Today, I'm super excited to share a special q + a with two of my all-time favorite designers, Susan and Katharine of Hable Construction, as part of the Green Swap series. For years now, my splurge fund has always gone toward Hable's patterned canvas pillows, storage boxes, bushels, fabrics + their iconic tote bags. I don't have a shoe addiction, but I do have a Hable addiction. Truly, I think they know me as that girl who never misses a sample sale, squeals in their show booth when I see their new collection, and has shared more than once my love of their canvas storage bushels (which I use as our hampers.) I loved reading their answers to the Green Swap q + a, and I had no idea that Susan actually lives in the nation's first green residential high-rise building! How cool! Here's a peek at how this designing sister team has gone greener in their everyday.
1. three simple ways you've gone greener in
your life
+ In Battery
Park City, there’s a free summer “art in the park” program for
the community where kids will
paint and draw outdoors. We like to get out large rolls of paper and let the
kids have an art heyday! It’s
a shame to throw it all away, so I wrap gifts extracted from these big sheets of
art that’s been painted on, drawn
on, and glittered on by my daughter Bird and her friends. [Susan]
+ I reuse
tissue paper and boxes and never throw out a box unless it’s in shoddy
condition. I like to revamp
and repackage and add my own decorating details. [Susan]
+ My family and I live in the nation’s
first “green” residential high-rise building called the Solaire. It’s a 27-story building that provides a lot of natural
light from the sun and has an onsite wastewater treatment facility.Also, Green Guidelines for constructing
this building required at least 60% of total construction waste be recycled, but the Soltaire's design team was able to recycle
85%. [Susan]
2. last green
purchase
Seventh Generation baby wipes, and their other kitchen products [Susan]
3. one green initiative you'd like to see enacted in your community
New Yorkers need to start picking up their litter! Start the training early: the biggest polluters in a lot of the parks comes from students, with empty Gatorade bottles and candy wrappers being thrown left and right, treating parks like a trash dump. [Katharine and Susan]
4. best green gift
you've given, received, or coveted
We like to give Hable canvas totes to friends in hopes that they'll reuse them many times for groceries, flower markets, the gym, storage, etc. We also have a weakness for vintage items and love buying them for gifts. And we're always swapping clothes and accessories within the office. [Katharine and Susan] One of the best green gifts I've received is a pair of vintage motorcycle boots from a co-worker. [Katharine]
5. hardest habit to break to be more eco-friendly
I love taking long, hot baths and filling the tub up! [Katharine]
We both have kids, so we drive around a lot running errands. [Katharine and Susan]
6. three ways you want to be greener this year
+ found objects project: We're currently working on a decorating project that involves upcycling with found objects. It's a way to be resourceful during gloomy economic times, but it's also fun and pushes us to be really innovative! [Katharine and Susan]
+ Food-wise: I'm trying to get better at trashing leftovers before they smell so bad that it requires disposing them in the air-tight containers they came in. I'd like to be able to recycle the container itself rather than trashing both. [Susan]
+ clothing swaps: The neighbors and I have regular clothing swaps for our children. It's like shopping in the comfort of your own apartment for free!
{photographs of susan + katharine by rinne allen}
{green swap photograph by charlotte jenks lewis}
Wow, a big thank to Hable sisters Susan + Katharine! I would love to see that found objects project — and I also struggle big-time with leftovers. Clothing swaps are the best.
yesterday's q+a: lillie in the city goes green in LA
tomorrow's q+a: Portland-based Marisa Mercer of Plover Organic
what's Green Swap? find out more here
