Ideas
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Thirty-four big ideas to improve our city. Since a typical city tree in a concrete planter has a lifespan of just five to 10 years , those spaces would be better used to grow fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other plants. The planters could be allocated to schools and community programs for upkeep for educational purposes. They could be used to promote the proliferation of rare or heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables as miniature test plots. Or we could use them for culturally celebrated plants, depending on the neighbourhood, like eggplant in Little India, and cabbage (kimchee!)
34 Big Ideas to Make Toronto Better
In Europe, Whimsical Playgrounds For Children
Danish design firm Monstrum , who specializes in playgrounds, has built wildly imaginative and whimsical playscapes for children. Founded by Ole B Nielsen and Christian Jensen, the company has constructed castles, life-size blue whales, and a series of other brilliant playground structures, around Denmark and Sweden. According to the company’s statement, it believes that playground design “should be a reflection of the world surrounding us”. Check out more of their work here .
Bunny Ear Bags DIY Here are some sweet little bunny ear bags. Our crafter this week, Irene, happens to have a thing for rabbits. So when we were talking about different ideas she came up with these clever little treat bags. You could use them for Easter Baskets or just to hand out treats.
Party + Wedding Ideas
Geronimo! Balloon Company
Have you seen pictures all over the internet of these giant balloons with beautiful magic fringe hanging off them? Geronimo! Balloon Company was started earlier this year and sells balloon kits from their website in addition to a “Balloon Trooper” coming in person to deliver the balloons for special events or birthdays in the Los Angeles area. Geronimo! will also provide the whole decor for your upcoming fete with balloon installations! The woman behind the gorgeous balloons is Jihan Zencirli.
Social enterprise connects artists with empty commercial buildings
In the UK we recently saw empty commercial properties offered to charities for free while permanent tenants are found. Similarly, an Australian social enterprise — Renew Australia — is connecting artists and community projects with workspaces in vacant city-center buildings until they are needed again for commercial use. Renew Australia was founded by Marcus Westbury, who had a vision to transform underutilized spaces into opportunities for creative groups. He launched a pilot scheme in Newcastle where many empty buildings in the central business district were becoming derelict or vandalized. Westbury found that property owners were reluctant to take on long-term tenants in case they inhibited resale or redevelopment plans. However, the Renew Newcastle programme successfully found creative individuals willing to be temporary tenants, who cleaned-up buildings and revitalized the area.
In the past 12 months or so, “washi tape” has taken over the scrapbooking and stationery world. For those who haven’t heard of it, I thought I’d give you an overview of just what it is and perhaps why you might want to try it. For starters, “Washi Tape” comes from Japan, is a paper tape that comes in pretty colors and patterns. It comes on a roll like regular sticky tape, and is often translucent. You can find it in 1/4″ widths up to 2 1/2 inches, and it feels more like masking tape than true “paper.” Since hitting the crafting world by storm, many major scrapbooking companies have come out with their own versions.