Water is one of the greatest necessities of human life. It is our duty to conserve as much water as possible in our daily lives, since it is precious and indispensable. Here is a new, ingenious project that enables one to do just that. This project enables one to collect, save and purify water for re-use in a bathroom. It is interesting to note that the product not only saves water but also has many other functions as well, so in a way various separate bathroom pieces have been blended to form this single useful and environmentally friendly water-conserving modular bathroom. Italy-based industrial designer Massimo Brugnera has designed this great product, which along with being highly functional, is also stylish.
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Aquabox


The all-in-one bathroom unit that conserves water.
Aquabox
This very functional and stylish product is the all-new Aquabox modular bathroom unit. This product fuses separate bathroom units into one single unit, which then collects and saves water. The most important component of the Aquabox is a gray water capture and purifying unit. This unit has a system to collect the wastewater from the drains of the sink and the shower. It then purifies that water, and can purify up to 80 liters. The purified and recycled water can then be used in the flushing system or for other activities like watering the plants in your flower garden and so on, by using an alternative retractable 


tap. The whole unit is quite compact and has many other interesting features like a rain shower, color therapy provisions, sauna facility and appropriate internal lighting.
The nature-friendly aspects
The Aquabox is a unique product, which conserves one of the most necessary component of day to day life. There are plenty of regions in the world which suffer from acute water crisis, so by using the Aquabox and saving water, one can do their bit in saving the environment. Apart from being green, this functional and stylish product can easily add a contemporary trendy edge to the interiors of your bathroom. The appropriate lighting also helps to save energy and lowers power consumption. Options like the color therapy and sauna make it a complete health package, which is environmentally friendly as well. It is great way to contribute toward saving the earth by choosing to live green!

SAG awards was more a peek-a-boo night than an award night! When sultry beauties who dare to bare on screen tend to make men go crazy. Deep cuts, dipping necklines and skin tight outfits have definitely created waves and seen their fair share flesh of the celebs.






The red carpet brings out the best in celebrity couture. Plunging necklines and daring cleavage dominated the red carpet at the 2011 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards with Sofia Vergara, Christina Hendricks and Eva Longoria leading the pack.






According to PEOPLE, Vergara, wore a sapphire blue Roberto Cavalli gown, which she paired with 10-carat diamond earrings and a 9-carat diamond bracelet, both from Chopard. Vergara and the rest of the cast of ‘Modern Family’ won Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.






Hendricks showed off her stunning body in a black sequined L’Wren Scott wrap which was split high enough to reveal her thigh. She paired the dress with a Judith Leiber clutch and Rene Caovilla peep-toes.


Recently single, Longoria wore a Georges Hobeika gown and wore her hair in an upswept coif that showed off Neil Lane diamond and platinum chandelier earrings.


SAG Picture Gallery

A designer piece of technology created by John Greg Ball way back in 2005 and titled the “Subsonic Chair” had become one of the shortlisted entries at the Designboom’s “teenage furniture” competition. About six years from the launch of the subsonic chair, John has now come up again with a bit of modification to his old project under the insistence of his students from the SAIT Polytechnic at Calgary, Alberta, where he is currently employed. Moreover, on February 24, the Subsonic Chair was named “The People’s Choice Award winner” too in the “Design In the Box Competition” organized by Avenue Calgary and showcased by Boconcept.




Still in its prototype phase, the marvel has been designed by Ball keeping in mind the tendencies of youth, particularly their attraction to anything that is loud. The updated model that is now being designed has two 16 inch subwoofers embedded in the chair’s structure, which in turn would emit a strong and thundering bass tone when plugged to an MP3 player, iPod or a gaming system. The booming bass would effectively be covering almost the full range of sound and provide the person seated on it an out-of-the-world experience.

Designed to perfection with every minute detail thrown in to add to the excitement of the game, the Caliber .223 chess set from “Olde World Collectibles and Creations” is made from steel and bullet shell casings. The pieces are made using .223 caliber bullet shell casings, and further decorated with cuts, slashes, curls and bends. The kings and queens are the only four pieces with an actual bullet reset in place. While the light squares are polished natural steel, the dark squares are hand-painted black.


The board is constructed from 3/16 inch flat and 1/2 inch square pure solid hot rolled steel, and each square comes individually cut, prepped and welded to the steel frame. The inimitable Caliber .223 chess set is available at Etsy for $510. In case you want a custom bullet chess set made from shell casings from one of your guns, they will happily do it for you, for a price of course.


Bullet Chess set- Caliber .223 Picture Gallery

If you’re tensed up and want to relieve some of that pent up stress, then the best thing to do is take a walk in your garden. However, if time is what you lack, and of course, it’s not possible for everyone to have a garden attached to their house as well, then a Terrarium is what you need.
Tovah Martin, a famous gardener, gave an enchanting visual presentation at the HSNY Library recently. Her topic of discussion was centered on how one can raise plants inside enclosed areas, quite often known as a Terrarium. Terrariums can also be termed as mini-biospheres and are perfect for those who do not have time to smell the roses and need a green reserve at their place.
The designer
The idea is the creative baby of TovahMartin, a famous American gardener. Having earned an accreditation from NOFA as an Organic Land Care Professional, she has proved her mettle as a perennial gardener over the years. She has used her expertise in the field of tropicals and implied it in growing plants in enclosed spaces. Recently, she has even launched her own book about Terrariums known as the New Terrarium.
Just a few more tips about the designer. The Garden Club of America awarded Martin the “outstanding literary achievement” medal. Also not to forget, People, Places, Plants Magazine named her among one of the “50 most influential People” in 2005.
Green Treasure
Terrariums, as mentioned above are primarily mini biospheres. Owing to this fact, the plants inside become the best self-sufficient beings around. How it works is very simple. Once you water the plants, a lot of moisture is retained inside the enclosed space. The plants retain the water for themselves, in a way self-fuelling themselves with plenty of water. In addition, as they do not require much of light, they can survive on low light itself.
Gone are the days when you have to worry your head over elaborate designs for building a garden. You can still fulfill your dreams of having a beautiful garden, but on your own terms, all thanks to Terrarium. The plants can survive for months, sometimes even for years without your direct intervention, making Terrarium the most desired form of gardening. Usually the plants that require more of humidity and less of light should be placed inside the Terrarium. The enclosed space would do wonders for these dwarf plants and can even help you live your gardening dreams.
Some of the plants, which can be placed inside a Terrarium, are:
Miniature orchids, Ferns, Mosses (especially Selaginella moss), Fittonia — nerve plant,African violets, Tillandsias — air plants, Peperomias, Pileas, Dwarf ivies, Miniature rhizomatous begonias, Creeping fig — Ficus pumila, Strawberry begonia — Saxifraga stolonifera
The Fab Factor
Use of glass has been an indispensable part of our lives from time immemorial and of course, majorly, it has been responsible for bringing botany closer to us. The days for fretting over losing your plants because of lack of water, less of sunlight etc. are all gone. Terrarium, having been built the way they are, will prove to be a boon for everyone around. Now, you don’t have to be an avid gardener with loads of time to spare. All you need to do is water them once and see the plants grow like never before. Bring your family closer with the Terrarium and they can even be gifted to other people. Spread the word and spread greenness around you. This is the way things should always be. Go green; go the eco-friendly way.


Tovah Martin’s terrariums Picture Gallery

With shrinking living spaces, packing all kinds of furniture in a small apartment can be a little problematic. However, there are some pieces of furniture that cannot be missed, no matter how small the living area is. This is where multifunctional things come handy. Milan-based designer Emanuele Magini has created a sofa, bed and a chair christened as Sosia.


There are certain furniture items available in the market that serve both as a sofa and a bed. Sosia also offers the comfort of a sofa and a daybed but with a twist. Designed for Campeggi, an Italian brand, it comes enveloped in a wall made out of fabric. Sosia consists of two seats that endow you with a flexibility to swap it into different furniture items sans any difficulty.







Feel like catching on your forty winks, simply bring together the two seats and it will give you the comfort of a day bed with a wall wrapped around it for extra privacy. While you were sleeping, the doorbell rings and you see it is your friend standing at the door. Oops! The daybed is still there. Fret no more! Simply convert it into a two-arm chair or a sofa and enjoy the comfort of seating in no time. Sosia can also be used to create a private space in a larger room, thanks to the fabric wall. The wall can either be zipped up or creased down around the seat back.






Sosia is many things clubbed in one that can be altered as per ones whims and fancies. It is full of life, ready to give you all the warmth that too in a sheltered manner and will gracefully gel with everyone’s lifestyle.

Paying a tribute to the Mercedes-Benz, Hungarian designer Peter Vardai has come up with a vehicle concept named the “Blackbird” which is build on the idea of speed and freedom to strengthen the feelings toward the brand. Drawing its name from the fastest manned aircraft, the Lockheed Blackbird Sr71, the new vehicle features the arch and lights to emphasize the sporty shape of Mercedes. Created for the 2010 Australian International Motor show, the Mercedes Blackbird is inspired by the latest Hollywood blockbuster, the Tron Legacy, just like Audi’s E-Tron concept. Moreover, the Mercedes Tron vehicle makes use of novel colors to suit the movie.

Until now we have seen them hanging on a letter carriers’ shoulder, but its time to change the shoulder. Did you ever think that those century-old large canvas sacks used for transporting mail could ever be synonymous with words like fashion and style? If no, then you just cannot afford to miss the new “Mailbags” from the house of Ampersand as Apostrophe. Retaining the history of the original mailbag, these new trendy bags are a reflection of sophistication and contemporary style.
The Creator:
Seattle-based designer Jessica Park has created the “Mailbags” to acknowledge the beauty of the mailbags that once carried letters. She founded Ampersand as Apostrophe to give new life to long forgotten beauties. She is known to create something very conventional looking in a truly unconventional way.
The Inspiration:
Inspired by century-old mailbags, Jessica Park thought of recreating their magic once again. She then came up with the idea of recycling old mailbags into sophisticated, contemporary and stylish fashion statement makers.
The Material:
These rustic-like, chic eco-friendly bags are made by reworking on 100-year-old mailbags.
The Fashion Accessory:
Reading the letters from our loved ones over and over again is always very refreshing. Therefore acknowledging the beauty of the bags carrying them certainly makes sense. To give the long forgotten mailbags their due love and respect, Seattle-based artist Jessica Park has transformed them into chic, modern carryalls. Each upcycled bag is shaped like the letters they carried once. Since they are handmade so every piece is unique. The designer has taken the boring looking bag, refined and redefined it as the perfect modern accessory. Reviving it with contemporary silhouettes, Park doesn’t forget to preserve the romance and mystery of their former existence.
The Fab Factor:
•   Upcycling old mailbags divert them from landfills, hence saving the environment.
•   Upcycling requires fewer resources, less energy, and less labor, compared to the manufacture of new products from virgin materials.
•   Reusing the mailbags means it continues to be a valuable, useful, productive item even after years of use.
•   Made from 100-year-old mailbags, so has an antique feel to it.
•   Perfect modern accessory to make heads turn.
Availability and price:
You can get this stylish Mailbag from Ampersand as Apostrophe at just $935.
What is in it for me?
Now you know exactly what to do with those old, useless bags lying in your storeroom. You too can breathe new life into your old accessories, saving money and the environment. In case if recycling obsolete stuff seems like a hell of a task, then just order this “Mailbag” and flaunt a rustic, yet contemporary style.
Ampersand as Apostrophe Mailbags Picture Gallery