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Design

Plates With Purpose™ Partner

June 9, 2011

Need more reason to enter our design challenge?  Gain inspiration from the women who make the Plates with Purpose™ and will be etching (your?) winning design onto a new plate to benefit City Harvest!

Cassandra said, “Our Plates With Purpose™ concept was founded by Mary Irwin-Scott,” one of the co-founders of Riverside Design Group.  “We were looking for a way to strengthen and support our community.  Beginning with a single design in 2004, the collection has grown to several beautiful designs that raise funding for a diverse group of national and regional non-profits.”

This is the first time Riverside Design Group has done a contest for its plate designs.  Cassandra is excited to view the submissions and said, “This could be the start to a whole new wave of plates!  It is also really gratifying to see the outreach of Plates With Purpose™ growing to new partnerships.”

Cassandra encourages artists and designers to “Be bold!”  She says, “I think the most graphic designs tend to be the most eye-catching and will serve to represent the impact City Harvest is making in the community.  I also think designs are most compelling when they tell a story …  so if there is a reason you are choosing a certain motif let us know.”

Plates With Purpose™ has brought together artists, non-profit partners, and customers together because, “People love the designs and the way the missions of the organizations are captured in the graphic artwork,” said Cassandra.  UncommonGoods’ partnership with City Harvest serves as an especially meaningful opportunity to put food on more plates of the hungry in New York City.

Design

Owls, Bags & Breakfast

June 8, 2011

So far, our Community Voting App is a hit! We love all of the fantastic feedback that’s been coming in about potential uncommon goods.

New items are added to the voting tool weekly, and our buyers are hard at work getting community approved items ready for purchase. We’re excited to see what you have to say about the next batch of goods up for voting, but until then here’s a roundup of a few of  your decisions so far.

Owl Bowls

Owl Bowls
Suzanne said: “I NEED these!!! Too cute and not a crazy price tag!”

Continue Reading…

Design

Harvest Plate Design Challenge!

June 6, 2011

Starting today, we challenge you to give us your best design for a new Plate with Purpose(TM): submit an illustration that embodies City Harvest’s mission to rescue food for New York’s hungry. The winning design will be etched onto a frosted glass plate that will be sold at UncommonGoods this holiday season, and $5 from each plate will go to benefit City Harvest!

Need some inspiration? Watch this inspiring video to get to know the people of City Harvest and why their work is so important to the New York City community. Then check out our other Plates with Purpose (TM), to see what we’re looking for in terms of design. The plate you design will be featured in bold fall colors like gold or copper.

If you win, you could receive $1,000, see your name on a product featured in our holiday catalog, and make a big difference for the charity that’s working to feed hungry New Yorkers.

What are you waiting for? Whether you’ve got a design in mind or an artsy friend with great ideas, help us help City Harvest to rescue food for New York City by sending submissions and spreading the word!

Design

How to make an outdoor trestle table

May 16, 2011

Weather forecasters and ice cream trucks might tip us off to summer’s start–but we all know the season hasn’t really begun until you’ve fired up the grill. In the spirit of packed coolers and good company, we’re kicking off the Ultimate BBQ Giveaway with our friends at Fresh Home magazine, where we’ll serve seconds (and thirds!) of outdoor tools worth over $1200–everything you’ll need to keep the grill hot, and your guests cool. Find out how to enter here.

But before you invite all your neighbors over for a backyard BBQ, Fresh Home magazine has this great guide to build an outdoor table using leftover building materials you might have lying around your garage.

Photo by Robert Reichenfeld Continue Reading…

Design

Judge a Book by its Cover

May 4, 2011

We’ve gotten a great response to our Community Voting Tool, and we love hearing what you have to say about potential uncommon goods!

Now we’re calling all voters to help us make another important decision. Our buyers want to know which potential title you like best for this vintage-inspired “Book” E-Reader Cover.

This protective cover makes your e-reader look like a hardcover classic, so why not give it a classic book title?

e-reader cover

Leave a comment and let us know if you’d like to see this “book” branded with Tolstoy’s War and Peace, Darwin’s On The Origins of Species, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, Andersen’s Fairy Tales, or The Bible.

Design

Walking the Walk

April 5, 2011

When Cliff Drill shows people this photo, many folks don’t realize it’s a tire dump right away. And each time you get your tires changed, there’s a pretty good chance your tires are going to end up on a pile like this. Not pretty.

But that’s where Cliff steps in. Rescuing tires before they hit the landfill, Cliff turns them into flip flops he considers, “Fashionable, functional, durable, and comfortable.”

Continue Reading…

Design

Earth Month Giveaway: Recycled Glass Night Light

April 1, 2011

April is Earth Month, and we’re excited to show Mother Nature some love! What better way to ring in Earth Month than by celebrating recycling? How about by giving away some eco-friendly art?

We’re giving those who pledge to recycle the chance to win one of six Recycled Glass Night Lights by Vawn and Mike Gray! You can vow to help the planet by:

1.) Go above and beyond recycling newspapers and soda cans. Pledge to recycle old linens, batteries, cell phones, and other items that don’t get picked up by the side of your curb.

2.) Look carefully at the packaging on the items you buy. Pledge to cut down on buying items that can’t be recycled, or come in extra packaging that will end up in the trash.

3.) Start reusing materials to create art projects of your own!

Three contestants will be chosen at random to receive the Recycled Pelican Night Light, and three more will be chosen to win the Recycled Sandpiper Night Light.

Continue Reading…