Okay, so this ad isn’t exactly selling paint, just using it to make a fun point. Enjoy Sony’s marketing efforts to promote one of their new products.

In our little paint world, it’s easy to think about the products we work with every day and forget about the bigger picture. Why are we driven to offer healthier products to our customers? There are a lot of reasons. In this entry, we share a lecture given by Alex Steffen during the 2005 TED conference. What is TED? TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Their annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

In this lecture, Alex Steffen challenges us to look at our world through a broad lens. The small choices we make each day, including using healthy materials in our homes, can make a big difference…

I received an email today from the James River Green Building Council that referenced a recent article published July 18th on Richmond.com. It talks about the practicality of making our homes “green”, and whether or not it really is cost-effective. Many of the people I talk to feel like making their homes eco-friendly is unaffordable. Additionally, much of what we hear on the news talks about what’s happening in other parts of the country. What’s happening here in Virginia? This article references several local professionals who are working to make green buildings a reality for homes and business spaces alike.

For resources and supplies for making your home a healthier place to live, consider a visit to EcoLogic, a green home supply store that’s slated to open in mid-August on Main Street in the City of Richmond.

I am a subscriber to a great color blog called Hue, and today I received the most recent post from author Rachel Perls who’s in the process of painting her new home in California. Her bathroom is a clash of two very distinct colors, mint green appliances and a peachy, rose-colored tile. She’s trying to figure out what color to paint it. What would you suggest? At one time or another, we’ve probably all been in her shoes!

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Each month, we help secure sponsors for Richmond Green Drinks, an international organization that seeks to bring together people from the green industry once a month for a casual networking event. This month’s event drew around 70 people, our largest crowd to date, and was held at Richmond’s new Built Gallery in Oregon Hill.

One of the people who helps me organize Green Drinks, Copeland Casati, contributed a post about this month’s event on Building Green TV’s website. To see the post, click here.

If you’d like to learn more about Green Drinks, or want to meet someone in Richmond’s green building industry, feel free to contact us. We’re happy to help.

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I get this question all the time. I was talking with a contractor earlier this week, and I told her that paints are one of the easiest, most cost-effective ways you can use healthier products in (or on) your home. In a market where people are becoming increasingly aware of green alternatives, we offer reassurance that painting doesn’t have to be a home improvement that breaks the bank.

There are over 10 different brands of low- and no-VOC paints and wall-coverings available here in Richmond. There are even more within an hour’s drive. Most people are surprised by this, and they’re even more surprised when I tell them that these paints not only rival the quality of traditional products, but they’re also cost-competitive. If you buy paint from a reputable local paint store, you’re probably looking to spend between $30-40 a gallon. To purchase an eco-friendly version, you’ll likely spend between $32 and $45 a gallon. This also means that our painting quotes reflect a reasonable materials cost for work within your home.

If you’re looking for healthier paints in Richmond, feel free to contact us. We can help you find the right product for your home improvement job.

I was recently introduced to an organization that brings issues related to sustainability and eco-friendly living called Back Porch Initiatives. As you’ll see on their site, Back Porch is a non-profit organization working with communities to cultivate local responses to the national and global issue of energy consumption. The Back Porch team is committed to collaborating with communities on existing resources, leveraging new ideas, and developing practical, economical and environmental solutions.

Back Porch has extended an invitation for us to present during one of their weekly community conversations on Monday, July 21st, 2008. We’ll be speaking about healthy paint options available here in Richmond, and will also likely discuss the local green-building resources. We will be at Globehopper Coffeehouse at 2100 E. Main Street in Richmond’s historic Church Hill. This event is free and open to the public.

If you aren’t free to attend this coming Monday’s conversation, please know that Back Porch holds these talks every Monday evening from 7-8 pm at Globehopper.

Choosing a contractor to do home improvements can feel like a confusing process. Certain contractors have notoriously bad reputations for being difficult to work with, so how can you ensure that you’ll get a quality company to provide the service you need?I give you Angie’s List.

More than 650,000 consumers use Angie’s List to find high quality contractors, service companies and health care providers.

Why use Angie’s List?

· Companies don’t pay to be on Angie’s List
· Their staff reads every review before you do
· Live support through Their call center
· Award-winning Angie’s List magazine
· Help from their Complaint Resolution Team
· Discounts from highly rated businesses

We hope this resource is helpful. We encourage our customers to offer feedback about our company on the site, along with others that they’ve used in the past. Your experiences will serve to help others in need of a quality contractor they can trust.

I recently came across a great website that helps people choose color palettes. It’s pretty comprehensive, and it seems to be the place to go if you love color. I perused their collection of popular palettes, and this one caught my eye. If you’re looking to repaint your home, consider visiting the COLOURlovers website for some ideas.

When considering new additions to your home decor, consider supporting a local artist:

Last year during a trip to local coffee shop Stir Crazy, I was awestruck by an art installation featuring mobiles made out of (among other things) recycled teabags, candle wax, and bamboo. Since then, I’ve been a huge fan of the artist, Dale Keator. It turns out that she’s featured again this month in the same location. Do yourself a favor — Take some time to visit Stir Crazy, grab a tasty beverage (I recommend the ginseng peppermint tea), pull up a comfy chair and admire the beauty of her work. Dale’s pieces vary in size from just a few inches to spanning an entire wall. Here is a statement from Dale about her teabag collages to give you a sense of the energy behind her work:

My artwork is a collaborative effort. The teabags; having had a previous life from perhaps an endearing conversation, a thoughtful quiet moment, or a relaxing sigh of relief from a hectic day, help to create the calming charm that is intended for my pieces. All of the teabags are saved and “gifted” to me, by friends. It is friends that started the momentum on this “project”, which actually started as a result 9/11 and realizing the importance of friendships. Every teabag paper is different, much the way people and relationships are.

I would like the viewer to enjoy the experience of the teabags by watching the movement, smelling the tea particles left on the papers, listening to the sounds as the sewn strands of teabags gently touch each other.

The tea, the tags, the string, the staples, and of course the papers…all are used in making my pieces. And all are used to evoke compassion.

Dale Keator is a sculptural collage artist whose work is created from recycled tea bags. Her work has a zen like quality that inspires it’s viewers to “slow down” and experience its gentle movements. She holds a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, has worked with the Children’s Museum of Richmond and taught for the Neighborhood School of the Arts. She has had two recent shows at Lift Coffee Shop and Stir Crazy Café. Dale says that her work is absolutely a “labor of love” and continues to enjoy collecting tea bags from very loyal tea drinkers.

To learn more about this great local artist’s work, feel free to contact her at sewsart@yahoo.com.