Yoshitomo Nara is one of the most influential and curious Japanese neo-pop artists of recent times. His work, inspired by childhood, is far from being naïve, he depicts his vision of Japanese culture quite coarsely.

The Baltic in Gateshead recently hosted the first UK public gallery exhibition of Yoshitomo Naras work, where along with his little dolls with their round faces, there was the addition of a funny little dog

This little dog with his red nose, blue feet and long ears, is now available as a good old fashioned wooden toy that will quietly follow your little child around. The dog has a mocking smile, strangely reassuring and crafty at the same time.

No more plastic toys that get handed down from generation to generation, only to eventually end up on a landfill somewhere for the next million years! Bring back the good old wooden toys… thats what we say!

Remember 12 inch singles, double A sides and Vynil 45’s? We often wondered what happened to everyones record collection once the CD was introduced and became the death of vynil records.

We’ve since found that your much loved Mowtown record has been removed from its sleeve and cut to make an impressive retro looking set of coasters!

Each of these funky coasters is a unique one-off, cut from old vinyl records and carefully sealed to protect it from any spillages. Trust us, they really do make a very eye-catching tableware.

These make a great gift and are perfect for anyone who cares about the environment and is adamant that vinyl will never die!

Right from the start, the BMW Mini was designed for optimum recyclability. Recyclable materials are used wherever possible, the number of materials is minimised, and components are easy to dismantle.

BMW are now looking at going one step further. Fully charged in two and a half hours and 0 to 62mph in 8.5 seconds with a top speed of 95mph, the Mini cooper may change peoples opinions of electric motoring.

Officially unveiled at the Los Angeles Motor Show on 19 November, only 500 cars will be assembled at the BMW plant near Oxford and will be offered to select private and corporate customers in California, New York and New Jersey.

With a claimed range of 150 miles between full charges, the BMW’s Mini E may go into full scale production in 2010 or 2011.

Putting all eco issues, and world saving ideals aside, the Eco Kettle can quite simply save energy and help reduce your electricty bills! Do you need any other reason to get one?

So how much energy do we waste with our current kettles? Well to put it in perspective DEFRA have quantified how much energy we’re wasting every year;

If everyone boiled only the water they needed to make a cup of tea instead of filling the kettle every time, almost enough electricity to run all the street lighting in the U.K. would be saved.

Until now, accurately measuring the amount of water to be boiled in your kettle has been all but impossible. The new ECO Kettle is different: the internal reservoir holds a full capacity of water ready for use, while the measuring button allows any quantity – from a single cupful to full capacity – to be released into the separate chamber for boiling.

The result? Exactly the right amount of water every time you boil, no more waste (up to 30% energy saving) and a quicker cup of tea!

The word on the street is that this year, christmas tree prices are set to soar, mainly due to the weak pound. The average tree this Christmas could set you back £40 and you may struggle to find the most popular species, a Nordmann fir, due to its ever growing popularity.

Don’t be fooled that purchasing an artificial one is better for the environment either! Although artificial trees last longer, they’re made up of PVC which aren’t naturally biodegradable and could therefore pollute a landfill site for many years to come.

Maybe its now time to seriously consider growing your own Christmas Tree in time for Christmas 2009? By growing your own Christmas Tree you will not only save money (the kit costs under £5) but from next year you won’t have to head off out in the cold, load a tree in your car and then have the problem of disposing of it.

By introducing an eco friendly solution to Christmas, this little tree will fast become part of the family and a christmas tradition within itself. Inside this ingenious box are plant seeds, a compost pellet and a terracotta pot, basically everything required to help you get growing and becoming eco friendly.

We received these a few days ago, and having used solar lights in the past, weren’t expecting anything to jump up and down about - we were proved wrong!

Beautify your garden at night with these Solar Powered Fairy Lights and don’t worry about wires cascading down your walls, through the window or letterbox leading to a mains plug (very dangerous!).

You can adorn your garden with light and a little bit of luxury without the need for batteries or electricity. Leave the solar panel in sunlight to charge up the solar-powered battery and drape the LED fairy lights around your garden and over furniture for a wonderful light display at night.

A solar sensor automatically switches your solar powered fairy lights on at night and off again at dawn and a full charge delivers an impressive 20 hours of light.

Believe it or not, these solar lights are as bright as their standard mains-powered counterparts and come with spike and clip fitting, so they stay in place once you’ve set them up. With six light modes and three time modes you decide what they do and when.

Women love to cover themselves from head to toe, and an array of chemicals, balms and oils, mostly made up of chemicals.

Suki products are made with organic ingredients where possible and are more likely to be better for your skin than the man made alternative.

Take Green Tradings Butter Cream Salve as an example. Its a multi-purpose cream for dry chafed skin. The evening primrose oil and borage intensify healing and provide instant moisture and relief from dry skin and chafing.

Ideal to use on cuticles, elbows, hands and feet, eczema, burns, bruises, and stretch marks, this product is also suitable for babies with the ingredients list sounding more like a posh desert than a moisturising creme;
Organic evening primrose
Rose hip
Chamomile
Lavender… to name a few.

Recycled carboard playhouses? Whatever next!

Environmentaly friendly, sturdy and fun, these playhouses from BabiPur are such great fun for children, they are a blank canvas for children to play, create & decorate using paint, collage, pens & crayons, limited only by their imagination.

An innovative concept in creative toys , the card is engineered to be robust and sturdy and each construction is easy to assemble and fold away flat when not in use.

Not just for the girls! BabiPur have introduced a Cardboard Rocket, Recycled Fortress and an Eco Friendly Den to their ranges of products.
 

Its hard balancing whats best for your baby and the environment at the same time.

Eco Baby is A Guide to Green Parenting by author Sally J Hall, showing new parents how to make the most ethical decisions about the products they buy and the way they live as new parents, as well as showing them an easy route to “greening” their baby’s life.

The author looks at every aspect of a new baby’s life in the first year, including one of the biggest topics of debate, the pros and cons of disposable nappies v’s washable nappies.

Decorating the nursery is another topic that questions whether you should paints, varnish and furnish the room using materials that have less of an an impact on your child’s health, as well as the planet. Other areas covered in the Eco Baby book include Organic and Ethical Clothing, Food, Toiletries and Toys and games.

Its simple to make a child’s toy box more ethical by choosing wisely from sustainably managed materials and fairly traded products.

Packed with helpful tips, and with a comprehensive index of companies, products and services, “Eco Baby” is an essential guide for all parents concerned about the health of their baby and the world their children will inherit.

Its winter, you’ve just settled down on the sofa with a blanket over you when you want to change channels on the TV or the phone goes.

Make your decision!
1 - Ignore the phone and call your parents back the next day risking an interrogation as to your whereabouts.
2 - Break your cocoon of warmth by releasing your arms destroying the perfectly formed bubble of comfort that took your ages to get right, just to hear that Aunt Dot has got a cold.

Not with the Slanket!

The clever people who invented the Slanket have obviously been in the same situation and have designed one of lifes little necessities thats proving to be one of the best selling Christmas Presents of 2008.

The gorgeously comfortable and cosy fleece slanket with large, loose sleeves, allows you to cocoon yourself in warmth on the sofa still able to change channels on the TV. No need to crank up the central heating and increase your winter fuel bills!

When we tested it, we ended up throwing a sickie in so we could stay in our Slanket. We loved it that much!