C.U.R.B

I found this cool little gem of eco wisdom on The Alternative consumer. What a great way to start a green 2009!

The new year ushers in an avalanche of ‘Trends for 2009′ posts and resolutions to get ‘greener.’ My contribution to the mudslide of eco-friendly pronouncements is my green acronyms for 2009 - C.U.R.B.

C - conserve - waste less water, energy, time and materials.

U - unplug - go off-grid: walk, bike, hike and get out in nature.

R - reuse - bags, food containers, clothes, paper. You get the idea.

B - believe - all the small changes made by individuals can make a giant difference.

** Borrowed from The Alternative Consumer. I's a great site, check it out!

Maku and Vernare Rocking the Grammy's green!

So check it out, Maku in conjunction with our rockstar West Hollywood retail partner Vernare were Rocking the 50th Annual Grammy Awards @ the Green with Music luxury Retreat.



Located in the lobby of the super hip South Collection Building in downtown L.A., rockers, actors, agents, producers and those shi shi PR people were all checking Maku out and chilling on the goods!

Here is a little snipet of some of the coverage we received. Many thanks to Daniel and his crew for representing us so well and to Treehugger and Fox 11 KTLA for giving us some love!

Click Here for the Treehugger.com coverage

Click Here for LA Fox 11's coverage. About 1/2 way through the segment you'll see some great shots of the furniture!

But wait, there's more to come from the NAACP image awards last night and from the Oscars later next week with the Global Green Oscars Party that we will be a part of! Check back in the next couple of days on updates from those events and our participation!

Do you feel lucky punk? Well do ya...?

Dirty Harry aka Clint Eastwood weighs in on Trestles. Check it.

Politicians making it happen!

While I usually try and steer clear of politically charged issues and discussions, I can't help but congratulate the House of Representatives on passing a new energy bill (H.R. 6) that could have a significant positive impact on our environment - Of course this seems like a no brainer to me but then that's probably why I am not a politician... :)

- Raising fuel economy standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020 -- the first such increase in more than 30 years.

- Requiring 15 percent of our country's electricity to come from clean, renewable, homegrown sources such as the wind and solar by 2020.

- Will dramatically increase production of biofuels to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

Now it's up to the Senate to pass the same bill and put it into law. To contact your local Senators and let them know this issue is important to you click here

Welcome Soho Living!

Welcome to the crew @ Soho Living in Florida! With 3 stores in the state we are really stoked to have Anand, Joe, and the rest of the staff preaching the power of Maku sustainable outdoor living!

A fresh shipment of Maku goods are on their way to Soho Living and if you live in Florida, have friends in Florida, are visiting in Florida, or just want to check out a really cool retailer that is taking an eco friendly stance by brining in products such as Maku, then go to their website for all details and contact info!

Now I can go see my buddy Rob, surf a good hurricane swell, stop in on the Soho Living crew and call it a business trip, sweet!!!

Global Warming, hot or not?

At the risk of taking a minor political departure from the melding of passionate lifestyle enthusiasm and contemporary furniture I submit 2 articles for your review.

The First article is from NASA saying they have overstated the rate at which the earth is warming. Click Here

The Second article I found while perusing the BBC news website talking about the alarming rate in which Arctic Sea Ice is shrinking. Click Here

It's no secret that I have long been a fan of taking care of our environment. From growing up in the mountains and joining the Sierra Club at the age of 14 on through moving to the beach and being a longtime supporter of The Surfrider Foundation (and more recently 1%FTP) I have seen firsthand the effects we as humans can have on our environment and the blatant disregard that many people take towards their surroundings.

Mind you I am not an overzealous "eco-nazi" or anything but it's not that hard to do little things like recycle or turn off a light in an empty room. If you get a chance, grab a copy of "The Lazy Environmentalist" written by the ever passionate all around nice guy Josh Dorfman.

To see "Green Products" continue to infiltrate mainstream life and media is great and only good things can come from added awareness.

My take, we are seeing a pattern of global warming that modern society has never experienced. Has this pattern taken place in the past before meteorological records were kept or are we going down a path that Mother Earth has never seen, we will never know...?

But one thing is for sure - Each and every day people across this planet take a new interest in our environment and what they can do to make a difference and thats a good thing!

Maku in September Riviera San Diego

Just a quick image from Johnny’s Riviera San Diego debut.

Gillian and her team do an excellent job of giving company’s that are based locally or have a strong local tie some extra help.

Having lived in NYC for a number of years, in addition to reading more than my fair share of magazines due to the nature of my job, I can tell you the Riviera team holds their own with the best of them editorially and from a production standpoint.

Besides featuring a giant picture of infamous West family pooch Diego, the article also gives props to local retailer Grounded and the Maku's favorite shaper Cole Simler . If you've never checked out one of Cole's boards, do so. Real beauties that even kooks like the PR guy can appreciate.

BTW – Maku is in the Riviera SD version, not OC. The covers are the same and some bookstores carry both, so look out before you buy.