Hundreds Attend Global Warming protest...

While were at it, check out this little gem from Fairbanks AK. Frozen Gore

Aptera

While on the subject of Electric cars, check out Carlsbadistan based Aptera. Aptera is on the cutting edge of eco friendly automobiles and should have production out and rolling by late fall 2009. These all electric vehicles will be priced from $20,000-$40,000!

Aptera is even using P.E.T. (recyled plastic bottles and cups) for the seats and other parts of the car along with Eco Friendly dyes, etc. And the best part a whopping 230 miles per gallon is achieved in part by a lower coefficent of drag than what Lance Arstrong has on his bike!! WOW!

Now if they only made an Aptera pickup, we'd be all over it. It's pretty cool nonetheless to see a company like Aptera in our humble little village by the sea.

Who Killed the Electric Car...

Check it out, it's a pretty interesting and compelling movie. Makes you think even more about why gas was approaching $4.50 a gallon last summer and question how a company like GM can put short term profits (Or the lack there of currently) over long term sustainability and most likely greater profitability.

By the way and in the interest of full disclosure, I'm no saint when it comes to cars. I have always driven a Chevy pickup. I use it to the full capability of the vehicle be it camping in Baja or hauling recycled mulch to our garden and back yard and as it fits our lifestyle and needs...

But given the option of a different fuel source or availability of bio diesel I would with out a doubt make a switch.

Here is a link to the trailer of the movie if by chance it is not loading properly below.

Good bye Vegas...

For the last 17 years as part of working in the Snowboard and wintersports industry (in addition to our little furniture project) I have made the annual pilgrimage to Lost Wages for the Snowsports Industries of America show. Last week was the last SIA show in Las Vegas as it is now moving to Denver.

The gathering of our tribe over the years and the memories of the show in Las Vegas will be hard to top in Denver. But the industry will be much closer to the mountians and the snow so that should be pretty cool instead of spending a week in the desert and a smoke filled casino.

Some memories that come directly to mind -

1997 - getting hit by a car that ran a red light as I skateboarded across Paradise to the 7-11 just across the street from the Las Vegas convention center (That for sure took one, maybe 2 of my 9 lives...)

1992 - 1994 The Snowboard Ghetto as we so affectionetly refered to by our Ski industry "Colleagues". Of course we called the Ski section of the show "The Library..."

The AVN show taking place at the Hilton the same dates as the SIA show. WOW, those were some fun times!

"Smoke" billowing from the windows of Yellow Bus Snowboards and the resulting pizza deliveries. Before they got kicked out of the show.

Rail Jams at the Hard Rock

The Circle Bar at the hard rock and The Round Bar at the Las Vegas Hilton well before the HRH was even built...

Too many good times to list here but check out some of these sites for a recap of shows past and some good stuff.

Shay Boarder.com

The Tackedlbox

Yo Beat

Take it way back with Sacklunch

Transworld Biz

The Black and Gold

Usually we're talking Green but today we're going Black and Gold. Since our Chargers didn't make the superbowl we are sticking with the AFC and rooting for the Steelers, terrible towels and all!

If the Steelers win they will be the winningest team in superbowl history with 6 wins.

Super Bowl Standings

Team	W	L	Pct.	Pts.	Opp.
San Francisco 49ers	5	0	1.000	188	89
Baltimore Ravens	1	0	1.000	34	7
Chicago Bears	1	0	1.000	46	10
New York Jets	1	0	1.000	16	7
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1	0	1.000	48	21
Pittsburgh Steelers	5	1	.833	141	110
Green Bay Packers	3	1	.750	127	76
New York Giants	3	1	.750	83	87
Dallas Cowboys	5	3	.625	221	132
Oakland/L.A. Raiders	3	2	.600	132	114
Washington Redskins	3	2	.600	122	103
New England Patriots	3	3	.500	121	165
Baltimore Colts	1	1	.500	23	29
Kansas City Chiefs	1	1	.500	33	42
Miami Dolphins	2	3	.400	74	103
Denver Broncos	2	4	.333	115	206
St. Louis/L.A. Rams	1	2	.333	59	67
Atlanta Falcons	0	1	.000	19	34
Carolina Panthers	0	1	.000	29	32
Tennessee Titans	0	1	.000	16	23
Seattle Seahawks	0	1	.000	10	21
San Diego Chargers	0	1	.000	26	49
Cincinnati Bengals	0	2	.000	37	46
Philadelphia Eagles	0	2	.000	31	51
Buffalo Bills	0	4	.000	73	139
Minnesota Vikings	0	4	.000	34

It's in Da shoes...

Both my daughter and I are somewhat closet sneakerheads - From Adidas Consortium to Ed Hardy (for her) to Nike Dunk's we like them all. (especially Adidas Y-3!)

So while cruising the world wide web over the weekend I found some super cool shoes from a small company in France called Veja that are also very eco conscious. Check out the The-Grid by Veja

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!

Structured Green Blog - Savannah GA

Our friends over at Structured Green in Savannah GA have a killer little blog that you should check out. http://structuredgreenfurniture.blogspot.com/

And if you are in the Savannah area be sure to stop by and say hello to Mike and crew and check out some of the cool Maku pieces they have in stock!

Bainbridge WA - Eco friendly High School

Check out this cool new HS in Bainbridge, Washington. It's pretty cool to see LEED certified and eco friendly construction practices becoming more prevalent in all all aspects of our lives.



click here to read more.

Be sure to check out Velocity Art and Design in Seattle for all the best selection of eco friendly furniture in the NW! By the way, John and crew at Velocity Art and Design are proud to offer Maku products as part of their great in store selections!

The elusive Camerfish...

With the beautiful full moons at night come the highest and lowest tides of the year here in North County San Diego.



We cruised down to Swami's beach on Saturday afternoon to check out the tide pools and spotted the elusive camerfish pictured below.



Rest assured the camera fish was taken to the local "electronics" recycling facility later that weekend...

The Lazy E strikes Again!

Check it out, our good buddy Josh Dorfman aka The Lazy Environmentalist and owner of the ultra hip eco retailer Vivavi which is a Maku partner has a bitchen new show coming out on the Sundance Channel later this year.

By the way, if you haven't watched the Iconoclast series you should check it out! Coming up next is local Carlsbadistan and super skater Tony Hawk paired with Director Jon Favreau

Congratulations Josh, we can't wait to see the first episode!!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SUNDANCE CHANNEL ORIGINAL SERIES “THE LAZY ENVIRONMENTALIST,” HOSTED BY JOSH DORFMAN, TO PREMIERE ON JUNE 16TH AT 9:00PM E/P

NEW YORK, NY, January 12, 2009 --/WORLD-WIRE/-- Sundance Channel’s original series “The Lazy Environmentalist”, hosted by author, radio and television personality Josh Dorfman, will premiere on June 16th at 9:00pm e/p as part of Sundance Channel’s ecological programming block, The GREEN. The series is made up of seven 30-minute episodes.

In each episode Josh Dorfman will seek out environmental skeptics who are experts in fields as diverse as fashion, food, architecture, business and design in order to prove that a green lifestyle can meet the demands of their professional and private lives. Operating on the theory that consumers should not settle for an expensive product or innovation of inferior design simply because it is environmentally friendly, it is Josh’s mission to bring these experts ecologically -sound options that stand up to their very high standards and show them that living a green lifestyle can not only be done with little sacrifice, it can make their lives easier.

“Josh demonstrates to viewers that they can easily integrate green into their lives, without sacrificing the quality that they expect from products and services,” commented Sundance Channel EVP and GM Laura Michalchyshyn. “This message fit perfectly into our goals of The Green, which includes encouraging people to make changes in their lives that will lessen the impact we are making on our planet.”

Environmental entrepreneur, author and radio personality Josh Dorfman is The Lazy Environmentalist - searching the world for the most innovative and cost-effective green products and services. Based on his book and radio show of the same name, this series revolves around Dorfman’s interaction with and expertise on green products of all varieties, wWhile allowing him to introduce innovators in their respective fields to his doubting subjects. Dorfman is the founder and CEO of Vivavi, a provider of contemporary, eco-friendly furniture and furnishings, working with numerous sustainable designers. He’s also spokesperson for the Filter For Good campaign encouraging consumers to reduce their plastic water bottle waste.

The series is Executive Produced by David Metzler. Executive Producers for Sundance Channel are Laura Michalchyshyn, Lynne Kirby and Mala Chapple.

Have a Merry "maku" Christmas!

Merry Xmas and best wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2009 to everybody!

Lots of good stuff coming down the green pipeline for 2009 from your favorite Eco friendly outdoor furniture company...!

Custom Projects

Just in case anybody reading our blog is interested in custom sustainable projects / furniture, Maku Furniture can do any furniture for any environment. We recently completed a project at the Intercontinental hotel in Chicago and the Four Season Atlanta has some Maku Benches on order!

You've seen the pictures of the EVO loft in downtown LA and that was a spur of the moment project. So if you are looking for custom 1 off piece or have a larger custom project Maku is your go to brand! We'll get you a great price on or under budget and can react to short timelines!

You can contact us by clicking here

By the way, we have a few new pcs that we will be adding to the collection just in time for the holidays. Why not make it a green xmas!

Welcome Urban Patio!

If you live in Nashville TN , have a design project, or just happen to be cruising through town stop by and check out Maku's newest retail and design partner - Urban Patio. A fresh shipment of Maku Lounge Chairs, side tables and other cool Maku pieces are en route!

Evo Lofts L.A.

Check out these Custom Maku table tops we made for a designer that is showcasing a bunch of product at the EVO lofts in Downtown L.A. If anybody is intersted in custom projects Maku is your go to. We can do anything custom no matter the quantity.

Big thanks to Menzie and Dan for working with Maku Furniture on this project!