Concrete gets street cred.

How many times have you slagged off a building – e.g., a school, shopping center or intentional eco community – for being concrete, and thus ugly? When I was kid, our next door neighbors moved out of their brick house into a concrete one (the dad invented some new kind of livable concrete) and I deemed them aesthetically challenged.

Concrete has emerged as an invaluable material in sustainable construction. Limestone, the most abundant mineral on earth, is the predominant raw material in the cement that makes the concrete. It can also be made from waste byproducts like fly ash, slag cement, and silica fume. It’s also a durable, long lasting material (just ask the Romans) and homes built with concrete walls, foundations and floors tend to be highly energy efficient. Moreover, since concrete can be produced as needed, it’s easy to predict how much you will need and excess can be crushed and recycled for use in other concrete structures.

In interiors, designers are molding concrete into unexpected, pretty things.

For example:

Stitching Concrete is a project by Florian Schmid created by manipulating folding fabric soaked in cement and water.

The Aplomb suspension light from Italian lighting company Foscarini.

The Espresso Solo, a conceptual product by Shmuel Linski. The goal was to make concrete into a “desirable consumer product.”

Also by Linski, his speaker collection, aptly named “Exposed.”

A concrete bench from Berlin-based firm Metrofarm.

A concrete television cabinet by Canadian industrial designer Jean Willoughby.

Another from Willoughby: a concrete table.

…in what appears to be snake print.

The post 8 Surprisingly Pretty Things Made From Concrete appeared first on EcoSalon.

Arcane Angel Necklace

I love how the 19 Moons website writes of this necklace: “Fly through time with this original Steampunk necklace by 19 Moons!”

Cute. I want to, 19 Moons, I do!

This antique jewel watch is set in brass wings and hangs from a elegant vintage cable brass chain. 17 genuine rubies reveal the movements of its mechanical workings. Made from vintage materials, this eco-friendly piece can be your companion throughout time, and that’s something you might need when the world seems like it’s going to pieces around you.

Designer Niffer Desmond’s diverse background spans fifteen years in assemblage art, animation and jewelry design. Based in Pittsburgh, Desmond is inspired by Steampunk, Neo-Victorian and Industrial Design where “anachronistic technology and natural forms are juxtaposed to create creatures and emblems of fantastical realms. ”

“I find inspiration everywhere both in nature and the manmade,” Desmond says. “Organic forms like birds or rocks are on equal footing with perfect circles and squares of type-keys and clocks. Anything that visually sings! I also like the idea of giving old technology new life, appreciating it for its beauty as much as its former function.”

We like how you do all this, too, Niffer. Leave a comment below to be entered to win. For more details go here.

The post Steampunk Glam: 19 Moons Necklace Giveaway appeared first on EcoSalon.