted this in the less-stuff Facebook group. …
Why failing is impossible
Next week I have to give a presentation at college. The subject is ‘Failure in Design’. Since we have been told not to discount any of our ideas as rubbish just yet, I’m assuming that the point of the exercise is to get us to embrace failure as a design resource. This has got me thinking about failure in all …
Yarn Scrap Projects – Never Ending Hyperbolic Mobius Crochet Tutorial
This is part of my research for my MA in Design. I’m exploring the idea of infinity. I’ve made a few of these now, mostly using scrap yarn and they are a brilliant way of using up odd ends. They work better with stripes so you can see the never ending edge. They are quite a mindful thing to play …
The #inflatableamnesty can go global! This is how to save paddling pools from landfill!
A new life for all those old inflatables A while ago I wrote about how happy my little tote bag made me. It was originally a bouncy castle, and the enterprising Wyatt & Jack saved it from landfill and turned it into a very handy bag. I like to think it is infused with the happiness of all the kids …
Not all plastic is rubbish!
There is a lot in the news now about reducing plastic. Terrifying pictures of beaches strewn with litter and animals killed by plastic are all over my Twitter feed. People all over the world, including me, take up challenges like #PlasticFreeJuly and #ZeroWasteWeek. But not all plastic is rubbish. I’ve left most of the Zero Waste and Plastic Free groups …
Solving a litter problem with compassion – “Show Stapleton Road Some Love”
I live near a very long street which has a long term problem of fly tipping and littering. Our local magazine, Up our Street called me in to do some freelance design work. They were working with Bristol Horn Youth Concern to solve the local litter problem. They wanted me to design a flyer that made it easier for people …
Authentic Box – Eco Friendly subscription for your home
This month Authentic House have sent me one of their subscription boxes to review. I had no idea what was going to be in it and if you watch the video you can get my first reactions. I’ve written this a week after the video you can watch at the end of the post so I’ve had a chance to …
What happens to plastic after you throw it away?
This is a guest post by Nathalia Fisher and Luke Douglas-Home from www.clearpublicspace.org who run the worldwide campaign `#StirCrazy’. #StirCrazy says – there is no situation in which a plastic stirrer is necessary. Most people think that our responsibility finishes when you put a used plastic material in the bin. But what actually happens to plastic after you throw it away? What …