This weekend, the Green Festival Expo for sustainable living is coming to Los Angeles – and we’re going to be there!

The Green Festival Expo is America’s largest and longest-running sustainability and green living event, uniting brands, businesses, filmmakers, thinkers, and consumers in one vibrant, dynamic marketplace. It’s the must-attend event for anyone who’s interested in green living — and we know that means you.

“The Green Festival Expo continues to gain momentum in Los Angeles as new and exciting speakers and celebrities will join an array of brands, partners, and speakers to feature the latest in sustainability across the country,” said Dr. Corinna Basler, president of Green Festivals, Inc. “We are excited to expand the plant-based offerings at this year’s show and provide even more food options that are healthy for our attendees and that help to combat climate change.”

This is the sixth year that the festival will be coming to the Los Angeles Convention Center. The festival will take place from September 16 to 18, with thousands of products and services to explore and a host of different events and panels to attend, including sustainable fashion shows, hands-on demos, and educational activities.

The Expo will be opened on Friday from 12 to 6pm, on Saturday from 10 to 6pm, and on Sunday from 10 to 5pm. Tickets are available online, and free entry is granted to kids 16 and under and anyone who bikes to the event – just bring your helmet to the box office.

Events will include a discussion by actor and activist Ed Begley Jr. on energy efficiency in 2016, musician Moby addressing the effect of animal agriculture on the environment, free classes on Bokwa fitness and African dancing at the Valetta SuRae Fitness Pavilion, vegan cooking demos with Spork Foods, and screenings of several environmental documentary films such as “Cowspiracy,” “Love Thy Nature,” and “Speciesism.”

Our very own Laura Klein will be speaking on the Living a Stunning and Sustainable Lifestyle panel on Saturday from 4:30 to 5:30 pm. The panel, which will be moderated by Rachel Winokur, the award-winning interior designer and sustainable lifestyle expert behind Rachel Winokur Interiors and a board member of Fair Trade LA, will feature three movers and shakers in the world of sustainability.

Rachelle Carson-Begley is an actor, environmentalist, producer, and author. She was featured on “Our Green House with the Begleys: Learning As We Go” on BiteSize TV with her husband Ed Begley, Jr. as the couple built their very own green, fully solar home.

Kamea Chayne, is an author, blogger, and eco-lifestyle advocate. Named a “millennial pioneer of sustainable living” by Half-Stack Mag, Kamea is the Editor of Konscious World, the Marketing Manager of Ethical Writers Co. and the bestselling author of “Thrive.”

And of course, Laura Klein is the co-founder of Organic Authority LLC and the publisher and editor-in-chief of OrganicAuthority.com and EcoSalon.com.

The Green Festival will allow attendees to explore everything they need to live a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle. We hope to see you there! Get your tickets here.

Related on EcoSalon
4 Must-Have Fall Fashion Trends with a Sustainable Twist
5 Essential (and Totally Sustainable) Work Bags
Kindred Black: A Sustainable Approach to the Luxury Lifestyle

Image care of Green Festival

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This workshop demonstrates a wonderful marriage between two basic jewelry techniques, a crochet and beading stitch, which creates a modern yet bohemian approach to necklace making. 

Some might say that the desire to adorn ourselves with some small trinket or design is indeed primal. The personal talismans you make today are tomorrows heirlooms.

Jewelry designer Alix Bluh demonstrates a simple crochet stitch for beading that offers endless options for customization by using different thread and bead combinations. You’ll also learn how to create different style clasps, and incorporate leather for a less time-intensive project that achieves the same sophisticated look. The fundamentals that you’ll learn in this class can be endlessly adapted to achieve different looks depending on the color thread and gems you chose.

Talisman Necklace with Alix Bluh on Creativebug from Creativebug on Vimeo.

Reliquary pieces are a longtime fascination for Alix Bluh, where sacred objects are held in tiny boxes close at hand to honor the entity that it houses. Alix’s reliquaries, ranging from 18k gold branches, feathers, pearls and loose precious stones, safely nestled under crystal have become her signature design concept. Alix Blüh’s jewelry can be found in a number of high end retailers including the Sundance Catalog, Imagine (Santa Barbara, CA), FINI (Seattle, WA), New York Adorned (NYC) and COG & Pearl (Brooklyn, NY). In addition, her work is also shown in galleries all over the USA, and in 8 other countries. She runs an atelier gallery in San Francisco called Modern Relics.

Alix Bluh on Creativebug from Creativebug on Vimeo.

CreativeBug, a new series of how-to videos for DIY’ers, recently launched to inspire you. For $25 a month, subscribers have unlimited access to a continuously updated library of creative workshops in knitting, crochet, sewing, jewelry, entertaining, home decorating and kids crafts. Featuring some of the country’s biggest talents, instructors include Debbie Stoller, Stitch ‘n Bitch, Heather Ross, Weekend Sewing, Christine Schmidt, Print Workshop and Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin. Creativebug’s state of the art audio and video production quality, short video segments and entertaining presentation make the videos accessible to artists of all skill levels.

CreativeBug launched multi-month packages this week. Subscribers can now get a discount for signing up for multiple months in advance!

• $24.99 monthly
• $19.99 per month, billed every 3 months
• $16.99 per month, billed every 6 months

So, what are you waiting for? Make a pattern. Make a print. Make a difference.

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Haiku dress from the “Obsessive Minimalist” collection from Kotow, a fairtrade and organic premium line from New Zealand.

New Zealand’s Kowtow label describes their clothing as building block pieces, designed to be the staple, the binder, the essential jigsaw piece to fit into an existing wardrobe. It’s a smart approach for the environmentally minded and for the fashion lover who’s overwhelmed by the deluge of micro trends each season.

Parallel dress and Building block legging.

Tapping into the precise minimalism that has kept the designs of Stella McCartney, Hanna MacGibbon at Chloé , and Phoebe Philo at Céline at the top of fashion’s most wanted lists, Kotow’s Gosia Piatek has created a line of clothing that is striking for it’s pared-down elegance. Made entirely from 100% certified fair trade and organic fabrics, the collection’s strict silhouettes, minimal surface design and muted color pallet stand out for their simplicity in an industry drowning in a sea of spend, spend, spend.

Sand garden top.

Their tenth collection,”Obsessive Minimalist,” for Summer 2012-13 was inspired by a series of Mondrian’s minimalist paintings. Derived from the idea of “an overanxious overachiever, a recovering consumer, and exhausted striver, a wanna-be idler,” it’s a familiar strain for those ambivalent about the consumer culture but still requiring clothing.

Autonomous top and Contrast piece.

The directional pieces feature bold color blocking and subtle prints in a variety of premium soft fabrics. Each piece works effortlessly as a separate thrown over their – or your own – building block basics, layered together they create a complex and individualistic look. The Mondrian influence is clearly felt in the new collection’s noticeable popping colors – a deep burgundy and a vibrant gold which are offset by a light powder blue and a variety of wearable neutral tones.

Check out our favorite pieces from the collection, as well as Kowtow’s thematic video for “Obsessive Minimalist,” below:

The post Surrendering to Simplicity with Kowtow’s Summer 2012 appeared first on EcoSalon.

Random Ruffle T-Shirt with Natalie “Alabama” Chanin from Creativebug on Vimeo.

Natalie “Alabama” Chanin on Creativebug from Creativebug on Vimeo.

So, what are you waiting for? Make a pattern. Make a print. Make a difference.

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Furoshiki Wrap Wine Bottles. The perfect hostess gift tutorial from Megumi Inouye on CreativeBug.

When it comes to choosing a gift that keeps on giving – it’s all in the presentation.

Spend less than five minutes learning Furoshiki, a traditional Japanese cloth technique used to wrap as well as transport items. In this CreativeBug workshop, Megumi Inouye shows you how to quickly and elegantly bundle two bottles of wine to bring to a picnic or give as a gift. Once you know the principles of Furoshiki, you’ll be looking for more things to wrap in Furoshiki!

Furoshiki Wine Wrap on Creativebug from Creativebug on Vimeo.

Gift wrapping for Megumi Inouye is less about the techniques of aesthetic presentation than it is about the heartfelt intentions behind gift giving. Megumi represents a unique gift wrapping style, guided by her Japanese heritage and a culture that places value in the thought behind a gift symbolized through presentation and wrapping. She brings to the forefront the traditional origins of gift wrapping where packaging was artful and resourceful and achieved by using materials already on hand. Bringing this sensibility to the modern day, Megumi often uses repurposed, found, organic and recycled materials because they represent her belief in the potential of beauty and a second life for the things we carelessly throw away.

So, what are you waiting for? Make a pattern. Make a print. Make a difference.

The post CreativeBug Workshop: Learn How to Wrap With Traditional Japanese Furoshiki appeared first on EcoSalon.

Sewing a Sundress. The perfect summer dress tutorial from Weekend Sewing’s Heather Ross on CreativeBug.

Summer is here and you have BBQ’s, family reunions and days at the beach to look forward to – but what are you going wear?

Check out this summer dress CreativeBug tutorial by Heather Ross, author of Weekend Sewing. Her adorable maxi length dress has a pretty shirring detail that makes the dress comfortable and easy-to-make.

Sewing a Sundress Workshop with Heather Ross from Creativebug on Vimeo.

Heather Ross is an illustrator, author, and textile designer with a large following in the crafts and sewing markets. She wrote Weekend Sewing, a best-selling how-to sewing book. Her textile designs are among the most recognizable in the retail fabric market and are a favorite among home sewers of clothing, accessories, and decor for children. Learn more about what inspires Heather here.

Heather Ross Trailer on Creativebug from Creativebug on Vimeo.

So, what are you waiting for? Make a pattern. Make a print. Make a difference.

The post CreativeBug on Ecosalon: What Will You Make Today? appeared first on EcoSalon.

Where catalogs come alive!

On Catalog Living, one of our favorite websites, writer Molly Erdman brings a very intelligent sense of humor to the world of shelter catalogs, giving us a look into the fictional lives of characters Gary and Elaine. We’re lucky enough to have an EcoSalon exclusive Catalog Living guest post today, taking a peak at how Gary and Elaine feel about their sustainable lifestyles.

Gary, I don’t think you can call your desk stool “reclaimed wood” if you had to chop it down yourself in order to reclaim it.

Source: westelm.com

Sure Elaine, we could upcycle our newspapers by decoupaging our shelves…or we could just stop getting a newspaper.

Source: environmentfurniture.com

Gary and Elaine were starting to think the constant praise of their sustainable mango wood side table was going to its head.

Source: eco-friendlymodernliving.com

Be sure to check out Catalog Living and Erdman’s book, Decorating Takes (Wicker) Balls.

The post Catalog Living: The World of the People Living in Your Catalogs appeared first on EcoSalon.

Urban homesteading is more doable than you think.

At the risk of stirring up controversy for using The-Term-Formerly-Known-As –Urban Homesteading, I’d like to talk about the practice of achieving more self-sufficient, sustainable living in cities from a strictly aesthetic point of view. Who says keeping chickens has to be hard? Take a look at the Kippen House above, a modular, multifunctional and modern chicken coop designed by Seattle-based architect Traci Fontyn.

Kippen means “chickens” in Dutch, and the Kippen House is a combination of the designer’s Dutch heritage, her love of Scandinavian design and “curious interests with urban agriculture in the form of an urban garden chicken coop.”

The Vertical Homesteader

The amazing thing about gardening trellises is that you can repurpose them out of anything (from old ladders to headboards), and they provide much needed support for the urban or vertical homesteader with a taste for cucumbers, tomatoes, and other climbing produce.

This one is made by UK artist Clare Harris who constructs trellises, bath mats, waste paper baskets, and table mats out of natural and locally coppiced materials. The trellis seen here is made from hazel poles and willow withies.

The Knife-Wielding Homesteader

UK retailer Hen & Hammock claims that every gardener needs a good pocketknife, as well as a trug and some string. I’m going to trust them on that. Clicking through their site is a lot like paging through a J. Crew catalog: not only is every object a total lustable, the entire lifestyle is, too.

The Bee-Keeping Homesteader

The well-documented peril of bees is that they’ve been dying off at a staggeringly high rate for years. Our life cycle is connected to bees in many ways, both seen and unseen. The direct impact on homesteaders meanwhile, is they need bees to pollinate their crops. Enter the Bee Station, an innovative little refueling and nesting station you can stick right in your garden.

Does all this talk of urban gardening have you hankering to show us your gorgeous stems and desirable pots? Then give us a peek into your homestead. Send pictures to editor@ecosalon.com.

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