Nice little mention in Crain’s!

Climate Cycle is a NFP raising money to install solar panels and fund sustainability education in local public schools. TONIGHT they are having a benefit at the Chicago’s own Nature Museum, which will include delicious treats from Hannah’s Bretzel, cocktails and a silent auction. Ginger Zee will be emcee’ing the event and music by Chicago’s Funk in the Trunk.

The auction list looks incredible, too. A two-day stay at a eco-lodge, farm dinner for 2, bike tune-ups, jewelry, sweater mittens and more!

You can still buy tickets online or at the door.

This is the most challenging project I’ve taken on and I couldn’t have done it without the help of Ina. She has gone above and beyond on this project and I’m so thankful to have her on my team. So come by tonight to support a good cause and to give our interactive installation a spin.

Rachel Smith is a cute photographer in Chicago. She loves taking pictures of storefronts. She also loves taking pictures of OUR storefronts. We accept.

Check out more of the photos she took for us at our flickr.

We were asked to be a part of something really special and we think it will be a life long friendship. Climate Cycle is a NFP raising money to install solar panels and fund sustainability education in local public schools. Last year they raised upwards of $60,000 from their inaugural bike-a-thon.

On February 5th, they are having a benefit at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, which will include delicious treats from (my favorite sandwich shop!) Hannah’s Bretzel, cocktails, a silent auction, and music by NBC 5’s Ginger Zee.

We are spear-heading the event design which will include a special interactive piece built out of reclaimed bike parts and a large generator. You will have to come by to find out what we have created!

You can still buy tickets here.

Hope to see you there!

The Arctic | Post27, 1819 W Grand, Chicago, IL

This window was designed to provide a chilling, Arctic and encapsulating scene.  Did you know the Arctic is staked to be ice free within the next ten years?  That is way faster than we had thought just a year ago.  This problem is super big, so how does it relate to you?  Every purchase you make is a vote with your dollar.  You can support local business or global business, you can buy plastic or glass, you can bring your to-go coffee cup or waste a disposable coffee cup a day.  All of these things matter, and we need to be conscious consumers, every day, especially during the holiday season.

Post27 in concept shares the same fundamentals of smart consumerism.

Everything for sale at Post27 has been refreshed, reclaimed and reintroduced to our modern world from a past life. Post27 focuses on vintage & environmentally friendly items, as well as supporting local artists (like us!)  By supporting these types of wares, they are advocating conscious consumerism and give us a wonderful choice on where to put our dollars.

This window reminds us that even while we spread our holiday cheers this season; around the world, glaciers are melting, the global temperature is rising, and sea levels are rising with them. Angela and Barkley did not want a window display that screamed christmas or consumption. They wanted to capture what really is at stake right now.   The chilling truth is that the beautiful ice of the Arctic is melting away, the free/thaw process of the ice has been happening as long as the human race has existed, and this window is a subtle reminder of the changes happening.

If you would like to support local artists and check out the display in real life, scoot over to Post27 this Friday (the 11th) for a special holiday sale called InHabit featuring all sorts of local talent.

Vendors include:
Kiyomi Kimble Design
Sarah Bortt Design
Reuseful Objects 
Glashjarta Glass 
Art School Girl 
Kiku Handmade 
Limbrr 
The Post Family 
Glean Design 
Haji Couture 
Moreau’s Toy Shop

“Coterie” is a cadre of individuals united under a common purpose.

The artists selected for this event will be debuting many new items specifically created for this collaboration with Post 27.

*All proceeds from the sales of this event go directly to the artists and designers – support local talent!

A special shout-out goes to the marvelous and extremely talented Ina Weise who helped with the construction of this window. She is a textile designer from Germany and will be joining the INDO team while Crystal is in Sweden. Check out her work here.

Special thanks to Dr. Graphix for donating paper that was no longer useful to them, which made this window possible. All of the materials we used were reclaimed and given a new life with the exception of glue, fishing line and eye hooks. Variations of color to the paper is the natural charm of reusing materials.

(Detail photos by Ina, outside-in by my Iphone. Super fancy professional photos to come so check back!)

Say hello to our new studio! You may also say hello to my new and rare chinese work bike!

xo
linsey

The beautiful Margot Harrington from Pitch Design Union gave us a nice little shout-out in the current issue of CS Interiors. You can view the digital version here or jet out to your local interior design source for a hardcopy.

Pivot Window Display | 1001 Fulton Market, Chicago, Illinois

We developed this window in the spring as a collaboration with fashion designer Annie Novotny from Frei. Annie drew inspiration for her Spring 2009 line from a Buddhist parable about an obedient student whose master ordered him to cut 1000 fingers from the human hand. Ahimsaka then thread each finger on a string creating a “garland of fingers” around his neck. Story says he stumbled upon Buddha when he had 999 fingers — to which he reached enlightenment, bowed at his feet and became a monk.

To read a more elaborate version of the story and to see her beautiful line click here.

Yes those are 999 fingers you see in the photos!

For the display, we created a framing to focus on the pivotal point of release from the climbing of waste (the bottles) to the act of a repurposed life (birds in flight) flying outside of the frame.

We used the following reclaimed materials for this display:
Used Beer Bottles
Leftover Paint
Packaging Crates from Pilsen
Paper from Salvation Army
Tree Branch from Humbolt Park
Real (Abandoned!) Birds Nest from Humbolt Park

The cranes naturally began to fade from the sun and developed a beautiful gradation!

To see more photos click here.

We are sad to announce that Jessa will be closing Pivot’s door at the end of the month so be sure to stop by and grab some eco-goods!

Ideal Bite Project | Follow Suit — Giving a new life to old bathing suits.

Ideal bite is a great source for finding ways in your daily life to make a positive impact on the environment. We were asked to participate in a DIY project to repurpose old bathing suits. Crystal came up with the brilliant idea of making sachets to freshen up the drawers in your dresser! She made the cute pouches you see above all the way from Sweden!

You can see the project here.

Bess & Loie, 1015 West Lake, Chicago, Illinois

Storks are really beautiful birds that in the fall start to migrate south. They are known to bring wealth and good fortune and are fabled to also bring fertility and prosperity to a family. These beasts were constructed out of a combination of chicken wire, old pages from LIFE magazines dated back to the 70s and plaster.

Special thanks to Ina Weise who helped me build and install this display. Ina came all the way from Germany to help my favorite group of guys: The Post Family. She is a textile designer and also has her cute earrings for sale here.

Photo by Ben Speckmann