Citrine Communiqué No. 3 {song, sermon, podcast, recipe}
collage by Heather Tehrani
“INTEGRITY IS CHOOSING COURAGE OVER COMFORT; IT’S CHOOSING WHAT’S RIGHT OVER WHAT’S FUN, FAST OR EASY” Brené Brown
THE SERMON: WHY SUSTAINABLE DESIGN MATTERS
This is my first post since I’ve been rethinking how I want to run my business. To be honest I’m nervous about showing up in this space and speaking from a more purposeful position because what if it falls flat? Like Brené says, I may not be able to control the outcome but I can damn well show up to the rodeo. I hope you will bear with me as I try to be both articulate and compelling and share what I feel matters to us all. To make it less austere, I’ve packed some goodies into this for you as well … podcasts, music, comfort food, I got you covered! But if you’re just here for the food and want to skip the sermon, feel free to jump to the recipe below!
Do you recall the time lockdown gradually morphed back into “normal” life? Does it feel like forever ago or just yesterday? I distinctly remember right as lockdown measures were being lifted, we were working on a big design job in Malibu. Every day we would count the number of tankers floating around in the ocean waiting to dock and because there were no dock workers to unload them, the number of tankers kept increasing. This went on for weeks as we waited for furniture orders to come in. We imagined that some of the items we were awaiting were in those tankers. One of our sofa suppliers informed us that the wood coming in from Indonesia which was meant to build the custom sofa, was rotten and useless.
Tanker Photo courtesy of the Wall Street Journal (link to article on cargo logjams) | Graveyard of discarded furniture via Pinterest
We scrambled for updates and immediate replacements for the deadline to complete the project was fast approaching. It’s easy to forget how dependent we are even on the people we never see or think about - like dock workers and tanker operators! Being forced to reflect on that kind of interdependence is generally a good thing - were it not for a looming deadline. Having made it over the finish line, I began to re-evaluate the impact of “fast furnishings”in my industry. We are as much consumers of fast furniture as we are of fast food and fast fashion. I felt called to clean up my act in this regard and start living and designing in a more sustainable way.
Vintage Barbie house via Etsy
Living in Southern California as I do, I am fortunate to be able to start my day in the ocean. As wonderful as it is to be able to surf every day, I float in the byproducts of overconsumption daily. Discarded trash bobs around me in the ocean and I often end up stuffing random plastic bags and other things in my wetsuit until I get back to shore. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans throw away more than 12 million tons of home furnishings each year! That’s insane. We have to discipline ourselves to make choices that are more in harmony with nature and less about trends and instant gratification. Wouldn’t you sleep better knowing your beautifully appointed home doesn’t come at a cost of our marine life and ecosystems? That you aren’t quietly ingesting a multitude of toxic chemicals or contributing to this landfill calamity? Depressing yes, but don’t click away yet, stick with me, there’s hope!
Hermit crabs deserve a holistic home like we do!
I indulge in wasteful behavior and recognize I have a lot more to learn about being a conscious consumer. Who can resist an instant living room upgrade when Target, CB2, World Market, etc are all so cheap and cheerful? They make it easy and affordable to jooszh our space so we can have a constantly curated on-trend home. We are bombarded with hip marketing making us feel obsolete if we don’t get on board with the latest. This comes at a massive cost when you consider the down-stream effects of our instant gratification. The sobering fact is that we are all downstream. Toxins from the fashion and furnishings industries show up not only in our waterways but also our endocrine systems. The human cost extends to the factory workers may not be getting a fair wage to feed their families. Not to mention the devastating ecological impact on our wildlife. We have to shift the paradigm of what the “good life” looks like.
Whale With 29kg Of Plastic In Its Stomach via Thinking Humanity
How do we begin and how do we make it fun? Maybe start with a mindset shift, something like “simplicity is the new luxury.” A better life comes through connection not consumerism. Allow that a piece of furniture that appears to be at the end of its lifecycle could get a second life through re-upholstery. On the other hand, sometimes a full home overhaul is what’s up. A new kitchen, a bathroom makeover, the kids left and it’s time to downsize kind of thing. I agree that it can be overwhelming and not much fun to think about environmental impact. We want what we want when we want it so we can look good! I’m here to tell you sustainability and a swank home life are not mutually exclusive. Eco homes are not all oatmeal-on-cardboard and dream catchers. I love to design elegant modern interiors that are in alignment with my core values. To take the pressure out of this for busy clients who want to do the right thing, I’m compiling sources for eco-friendly retailers and manufacturers of stylish and sustainable building materials, fixture and fittings. The result is a guilt-free non-toxic high vibration home. Who would’t be down for that? Feel free to send me comments, tips and sources and I will build a resource page into my website so it’s accessible to anyone. Let’s do this!
“We have created an astonishing moment of truth. The climate crisis is not a science problem. It is a human problem. The ultimate power to change the world does not reside in technologies. It relies on reverence, respect, and compassion—for ourselves, all people, all life. This is regeneration."
Wonderful recipe from Oakland-based food justice activist, Bryant Terry’s cookbook Vegetable Kingdom (and how rad is this wallpaper!)