Mike Potts from Marquette, MI did his neighborhood a favor when he chose to save a local historical building from demolition. Instead of seeing it fall into disuse, he’s pulling out all the stops to renovate it into “a model for recycling, reuse and green renovation,” reads the Mining Journal’s article featuring the project. With American Clay as the elected wall-covering, Potts plans to create a green flower shop downstairs and an apartment above.

To read the full article visit The Mining Journal’s website here or watch a video featuring the project here.

HGTV’s Red Hot & Green will be featuring American Clay in the episode airing Wednesday, September 17th at 11:00pm E/P. Don’t miss it!

American Clay recently received a Certificate of Carbon Offsets from BeGreen and Green Mountain Energy for planting 200 trees via forest sequestration.

Just another step towards becoming the greenest company we can be!

Eco-designer, Kelly LaPlante of Organic Interior Designs in Venice Beach, CA, recently released her new book, Ecologique: The Style of Sustainable Design. Highlighting eco-friendly spaces designed by LaPlante, the book “illustrates that green design is not a style but rather a standard,” LaPlante’s main focus when designing.

Included in the list of projects is Tiffany Thiessen and Brady Smith’s home, featuring American Clay!

This book is a must have for anyone interested in chic green design as well as seeing the variety of styles in which “green” can flourish.

Ecolgique can be purchased from LaPlante’s website here.

The folks over at The Daily Green have some great advice for keeping your 4th of July celebrations environmentally kosher this year. From fireworks to grilling they’ve covered it all, ensuring no excuses. Can’t imagine a 4th without the fireworks? Well check out the alternatives to see how it can be done.

Still need some inspiration? Read their short article, provided below, for a patriotic push.

This July 4th, Declare Your Independence

When in the Course of Human Events, It Becomes Necessary to Go Green…

Revolution is sometimes necessary, if never comfortable. Thomas Jefferson knew this when he and his revolutionary colleagues laid out their grievances before dissolving the bands that connected them with the King of England. We celebrate the success of that revolution every year, and for good reason.

This Fourth of July, 232 years later, there’s another revolution afoot, with the potential to shake up the way America does business, interacts with other nations and pursues happiness. “Green” is more than a buzzword. It’s a path forward for a great nation seeking to produce its own energy, shore up its security and provide sustainable prosperity for its people.

Jefferson didn’t spend a lot of ink on energy policy in the Declaration of Independence, but a selective reading of the document almost sounds like a treatise on sustainability. (At least, the whole argument for untangling ourselves from that rotten King of England is framed as aligning human behavior with natural law and the “powers of the earth.”)

So, this Fourth of July, start participating in the next revolution, one that embraces good-old American ingenuity and hard work on the path toward a brighter future for our great nation.

Alternative Building Center, in Eureka, CA, celebrated their first full year in business on June 7th. With live product demonstrations, live music, drinks and hor d’oeuvres, there was certainly no lack of festivities here.

Owned and operated by Anna Lee and Hector Osorio, the idea of Alternative Building Center came about from the lack of green building products in their area. Before ABC, the only way to get green building materials to Eureka was via the Internet, adding long and costly shipping.

ABC supplies a huge array of green products, from cotton fiber insulation to cork flooring and of course, American Clay. To learn more about Alternative Building Center, visit abcgreenbuilding.com.

From all of us here at American Clay, congratulations to ABC on a successful first year!

American Clay was recently featured on HGTV’s Design to Sell. The episode will be airing once more, so make sure to tune in!

July 14, 2008

Sprig.com, a website dedicated to promoting the “glamour in green”, recently gave their video office a greenover. The first step? An American Clay accent wall done by Bettencourt Green Building Supplies. Watch the transformation transpire in their 2-minute video documenting the event by clicking here.