Wow, it has been a long time since that last post. So long I nearly (pretty much did) forgot how to work this blog. Thankfully I managed to remember the password miraculously and the basic doings and I am back at it! I am such a massive fan of blogs, and have a few real favorites in my bookmarks (that is you at number one design files daily!) that entertain and inspire me all the time. So I thought I'd get back into mine.
Plenty of things have happened for me and Greener Kitchens over the past year or so, more jobs with Jamie, an ambassadors role I am really enjoying (more on that later), lots and lots more kitchens, a few bathrooms here and there, a cafe, a new studio and the consistent privilege of working with amazing clients who are as passionate as I am about doings things with the environment in mind.
My passion for ensuring I am designing the most responsible of spaces has me constantly on the lookout for new, more recycled, more recyclable, more local, lower emission, more responsible and more robust materials. And I can proudly say at this moment I have access to THE largest range of the most environmentally responsible products I have ever been able to recommend to my clients. This means there are more manufacturers out there getting on board with making materials that are healthy for homes and the environment, which is a really good thing, really good. It is also very exciting. More on great new materials and fabricators I have uncovered in later posts.
For my first post back I thought I'd have a rattle on about my role as the Ambassador for the Planet Ark 'Make It Wood' campaign this year. I agreed to perform this volunteer role because the message of the campaign is spot on this year and right in tune with my passionate views about wood. I am a timber tragic, and Greener Kitchens has found a real niche in the designing of kitchens with the right sort of wood in them. To me you can't beat the warmth, texture, richness, backstory and all round beauty of natural timber. It is happy in a kitchen because it is robust, renovatable and recyclable at the end of its life. Not many modern kitchen materials can do that! Timber and kitchens are one two of my favourite things so you can only imagine how excited I get when the two get put together!
BUT, it is really, super important that the right timber is used. Using the right timber is something I am passionate about and that is why I agreed to be the Ambassador for the Make It Wood Campaign. The message of the campaign is simple - USE WOOD, but make sure it is recycled or Forest Stewardship Council certified. WHY? Because using recycled timber or FSC certified timber is the only ridgy didge, dead certain way to make sure you are not using irresponsible or illegal timber in your home. Recycled timber is a no brainer, it has had a previous life and using it is ensuring it has a useful new one (rather than cutting down a tree). The FSC is a rigorous worldwide chain of custody certification scheme that follows the tree from the forest to the product being sold, ensuring it is responsibly logged and that we as consumers are made aware of this via their neat tree tick logo displayed on products so we can purchase them. Making these prudent timber choices means we are protecting high conservation value forests and working towards putting an end to illegal and irresponsible forestry practices that wreak habitat destruction and species extinction.
Illegal logging is not cool and I truly believe no-one would not want to support it, even accidentally. The 'Make It Wood' campaign is about spreading the world on how easy it is to make a good timber choice. I have never seen the sense of leveraging our future for the sake of a poorly made kitchen made from uncertified timber products that will end up leaching its toxic glues into the soil in landfill just as soon it has outlived the latest trend. Sadly that is the lifecyle of most kitchens being sold today and the common thinking in the industry. Really sad. Tragic in fact.
The happy news is that it is possible to make kitchens out of FSC and recycled timber in tune with the Planet Ark Make It Wood Campaign, and they can be reasonably priced too. I know because it is what we do at Greener Kitchens day in day out.
Time to get off my soapbox/ high horse (sorry about that), and say bye for now. You might have been unfortunate enough to catch one of the radio interviews I have been doing for the Planet Ark Make It Wood Campaign around Australia, if not, keep an ear out!
I just want to end my return post by explaining the picture above. It is a picture of a cake my Dad surprised me with for Greener Kitchens' fifth birthday in March this year. It really made my day and I got a little choked up just quietly. It is nice to know your old man is proud of what you have achieved. Thanks Dad, and to all the amazing clients of Greener Kitchens past and present that have kept us going. Five years of kitchens that help save our forests makes me kinda proud.
PS cake was yummy
PPS for more on the Make It Wood Campaign see in the side bar for a link ->
Thanks for reading
Druce
