Ceramic household containers remind us of where so many of our products come from.

For someone who does most of her writing online, using a keyboard, I have an awful lot of pens. And even though I rarely use them, they always end up all over the place. This is part of the reason why I was thrilled to come across these Cargo Containers by California-based designer Daniel Ballou. There’s also something thought-provoking, even haunting, about scaling down such an industrial item — from 8 feet to 8 inches —and rendering it in a more precious material.

Ballou lives and works in Long Beach, CA, which inspired the design of these pieces.

“I live and work next to one of the busiest shipping ports in the country,” says Ballou. “Cargo containers are everywhere, stacked up on ships just outside the breakwater and piled up in huge lots inside the port. Visually, the repetition of the stacked containers is impressive. It’s massive and utilitarian but has a lego quality, and the random color patterns somehow always look great together. The idea of ceramic household containers with the same form seemed like a great contrast with the brutal and industrial real thing. This is the first project I’ve done in ceramic, but the material felt right since it’s warm and imperfect.”

Beyond a play on form and scale, the use of shipping containers also serve as a reminder of where it all comes from, and makes us think twice about the stuff we think we need.

Ballou says: “Shipping containers can be a symbol for some cultural questions about consumerism and globalism, which I think is partly why they are gaining so much popularity in architecture. Besides simply having fun with the contrast, the containers are a reminder of where virtually all of our products come from. Most likely whatever you put in the container has been in a cargo container before.”

Daniel Ballou’s containers are available through Areaware. They’re $24 for a set of two — either blue and white or gray and orange.

Images: Daniel Ballou; splorp

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Ceramics celebrating the unique number fonts of two Modernist masters.

Heath Ceramics and type foundry House Industries have joined forces and created these stunning clay tiles ($45 each), in honor of the design genius and number fonts of Neutra (as in, Richard) and Eames (as in, Charles and Ray). Announce your house address with the simple, svelte Neutra numbers (image above) or the round and robust Eames font (image below).

According to Heath, “…each tile skillfully combines precision with craft in a timeless tribute to classic California aesthetic.” Classic is right, as well as stylish and made with care in Heath’s Sausalito, California factory. Available in late Spring from Heath Ceramics.

Look for Lustables daily at EcoSalon. 100% gorgeous green finds, and never sponsored. Submit your favorite to tips@ecosalon.com

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Have a Heart. Send a Love Letter.

Whisper sweet nothings to that special someone (yes, that includes yourself) with the Love is Blind ceramic vase ($87) from Fluke. Created by Canadian artist Jessica Lertvilai, its surface is covered in a relief pattern of a love letter transcribed into Braille. Isn’t that romantic?

Editor’s note: We are proud to bring you original columns and feature editorials at EcoSalon on a daily basis. But sometimes, nothing’s more pleasurable than admiring a beautiful, innovative or special sustainable product or idea. Throughout each week, look for “lustables” in the mix here at EcoSalon. And if you have a product you think readers should see, drop us a line at tips@ecosalon.com.

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Isn’t she lovely? There’s not much to not like about the Tac Tea Pot (image above) designed by Walter Gropius, architect and founder of the Bauhaus. In fact, it’s been called “the most beautiful tea service ever produced”. Simple, minimal, functional. What else is there? Enduring, that’s what.

Gropius (1883-1969) was a genius designer of the modernist period, but his concepts continue to influence artists and designers today. He explained the Bauhaus philosophy like this:

“Our guiding principle was that design is neither an intellectual nor a material affair, but simply an integral part of the stuff of life, necessary for everyone in a civilized society.”

Basically, there’s stuff we need so why not make it attractive? And design that is timeless and enduring is the epitome of sustainable. Don’t you agree?

Although it might not suit every one’s style palette, I’m partial to this idea that less is more. And I’m crazy about all of the following simply ceramic creations that seem to follow in Gropius’ footsteps.

This milk jug and sugar bowl designed by Ditte Fischer (image above) has an exquisite, refined air about it, but also stands firm in its function. The black version is just as seductive. Danish ceramics are simply some of the best. Period.

Eva Gevaert is a young designer whose influence can already be felt with one look at her kp107f-tableware (image of bowls above). I want to reach out and eat off its smooth, silky surface.

These ceramic plates (image above) almost appear to be paper, which makes them even more extraordinary. Unusual but actually quite ordinary. Designed by Annett Janowiak.

Vincent Van Duysen created these ceramic containers (image above) that seem almost too plain to be pretty, yet need I even say it…? Pretty. And I’m inspired to include this quote describing his work because it’s pretty too:

“[Van Duysen’s] work is characterized by an interest in reinterpreting classical forms. His search for order and clarity produces designs which are both contemporary and innovative, but which have the force of perfect inevitability, setting off resonances that feel like memories: always new, but reminding us of things we have known.”

Continuing on the kitchen theme, this pepper/flour/salt set (image above) is adorable. LightenUp Designs by Lisa Goldberg is to blame for creating such a simple, ceramic and useful piece of art.

Speaking of useful, this cream Oval Baker (image above) is part of the ceramic tableware collection found only at terrain. Leaning more toward rugged than ritzy, I’m fond of its smooth, clean lines. This dish could definitely go the distance in the kitchen.

These cups and bowls (image above) are part of Sarah Cihat’s ‘Dirt’ collection. Most of her porcelain designs are covered in delightful decals with an edge, but these precious pieces are plain, and simply her best. In my humble opinion.

Last but absolutely not least, is Latvian designer Mara Skujeniece and her incredible array of hand-made objects. I can’t pick a favorite so I encourage you to peruse her pieces on your own. But for the sake of staying in the kitchen, I’m showcasing her ‘Vegetableware’ bowls (image above). Exquisitely pure and simple…

…just like Walter Gropius used to make.

Images: Daily icon and Design Shimmer

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Composting when you have a big backyard? Easy. Composting when you’re a city dweller? Downright disgusting, right? It doesn’t have to be. You can turn little bits of kitchen waste – think coffee grinds and citrus rinds rather than super-stinky garbage – into fertile compost right on your kitchen counter. These cute Ceramic Countertop Compost Containers from Uncommon Goods will blend into your kitchen as if they were a jar for dog treats or flour.

The gorgeously simple containers are handmade in Vermont by artist Beth Mueller. Before tossing in your kitchen scraps, you’ll line the compost crock with a BioBag – each crock comes with 25 to get you started. The BioBags help eliminate odors and also make it easy to clean out your compost every few days, or every week, depending on how much you toss inside. We love these artful composters – labeled either “grow” or “simplify” for kitchen composting newbies – because they’re an easy solution compared to some more complicated indoor composting get-ups.

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First our gardens stretched horizontally (quite popular, that technique) – and then we had the vertical variety. What’s between the two?

If Chicago decor designers Unison have their way, diagonal gardening is the next big thing, and very clever it is, too. Riffing wildly on the millenia-old designs of terraces and ladders, the Kiikku Planter is a tiered walnut frame you prop against one wall and fill with pots of your favourite foliage. It uses your room’s vertical space, but keeps each plant separate from its neighbors, allowing easy tending and encouraging riotous growth.

Next up: How about larger-scale versions for the outside of our houses, maybe with ladders built into them? Perfect – except that popular culture seems keen to throw a spanner into the works. (Unlucky, Unison).

Image: Unison via Re-Nest

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Porcelained out? Carve your niche with an alternative sink for soaking up greener materials like certified teak, bamboo, recycled metal and glass and friendly painted ceramics. You can even experiment with poured concrete with 50% recycled fly ash, as seen in the striking orange basin by Jeremy Levine Design.

Here is a handful of other options we rounded up:

From William Garvey’s Fusion Line of handmade sinks from certified teak grown in the mixed deciduous forests of South Asia.

Spotted at the Story Hotel in Stockholm, these decorative ceramic bowls make brilliant bathroom basins.

Recycled aluminum and brass vessel sinks from ECO round out the eco bath and are paired well with a bamboo plywood or stone tile counter top.

Handblown recycled glass emerges as sensuous craft for the bath with the clear tortoise trim Classic design (above) and Ocean shell (below) from Bear Creek Glass.

Main Image: Jeremy Levine Design

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