Taking place this past weekend was Western Interiors Design and Home Show in San Francisco. Aiming to promote fine furniture, new products and trends, the show provided 1-on-1 design consultations, an outdoor living showcase, a new product showcase and a presentation on green products hosted by West Coast Green. Mainly for interior designers and homeowners wanting to make changes, the show aimed to teach showgoers how to surround yourself with beautiful, while at the same time, environmentally conscious products.

American Clay’s Marketing VP, Carol Baumgartel, was on the scene as an exhibitor, among over 70 other leading designers and companies. Many of the featured products focused on improving interior air quality, attesting to the fact that interior designers greatly influence the quality of the air we breath in our homes.

The staff of Western Interior Magazine hosted the show vibrantly, says Carol. Michael Wollaeger, Editor-in-Chief, is elegantly committed and responsive to interior design and sustainability, and produces one of the few “real magazines.” Deborah Coburn, Interior Designer of Naturally Inspired—and who arranged and designed the 1,500 sq. ft. staged home—also is extremely committed to green living.

Carol also had the opportunity to attend the seminar, “Achieving Ubiquity: The Next Step for Green Design”, and was inspired by what Peter Liu—initial founder and vice chairman of New Resource Bank—had to say. He presented a new paradigm on banking, in short, a bank with integrity. Read about New Resources Bank here.

“Each of these people I spoke with or heard speak,” says Carol, “have an unwavering commitment to sustainability.” As far as products go, American Clay seems to be one of the few that continues to raise the bar on their commitment to sustainability as well.

Coming up in just a few weeks, is Greenbuild Expo 2007. Held this year in Chicago, November 7-9, Greenbuild is the world’s largest expo dedicated to green building and the statistics definitely prove it. Over 18,000 building professionals are already registered to attend the event, nearly 5,000 more than last year. Plus, with 850 exhibit booths, more than 100 educational sessions and over 40 countries represented, this year’s expo is gearing up to be a monumental event. Only a 3-day expo, it’s astonishing, to say the least, that so many conferences, speakers and tours can fit into it.

The expo starts off with a bang, with former President Bill Clinton as the keynote speaker of the opening plenary. Launching the Clinton’s Foundation Climate Initiative in 2006—which fights against climate change with a business-oriented approach—Clinton has certainly contributed to the green cause. “This is an unprecedented opportunity for our green building community to hear from one of the greatest philanthropic and environmental leaders of this century,” said US Green Building Council President and CEO Rick Fedrizzi.

The expo hit the nail on the head when it chose the city of Chicago as this year’s location. Chicago is taking great strides in achieving its goal as the “most environmentally friendly city in the world”, according to Mayor Richard M. Daley. Having the most LEED projects of any city in the world, and recently unveiling two new programs—the “Chicago Green Homes” program and the “Green Home Remodeling Series”—other cities find it hard to compete.

With so many activities to choose from and taking place in such a green-oriented environment, it’s hard to imagine anyone being disappointed with this show. Keep up with all the current news on the expo on their website, or better yet, go to the show in person!

American Clay will see you there!

Today marks the first day of The Traditional Building Exhibition and Conference in New Orleans. From October 17th-20th, architects, designers, contractors, developers, planners, building owners and historic home owners will descend on the city to learn about and discuss “historic restoration, renovation, and traditionally-inspired new design and construction,” their website explains.

“In four days,” the website continues, “you can explore the aspects of the region’s rich design legacy – from churches to theaters, public and commercial buildings, to the wide array of residential styles. Learn how well coordinated project teams of architects, developers, planners, building owners, and artisans utilize both high technology and centuries-old craftsmanship to maintain, restore and rehabilitate historic structures.”

With over 80 educational seminars and workshops to choose from, as well as over 200 exhibitors—including American Clay—show-goers will undoubtedly gain a vast amount of knowledge on rebuilding and restoring homes.

Keep a lookout here for news on how it went!

As a recycler, I’ve often wondered if it’s actually worth it to rinse my recyclables before I toss them in the bin. I mean, the recycling facilities MUST wash what comes in, right? So why waste the water? However, my predicament always gets tinged with guilt for throwing dirty recyclables in, thinking how gross is must be for recycling plant workers to sort through my tomato paste cans, caked with week-old mold. Inevitably, I always rinse them.

As it turns out, I’m not the only one who has worried about this. On one of their web-based quizzes, online magazine Blue Egg addresses this exact topic. Presented with the questions, “Should you rinse your recyclables or save the water?” the options are to:

A—Rinse it out and recycle it
B—Conserve the water and toss the container in the trash
C—Just put the dirty recyclable in the bin. They’ll wash it at the recycling plant anyway, so why wash it twice?

As mush as my time-saving, water-conserving self would love for C to be correct, Blue Egg goes on to give a lengthy explanation for why A is your best choice. Although all plants are different in what they ask from recyclers, most will deem a batch of recyclables contaminated if something like tomato paste gets into it. That batch, in turn, goes straight to the landfill.

Although it does use water, in the end it actually saves water and energy for you to rinse those recyclables yourself.

A reminder to anyone who will be in the Albuquerque area for the next couple of weeks, the Homes of Enchantment Parade begins today! Plus it’s FREE!

October 13th, 14th 11am - 5pm
October 19th, 20th & 21st 11am - 5pm
October 26th, 27th & 28th 11am - 5pm

Over a hundred homes make up this year’s parade, on show all across Albuquerque and surrounding areas. “The Homes of Enchantment Parade is a must for anyone looking for a new home or interested in home design ideas,” reads the website.

American Clay will be featured in six homes, all by different builders.

• Sun Mountain
• New Haven Homes
• Tres Amigos — a featured home in the Parade
• Kayeman Custom
• JC Anderson
• Total System Construction

Visit the parade’s website for more information and a complete listing of all the homes.

If you have taken a 1-day or 3-day American Clay training workshop, we would like to know if you are interested in being added to a “Recommended Applicator” list we are compiling.

To have your name added, please let us know the following:

• when you took the class
• who taught the class
• how many American Clay projects you have run
• details about the projects

Send all information to Shaylor Alley at shaylor@americanclay.com.

If you have had experience with American Clay products—applying, teaching classes, or even if you just have it in your home—American Clay would like to know what finish techniques you have used.

We do have a list of finishes on our website, but we know that there are many other types out there. So we would like to hear from you! Let us know what you’ve used in your projects or classes. Just comment on this post to fill us in!

Right now, Washington DC’s National Mall is being transformed into a neighborhood of the world’s most efficient homes. Twenty teams—consisting of hundreds of college students from around the globe—are each assembling what they believe to be the most energy-efficient home, all completely powered by the sun. As the work continues, teams are also preparing for the intense competition that will be the 2007 Solar Decathlon.

Read the rest of this entry »

American Clay was in Santa Fe this past weekend, at the Build Green Santa Fe Expo, September 29-30.

Over 30 booths surrounded American Clay, displaying an assortment of green building supplies and applications. From windows to water systems, this expo was a wonderful way to educate everyone interested in green building.

Santa Fe definitely proved to be a city full of American Clay fans! At least a third of the people that came by our booth had either already used American Clay in their homes or at least knew quite a bit about us.

Along with hearing about incredible experiences from customers, we also felt very successful in teaching many new people about American Clay. There was an amazing amount of interest in Santa Fe and we were delighted to share our knowledge.