Great Food Waste Solution for Condo Dwellers!

Living in a condo doesn't leave you with many options for storing compostable food waste. In comes Fuccillo Design! They've made a cool container that's perfect for anyone living in a condo who wants to compost their waste.

What is your name?

Our names are Salvatore and Jennifer, and we own Fuccillo Design which is a design company based in Vancouver, BC.


What are some things about you?

We believe in the power of design to create positive change in the world. We are passionate about creating designs, whether they be products, interiors, or systems, that really help people. We’re not just about creating cool-looking stuff, though we try to make our helpful designs as cool-looking as possible. We want our designs to be both.

Describe the product you are most proud of.

Our first product, Bin, is a kitchen collection container for organic scraps bound for composting. You keep it in your freezer so that scraps won’t decompose, which eliminates odor and fruit flies (the two biggest complaints people have about composting). It’s made of silicone, which remains flexible even when frozen, which makes emptying easy (a quick flex of the bottom and the scraps pop right out).


What made you want to start your business?

We didn’t want to get hired at a design firm and end up designing a whole lot of “stuff”. We both wanted to be able to choose where we focus our energy, to make sure that we’re focusing it on something that will help people and the planet (hence our motto “for people for earth”).

Where can someone in Vancouver find your products?

Bin will be for sale in 3 stores in Vancouver beginning at the end of September: Cookworks, Walrus Design, and Chocolate Mousse. You can find a full list of on dealers on our website, www.fuccillodesign.com.

SLEEP TIPS

Getting enough sleep is so important! We hear it again and again, but did you know it can actually help you to become a more calm person and lose weight? This is because of how sleep affects our cortisol levels. Cortisol is the main stress hormone in our body.
Here are some things I do to get a better sleep.

1. I make sure to have really soft, fluffy pillows and bedding made of 100% natural fibres like cotton or bamboo. The softer the bedding, the more my body melts into the bed and becomes (as my husband says) limp like a wet noodle. Also, consider the temperature of the room when deciding which comforter to use.

2. To relax before bed, I make myself a hot cup of tea (decaf of course) and bring it to bed with an interesting book. I don’t read fiction because sometimes I’ll get too into the book and won’t be able to put it down! Instead, I read try to read a philosophical book that reminds me of the big picture. This helps me to keep the events of the day in perspective.



3. To help me relax even more, I put on an essential oil blend around my forehead and the palms of my hands and deeply inhale. One of my favourites is called Goddess from Saje.

4. When I have put my book down and feel like I’m starting to doze off, I put on the irelax app on my iphone. It has ocean sounds, rain sounds and music to help you relax. You can also just use a CD with relaxing sounds or music on it.

5. Make sure your room is dark. Use eye masks, blackout curtains, close the blinds...anything you can do to make it darker.

6. Sometimes, even though you try all these things, stressful thoughts can prevent you from relaxing enough to sleep. When this happens, I try to switch my thoughts to the most joyful things I can think of. You name it...winning the lottery, tropical vacations, fun and happy moments, things I’m thankful for etc. Then the negative thoughts slowly slip away.



7. Something else I do is try to make it easy for myself to sleep in more in the morning. I always have to have breakfast in the morning, but I also want it to be as healthy and fast as possible. What could be better than a breakfast smoothie? Here’s the recipe for the one I have every morning.



Yoona’s Breakfast Smoothie.

1 scoop of Vega Wholefood Health Optimizer (I like Vanilla Chai flavour)
1 banana
1 cup of almond milk
½ cup of blueberries

Blend all until smooth, put in a tall glass and enjoy!



For more information on sleep and cortisol, look at the following websites.

http://www.myprimetime.com/health/ailments_answers/content/sleeping_in/index.shtml
http://thyroid.about.com/od/loseweightsuccessfully/a/sleepdiet.htm

{Image credits: www.blisstree.com, Saje, Vega}


What do you do to help yourself get more sleep?

Happy Earth Day Everyone!

Decorative and Pretty Invites

Alizeh at Fancy Ink Designs creates custom made decorative invites. Her invites definitely reflect Alizeh herself who is unique, a little old world, but with a modern twist, and definitely beautiful. Alizeh is very creative, a great listener and has a calmness about her...even when very pregnant! The following is an interview with Alizeh about her unique invites.


What is your name?

Alizeh Fancy, owner of Fancy Ink Designs.

What are some things about you?

I believe in doing everything we can to help one another, including our environment. Being the mother of 6 year old with another one on the way, I am putting a lot of thought into how to reduce my footprint (or rather my baby’s bottom print) to ensure the earth is a better place for their generation. We compost, recycle and try to buy local and as few plastic things as we can and are going to use cloth diapers this time around. We spend a lot of our free time hiking and biking and just being outdoors, even if its only at the playground. I also love to practice yoga and find drawing and art a wonderful way to release tension.


What inspired you to start Fancy Ink?

Having been in the printing industry for over a decade, I had seen the most beautiful papers and I fell in love with translucent papers in a multitude of colours. They inspired me to create a line of wedding invitations in beautiful designs which brought me into this wonderful world of weddings! Now I do graphic design for couples looking for original and customized stationary for their big day.


What makes Fancy Ink ‘green’?

We try to do everything we can to encourage our couples to use FSC (Forestry Stewardship certified) paper, eco friendly printing processes and vegetable and soy based inks when printing in the traditional offset method. Most of my custom invitations are printed on a digital press which uses non toxic dry inks, limited amount of paper and does not leak chemicals into our water system, however still has the high quality you expect from custom invitations.



What kind of service can people expect from Fancy Ink?

More than anything I believe in getting value for your dollar, both in product and in service. With a background in the printing industry, I have the knowledge to make printing efficient and the know-how to provide additional pieces for practically free. Ensuring things are done right the first time around is one of my priorities. In addition a high level of service by making the client happy and going the extra mile for them is very important.





Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers of Brilliant Eco Blog?

Weddings, especially your own, are a time to be happy and enjoy the process. My advice would be to not try to do everything by yourself. Do what you know you are good at, but relieve stress by shopping around and finding people who can help you for a price you can afford.

Remember that the most important thing is to enjoy your big day so find people you would like to work with and that you can trust to help you out.

Visit www.fancyinkdesigns.com for more information on Alizeh and her invites.

Fun, Cutesy Invites by Something Green

I first met Corinne Leroux at the Grassroots Wedding Fair. She is this sweet smiley girl who has a passion for all things green. Something Green, a wedding invitation company started by Jahzel Misner and herself, offers wedding invites that are definitely out of the ordinary. They are fun and original designs that are for those couples who want to make a statement. The following is an interview I recently had with Corinne.

What is your name?

Corinne Leroux & Jahzel Misner

What are some things about you?

Jahzel & I are both graphic designers and we went to university together. We’re both artsy. Jahzel loves to paint & draw. I am more crafty – Knitting and creating Stained Glass windows are just a couple of my hobbies. We try to use environmentally friendly products in our daily lives, and this has influenced our business practices as well.

What inspired you to start Something Green?

A lot of our friends were getting married, and some of them had asked me to design their wedding invitations. I thought it might be a good business opportunity, so I asked Jahzel if she would be interested in started a company with me. We worked together a lot during university, and she jumped on the idea. Initially we were thinking of having two product lines, one with regular paper, and one on recycled paper, but we decided to just be completely environmentally friendly.

What makes Something Green “green”?

Our cards are printed on 100% recycled paper that is 50% Post-consumer waste and is FSC certified. The inks are wax-based, organic, and biodegradable. We also try and used eco-friendly products in our trade shows and our office supplies. Anything from bamboo table cloths to biodegradable pens.



How would you describe the style of your invites?

They’re not your typical traditional wedding invitations. They’re fun, cutesy and out of the ordinary. Our designs range anywhere from flowery cards to video game inspired cards.

What kind of service can someone expect from Something Green?

We have excellent customer service. Most communication is email based, and once an order is placed, we work directly with our clients until their order is approved. Once it has been printed, delivery takes 2 to 3 weeks, depending on location.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Although we don’t do custom designed cards, we’re always looking for new ideas. If you have a suggestion of something you’d like to see, let us know, and we’ll see what we can come up with.



Check out the Something Green online store at www.somethinggreenweddings.com.

Post Show Update!

Hi Everyone!

I haven't been able to update the blog in two weeks because since the show, my life has been moving at super speed! The show was an amazing success! I am so grateful to have met so many wonderful vendors there who are as kind as they are talented. I also have to mention the great brides-to-be who all came out. I was so impressed by how laid back and smiley everyone was.

For those of you who entered the draw for the free day-of-wedding coordination, the official draw date is February 20th, 2010 and the winner will be posted here on the blog and contacted by phone. Good luck to all of you!

For now, here are some pics from the show, including the door prize table below that I helped arrange. Enjoy!

Win 2 Tickets to this Saturday's Grassroots Wedding Fair!

Yes people! Vancouver's first Eco-Friendly Wedding Fair is this Saturday, January 30th! The Grassroots Wedding Fair is going to be fantastic with lots of goodies from local artisans and all kinds of inspirational ideas for greening your wedding.

Brilliant Eco Events is giving away two tickets to one lucky winner! Simply post the story of how you got engaged here on the blog, and the most sickeningly sweet story will win!

Pass the word on to your newly engaged friends! Good luck!