ECO Outdoor | Design Feeder » Jen @ Eco Outdoor http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog Design inspiration for the outdoor space Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:34:09 +0000 en hourly 1 green roofs are so last year… http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2012/02/green-roofs-are-so-last-year-look-out-for-the-honey-bees/ http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2012/02/green-roofs-are-so-last-year-look-out-for-the-honey-bees/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:33:29 +0000 Jen @ Eco Outdoor http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/?p=1841 For those of you are are totally into the foodie game, check out Melbourne City Rooftop Honey which has sprung up all over Melbourne town. You’ve heard of green roofs, well this is just as important and definitely more delicious. Vanessa Kwiatkowski and Mat Lumalasi launched Melbourne City Rooftop Honey after learning that beekeepers in cities such as London, New York and Paris were reintroducing bees to urban areas. Since then, they’ve installed hives on the rooftops of more than 15 CBD and inner-city businesses, mainly cafes and restaurants, and half a dozen suburban gardens. More than 100 people have joined their waiting list.

Nikolsky’s grandfather was a commercial beekeeper and he has strong memories of people coming to his grandparents’ door to buy honey. When Nikolsky read a small newspaper article about Melbourne City Rooftop Honey last year, he offered to host a hive.

For a $250 annual fee, Kwiatkowski and Lumalasi visit fortnightly to check on the hives. In return, the Alphington couple gets a share of the honey and, thanks to the busy bees, a measurable improvement in garden productivity.

“It’s good for us because we like to grow our own vegies and try to be as sustainable as we can,” says Nikolsky. “We’re not talking food miles here. We’re talking food metres.”

You can read more here at Milk Bar or here at Melbourne Rooftop Honey.
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]]> http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2012/02/green-roofs-are-so-last-year-look-out-for-the-honey-bees/feed/ 0 Event alert > Dr James Broadbent http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2012/02/event-alert-dr-james-broadbent-speaks-michael-reid/ http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2012/02/event-alert-dr-james-broadbent-speaks-michael-reid/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:29:45 +0000 Jen @ Eco Outdoor http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/?p=1836 Dr James Broadbent- an expert on 19th and early 20th century garden design-  will be speaking at Michael Reid at Murrurundi on Saturday 31st March. It will be BIG. For information on preferential booking please email brucetindale@michaelreid.com.au

Broadbent is esteemed as a pioneer of historic house conservation. He became Australia’s first professional in this field when he was appointed curator of Sydney’s Elizabeth Bay House in 1977. He took a scholarly approach, working with 1830s inventories and other documents to restore the house in keeping with its historical significance, not just make it beautiful.

Find more information on Dr James Broadbent here

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]]> http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2012/02/event-alert-dr-james-broadbent-speaks-michael-reid/feed/ 0 looking for free landscape or pool design advice? http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/11/looking-for-free-garden-advice/ http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/11/looking-for-free-garden-advice/#comments Wed, 09 Nov 2011 03:03:05 +0000 Jen @ Eco Outdoor http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/?p=1659

Gardens by Design

free landscape design advice in-store at nunawading on sat 26th nov

As spring morphs into summer we start to use our outdoor spaces more and more. Now’s the time to get cracking and make the most out of our courtyards or backyards or whatever space you have to enjoy outside.

On Saturday the 26th November we’re hosting a double whopper down at our Nunawading store in Victoria.

We’ll be doing a Weber BBQ demonstration of some delicious home cooked man food and we’ll also be hosting one of our favourite garden designers in-store.

David Bennett

David Bennett of Gardens by Design will be in-store from 10am to 12pm to answer all your landscape design questions. Dave has won many awards in the residential landscape design sector over the years and is renowned among his colleagues for his quality and cost effective design solutions. Whether you’re looking to redesign an outdoor space, put in a pool, maybe you want to include a water feature or you just want to know where to plant the petunias, Dave can help. He has generously offered to be in-store between 10am and 12pm to offer free landscape design and garden advice.

So if you’ve been thinking its about time you redesigned your outdoor space,  swing by our Nunawading store on Sat 24th Nov, join the BBQ and talk to Dave. Get yourself a belly full of man food courtesy of our friends at Weber and a head full of outdoor design ideas from the man himself. A delightful day out by anyone’s measure.

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]]> http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/11/looking-for-free-garden-advice/feed/ 0 eco qld wins gold at the awards http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/11/eco-qld-wins-gold-at-the-awards/ http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/11/eco-qld-wins-gold-at-the-awards/#comments Wed, 09 Nov 2011 01:55:54 +0000 Jen @ Eco Outdoor http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/?p=1649 Eco Brisbane Team On Saturday 5th November we attended the Landscape QLD award night which recognised and celebrated the best of the best in landscape construction. What a night. Congratulations to all the winners especially  Eureka Landscapes – WINNER of the 2011 Queensland Landscape Construction of the Year for their Gainsborough Green Recreation Hub Project.  A big congratulations to the Eco Outdoor QLD crew who took out the Gold for Landscape supplier of the year for their efforts. This is a first for Eco and testament to the great work being done in QLD by the guys there. So a special congratulations to David, Jaye, Jess, Davina, Max, Regan and the Falcon for their win.

You can check out more on the awards here

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]]> http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/11/eco-qld-wins-gold-at-the-awards/feed/ 0 calling all SA design hunters http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/11/calling-all-sa-design-hunters/ http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/11/calling-all-sa-design-hunters/#comments Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:02:32 +0000 Jen @ Eco Outdoor http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/?p=1638 South Australians are gearing up for their very first Saturday at Design happening tomorrow Saturday 5th November. For those of you familiar with local design events, this one is being hosted by the Design Institute of Australia [ SA chapter] and is bound to be a cracker.

Called ‘Designers’ Saturday’ it will run from 10am – 5pm and  will showcase the latest in designer pieces in one day open to design professionals and all members of the public. Design hunters will check in at a central location at the beautiful Queen’s Theatre (cnr of Playhouse Lane & Gilles Arcade) equipped to collect their itinerary, enjoy a coffee, food, recharge and then move about the city to explore the showrooms. Adelaide’s leading suppliers will show off the latest in chairs, tables, storage solutions and accessories for the home, office, and cafe.

Join in the design conversation at Eco Outdoor’s Moët & Chandon Bar on Designers’ Saturday 5th Nov, from 1pm to 4pm and get a sneak preview of some of its latest designs.

Our team will be instore all day presenting the latest furniture ranges, together with the latest prototype drawings for next season.We’ll showcase new pieces and talk to designers about where we think outdoor furniture is headed. It’s the perfect opportunity to experience the design process from concept to creation.

Here at Eco we believe that design should be a two way conversation between the product and the space it occupies. We also believe in Moët & Chandon.

So drop in and visit us at Eco Outdoor Adelaide this Saturday, join us at the Moët & Chandon Bar and join in the design conversation.

Plus we’ll be showing off this season’s newest outdoor furniture range with a stunning raw industrial finish that’s totally old school and you’ll see it here first.

See us at
13 College Road Kent Town
1300 13 14 13
sarah.phillis(at)ecooutdoor.com.au
www.ecooutdoor.com.au

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]]> http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/11/calling-all-sa-design-hunters/feed/ 0 deep green landscaping in-store this sat http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/11/deep-green-landscaping-are-our-spring-experts-in-wa-this-weekend/ http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/11/deep-green-landscaping-are-our-spring-experts-in-wa-this-weekend/#comments Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:59:04 +0000 Jen @ Eco Outdoor http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/?p=1632
For those of you kicking around the western side of this great land we’ve got two fantastic Spring Experts in-store at our Osborne Park showroom this Saturday. Julian Rose and Stewart Windsor of Deep Green Landscaping are our experts on hand to answer any of your landscape design or gardening questions. If you haven’t met these local boys, here’s snapshot of what they’re passionate about and how they approach landscape design. So if you’re thinking about re-designing your outdoor space or just want to know where to plant the petunias, drop by our showroom on Saturday and get the boys’ advice. They’d be happy to help.

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]]> http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/11/deep-green-landscaping-are-our-spring-experts-in-wa-this-weekend/feed/ 0 unpackaged > new eco retail http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/10/unpackaged-new-eco-retail/ http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/10/unpackaged-new-eco-retail/#comments Sun, 23 Oct 2011 23:57:06 +0000 Jen @ Eco Outdoor http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/?p=1585

Less outdoor but definitely eco, this is a gorgeous little store I found in Clerkenwell, London called Unpackaged. It’s run by a clever little lady named Catherine Conway who started it as an eco-friendly low-fi approach to grocery shopping.

Catherine Conway, founder of Unpackaged, says ‘Unnecessary packaging is a waste of resources and a waste of money. Unpackaged is about rewarding people for reusing their containers and doing their bit to tackle our wasteful culture. We all know that packaging increases the cost to the environment and consumers’ pockets. At Unpackaged, we take the costs of packaging out of the equation and help people save money and the environment.’

From an environmental point of view it’s spot on; it hosts loads of delicious healthy goodies in large containers, jars and pump packs and customers are encouraged to bring their own containers and refill in a bid to reduce household waste. From a general retail point of view it’s another example of a cracking eco retailer who has managed to take eco-friendly out of the hippies-in-hessian niche and present itself as a gorgeous and stylish little grocer. For those of us who have some conscience about the ten thousand kilos of rubbish we produce each year, it’s a great opportunity to cut back our waste even more. Even if you’re not so environmentally inclined but love a stylish grocer with pared back wholefoods and a real low-fi sense of style, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

I loved this store both for its eco efforts but also for its understated style.

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]]> http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/10/unpackaged-new-eco-retail/feed/ 0 Quietly looking for another job? http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/10/were-looking-for-staff/ http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/10/were-looking-for-staff/#comments Thu, 06 Oct 2011 02:17:21 +0000 Jen @ Eco Outdoor http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/?p=1519

Image borrowed from Guony Ros from Flickr

Are you quietly looking for another job? Not wanting to make a splash this close to Christmas but secretly hoping that you stumble across the perfect gig that will allow you to throw in the towel and get moving onto a new career path or maybe you’re just looking for somewhere new to plant your tootsies. Well we have news for you. Listen up friend.

We’re currently looking for a new account manager for our Waterloo showroom. It’s a fulltime gig working next to our very own Jackie Fan [ex-architecture extraordinaire] and represents a great career move for someone looking to get into the outdoor design industry. If you’re interested or know someone who might be, flick them this link on the sly and tell them to drop us a line and say hello. What a hoot.

All hellos should be sent to samantha.saill@ecooutdoor.com.au

Here’s a link to the Sydney job ad on Seek and the rest of the deets are below  the fold>

We’re also looking for a part-timer in our Adelaide showroom, job ad for that gig is here

_____________________________

Okay here comes the serious bit…

We are seeking an up & coming sales superstar to drive sales and manage key accounts.

The role we are looking to fill is based in our Waterloo design showroom and involves supporting our business development team as well as driving sales within the showroom.

The select individual we are searching for to join our young and dynamic team will have the following attributes:

• Proven experience and results in a sales role
• A consultative and solutions based approach to sales
• An eagerness to progress and learn
• A proactive “can do” attitude
• A desire to be and play apart in a close knit team
• A natural interest and flair for design and architecture
• Be able and willing to work Saturdays

Responsibilities in this vital role include:
• Provide critical support to clients and Eco business development team to assist in managing our key clients through regular contact and follow up.
• Actively participate in obtaining new business through development of enquiries
• Take a leadership role in direct client contact in our showrooms
• Provide regular feedback on product, client activity etc to the business development and management team
• Be proactive in providing an inspiring environment for our clients within the design showroom

Salary will be consummate with experience and will consist of an excellent base salary, super and very achievable bonus structure.

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]]> http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/10/were-looking-for-staff/feed/ 0 introducing the selby http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/09/introducing-the-selby/ http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/09/introducing-the-selby/#comments Fri, 02 Sep 2011 01:23:20 +0000 Jen @ Eco Outdoor http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/?p=1260 For those of you looking to pack a little bedazzler into your Friday afternoon brain drain; here’s a little something to tickle your fancy – the selby. It’s choc full of interesting interiors by Todd Selby but beware, you could lose hours loafing about in here….

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]]> http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/09/introducing-the-selby/feed/ 0 cheers to you perth http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/08/cheers-to-you-perth/ http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/08/cheers-to-you-perth/#comments Fri, 05 Aug 2011 02:08:32 +0000 Jen @ Eco Outdoor http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/?p=1033 Last night we officially launched our latest Eco Outdoor showroom in Perth with around 300 of our newest friends. Our Perth owners Pam and Pete put on an amazing show and it was undoubtedly one of the best launches we’ve had thus far. Don, Darcy and the whole Panorama food crew put on a cracking spread. Visitors were welcomed with a chilled glass of french bubbles and made their way around the showroom with various food stations offering suckling pig, freshly shucked oysters, a selection of divine local cheeses and an enormous paella.

The Perth Eco team > Pam, Pete, Steve, John, Adam, Kath, Jason and Trooper did an amazing job with the event. Thanks to the Site Landscapes boys – Luke, Jay & Ben for their work in building an incredible showroom away from home. Thanks also to local boys Davie, Craig & Brendan from Rokform for their incredible stone masonry.

The creative travelling  wilburys Waz & Sam [our east coast ring-ins], did an amazing job of adding a bit of bedazzla magic to the showroom with plant lanterns, a stunning jam jar chandelier, lighting features and a real-life vegie patch installation. This one will be a hard event to top.

Although the showroom has been unofficially open for some time it was great to finally throw open the doors to industry and introduce ourselves to the market. We’re all a little dusty from the night’s events but well worth it, a great night was had by all. Especially those architects still dancing in the showroom at 11pm! Thank you Perth for being so welcoming and to everyone for coming along to support us last night. We’re thrilled to finally be here and we’re all really looking forward to working with you. Cheers to that.


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]]> http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/blog/2011/08/cheers-to-you-perth/feed/ 0