The culmination of months of design, photography, and development have been assembled together and launched onto the information superhighway….and its name – Neela Bags. Neela Bags is a new, reusable bag venture for those who want to be environmentally friendly and stylish at the same time. When Neela’s founders approached us to create their web site and provide art direction they were looking for a way to show off their stylish bags and demonstrate the company’s commitment to environmental issues all within a clean, modern design. We’re very happy with how things turned out. Jump over to Neela Bags and let us know what you think.

Bottled water is the new Hummer. Environmentalists are focusing in on the industry, Alice Waters and others are banning it from their restaurants, and the biggest brands are owned by Pepsi Co. and other multi-national corporations. But is the industry all bad? I consider myself an environmentally conscience individual; I recycle and compost (when my bin has not gone missing – but that’s a story for another blog post), buy organic/sustainable foods + products whenever possible and generally try to minimize my footprint on this earth.

An article in last months Fast Company by Charles Fishman explored the dilemma faced by first world consumers in a global economy. Every story has two sides and Fishman did an excellent job presenting the two positions with bottle water. I was left intrigued and slightly more open to the industry after reading the article. In particular Fiji Water and a new wave of ethical bottle water has made me consider that if done correctly bottled water may have something to contribute outside of corporate profits.

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At 2 Out Of Three our desire for aesthetically pleasing and functional design extends outside our television screens and computer monitors and into the world around us. More specifically it extends into the building that surrounds us as our San Francisco studio recently went through a bathroom remodel. Built in 1909 our studio contains high ceilings, original hardwood floors, period molding as well as other classic elements that make San Francisco apartments unique. Our goal in the bathroom remodel was to maintain the classic look of the apartment while bringing it up to date using as many “green” and sustainable materials as possible.

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I find myself buying more and more products online these days, and it’s not just because I spend the majority of my day in front of a computer. It really comes down to the better shopping experience I can have online. Web sites like Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, and others analyze my shopping habits, my likes and dislikes and then use that information to recommend products that I may have never found on my own. Smaller web sites like Threadless and product blogs (Product Dose & Apartment Therapy) can lead me to unique small quantity goods that are not available in my local area. Every now and then however, I encounter a truly great local business that picks up where the online shopping experience falls short. Green Apple books store in San Francisco’s Richmond district is one of these exceptional brick and motor stores. Without fail every time I’m in their store I overhear, the familiar sentiment, “I could spend all day in here”.

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