Paper Cloud Blog - Art and more to share

Another appearance in BHG

matt — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 19:57:24 +0000

Paper Cloud makes another appearance in the September issue of Better Homes and Gardens. This time, one of our bronze pendant lamps is featured in an article showing you how to transform a room with the colors of coffees and lattes.

A trip to Inspiration-ville

matt — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:57:45 +0000

Actually it was a trip to Nashville, but we picked up a heaping helping of inspiration from Hatch Show Print. If you’re not familiar with the name, you’re probably familiar with the work. If you’ve ever gone to a concert, county fair, or anywhere else that needs a poster, they may have had a hand in it.

They’ve been making block printed and letterpress posters for more than 100 years. We toured their studio, full of presses, woodblock type, and posters covering every inch of wall space. We even picked up one of their awesome prints. Definitely worth a visit if you’re near Nashville.

Paper Cloud in Fresh Home Magazine

matt — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 13:40:18 +0000

Paper Cloud was recently featured in the Summer issue of Fresh Home Magazine in an article about adding a little “summer shade” to your decor. Whatever your favorite hue, the trend seems to be “the more color the better”. We couldn’t agree more.

New products are here

matt — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 01:43:11 +0000

This year’s line of new products is finally ready! We’ve been hard at work expanding our line of home décor, and are now offering napkins and placemats. On top of that, we’ve expanding our current line to include 100% certified organic cotton. It has all the benefits of regular cotton (super-soft and easy to care for) but it’s eco-friendly.

New organic cotton table textiles that you can mix or match.

Our ever-growing line of pillows and lighting now includes organic cotton. Let us know what you think of the new stuff!

360 State Street

ariana — Sun, 02 May 2010 00:22:26 +0000

We’re thrilled to have our pillows as part of 360 State Street, a new, upscale, green development in New Haven, CT. The project is the latest from Becker + Becker, a full service green architecture, planning, preservation and development firm in Fairfield, CT. Thanks to Kraemer Becker for including us in the project and for sending along this great shot!

The truth about organic cotton

matt — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 15:32:28 +0000

Natural fabrics, such as cotton and linen, are crops grown using similar methods to food crops. “Organic” is a term that gets used a lot, but what does it really mean? For our certified organic cotton, here’s how it’s different.

Organic Cotton vs. Conventional Cotton

Seeds
Organic cotton uses untreated and genetically unmodified seeds. Approximately 70% of the conventional US grown cotton uses genetically modified seeds.

Soil + Water
Organic cotton relies heavily on crop rotation and ground cover to retain moisture and keep the soil healthy. Conventional cotton uses harsh fertilizers.

Pests + Weeds
Pests + weeds are a huge concern for all types of cash crops. In conventional cotton, pesticides and herbicides are typically used to control pests + weeds, often with a genetically altered seed that resists certain chemicals. Conventional cotton production accounts for about 25% of the world’s insecticide use. With organic cotton, weeds are controlled by hand weeding or machine tilling. Pests are controlled through the use of “beneficial predators” (animals that eat common pests), or by planting a trap crop. Trap crops are used to lure pests away from the cotton.

Harvesting
To harvest cotton, the plant must be defoliated (the green leaves removed to get at the white fibers). Conventional cotton uses chemicals to defoliate. Organic cotton uses seasonal freeze and water starvation to naturally defoliate the cotton plant.

The Pros and Cons of Organic Cotton

Pros

Organic cotton is much better for the environment compared to conventional cotton because of limited to no use of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, which affect far more than just the cotton through run off and aerial spraying.
Organic cotton has the same properties as conventional cotton. It’s easy to care for, versatile, and durable.
The United States is one of the top 5 cotton growers in the world. So when you buy cotton, you support the US farm economy.

Cons

It’s more expensive. Organic cotton is more labor intensive to raise (hand weeding) and yields less cotton per plant compared to conventional cotton. This is the trade-off for not using all the pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.

Resources

To find out more about organic cotton you can visit these links
http://www.aboutorganiccotton.org/
http://www.ota.com/organic/mt/organic_cotton.html

Fabric sneak peek

matt — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 01:22:42 +0000

We’re so excited about our new line this year, we couldn’t even wait until it’s done. Below are some sneak peek images of what we’re working on. Soon we’ll be adding 100% certified organic cotton to our existing line of 100% linen products. We’ll also be adding a line of table top textiles such as placemats and napkins, and a new batch of fresh designs and colors (such as the golden yellow seen below).

Zero + Energy = Zenergy

matt — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 00:04:02 +0000

Paper Cloud is proud to be a part of the ZENERGY House in California. The ZENERGY House project was developed as a guide to greening existing homes, using eco friendly products, energy efficient materials, and the latest technologies to create a modern home with the goal of zero net energy. This is a great example of how living green doesn’t have to sacrifice style.

Paper Cloud featured in Midwest Living

matt — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:02:39 +0000

The Spring issue of Midwest Living gives our eco-friendly pendants the “green” light for being screen printed on linen and using only water-based inks.

PC in BHG

matt — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 01:58:22 +0000

Paper Cloud is in February’s issue of Better Homes and Gardens, in an article about how to make your bedroom cozy, comfortable, and colorful.