Guest blog / Julia Black: Just for the (green) taste of it

Julia Black: Coca-Cola Classic cans might always be, well, classic but the iconic red and white striped pop could be going naked. The design team of Ryan Harc have created a green alternative to the can, albeit a chic silver kind of green. The guys behind Ryan Harc, Ryan Loon and Harc Lee, have designed Colorless, a monochromatic all-aluminum Coke can with a pressed, convex logo, all without any toxic paints and finishes. In forfeiting Coke's bold colours their proposed design will reduce air and water pollution, and takes out the secondary stage of removing the can's ubiquitous paint job once it's sent to be recycled, saving a whole bunch of energy in the process. Although the Colorless concept has yet to be picked up by the folks at Coca Cola, you can visit Harc Lee’s BehanceNetwork portfolio page here and click to give your seal of approval, and - who knows - we might just see the colorless cans on shelves sometime soon (in time for Earth Day?).

To read more posts from Julia click here, click here to check out her cool blog, and then you should really click here to check out Julia's Green Geek video post for HGTV.ca!

Julia Black: Staying in the closet

With New Year’s resolutions and must-do lists in mind, just the thought of tackling my closet gives me a headache. This January, not only do I need to clean mine, I also need to source an entirely new closet system that can smartly handle all my clothes and accessories, all while staying within a relatively thrifty, post-holiday budget. Thankfully, West Elm has once again managed to answer my prayers in efficiently chic home décor, this time with the Bergen Closet Collection. All the shelves, drawers and racks within the line are both stackable and portable, so I'll get that posh custom look and can always take it with me should I ever want to move! The icing on the cake: The collection (available in chocolate & white) is made with FSC-Certified wood veneers (which means it’s using material from sustainably managed forests), uses eco-friendly hardwood construction (so no MDF and therefore less glue and other icky stuff) and is finished with water-based stains and lead-free lacquer. If that isn't good news enough, most of the hardware is made from recycled materials. Love!

To read more posts from Julia click here, and to check out her cool blog click here.