Monthly Slow News Summary: March 2012

Remember the modern version of kintsugi developed by artist Lotte Dekker for Platform 21's repair exhibit (photo via Ars Electonica's Flikr feed)?
She's selling kits now through her company humade, and there's a fab video on ifixit.org.
Project Sugru also took a photo of the kit at a Makerfaire in the UK last year.
I wonder if the epoxy is food-safe, or if the repaired plates would be purely decorative?

On Slow Design and Slow Home:

Irene Turner has been exploring how 'Cultural Creatives' are creating trends in the housing world. (Sarah Susanka has blogged about this demographic's relationship to their homes, too.) The slow movement, a holistic approach to building design and decor that encourages collaboration between different disciplines, right-sizing, renovation, restoration, green building, and community-building are all trends Irene discussed. I think what we're seeing is that the core values of the slow movement are core values of Cultural Creatives: authenticity, community, ethics, and sustainability.
GreenBiz, reporting on a USGBC report, asks, are green buildings safer and more resilient than conventional construction?
I'm a big fan of Philips' new dimmable AmbientLED bulbs as the current best-in-class energy-efficient replacement for incandescent bulbs; I've tested one at home and the light it gives is gorgeous, with great colour rendition. However, Tea-Party-affiliated media are running with erroneous talking points and attacking it, Treehugger reports (with the correct energy usage and savings figures). Do you think Philips have a case to sue them?

On Slow Fashion:

Heather Hadden explained slow fashion, and profiled some up-and-coming slow fashion companies.
EggMag profiled The Good Fashion Show at London Design Week.
EcoSalon interviewed Sasha Duerr, author of The Handbook of Natural Plant Dyes, and fashion designer Eileen Fisher.
Ecouterre interviewed fashion designers Titania Inglis and Carrie Parry, covered the NYC Fall/Winter 2012 collections, explained the nanoparticle risk story, and asked, Is Fast Fashion Driving Global Food Shortages?
How To Find Guilt-Free, Affordable Fashion, via LearnVe$t.
We hear a lot about slow fashion design, but not so much about other parts of the business, so I was really interested to see Australia's Swensk explain how their business model and practices differ from the norm as a slow fashion retailer.
Consumers Would Buy More Sustainable Clothing, If They Could Find It, via JustMeans.

On Slow Food:

Grain Barge in Bristol, UK are now doing Slow Food Dating events. What a thoughtful twist on speed dating, and a great way to promote slow food in a restaurant setting!
“Leaving the table is like leaving a lover. It should be slow." - A meditation on the importance of beautifully set table and other meal-time rituals in Italian culture from Peggy Markel has me renewing my resolution to get a great linen tablecloth and napkins for everyday use.
Ever tried eating your weeds? Sustainablog rounded up harvesting tips and 7 recipes for using dandelions.
Grist published an important piece on proposed and passed bills in several states that legalize the sale of home-made foods. Hey Canada, do we have cottage food bills yet? No? Let's get on it.
Here's a great piece from Slow Food Toronto's Voula Halliday on explaining Slow Food as an elevator pitch.
I'm struggling with a kid who doesn't like his food to touch his other food, and refuses almost anything with spice, so I so need to implement the advice in this fantastic article from Dina Rose: Food Culture and What It Means to be "Child-Friendly".
EcoSalon have posted a list of 20 genetically modified foods currently or soon to be for sale. Fascinating reading, and relatively balanced, compared with many of the ridiculously alarmist scare stories I've seen recently.

Droog used these clever bread boards to stimulate discussion of locavorism at their "Go Slow Cafe"
in New York in Sept 2009 - and the discussion is still ongoing thanks to Pinterest.
Photo by Raphael Brion via Eat Me Daily.

On Slow Living:

My dear friend Tad Hargrave wrote a great post on Slow Marketing, a couple of weeks after sharing Rob Hopkins' post on applying the principles of permaculture to business. Brilliant, brilliant stuff.
Have you signed the Slow Money Principles?
How does putting a price on time affect our ability to smell the roses?, via Farnam Street
"If we can find the joy in the work, the everyday, the seemingly mundane, then the journey is actually as good as the destination." - Brooke from SlowYourHome reflected on the importance of finding your reward in the process, not the payoff.
Peter Madden wondered if the emerging trend toward DIY and local production is really sustainable on the Guardian's Sustainable Business blog.
Apparently, now there are Slow Toys, and Slow Finance.
Slow Parenting got some love from the CBC.
The Washington Post wrote about the Slow Reading movement.
Slow Media people, there will be an academic symposium in Melbourne, Australia in July exploring "the broader implications of slowness in digital media" with an emphasis on cinema and film.
Monday March 26th, 2012, will be the sixth Global Day of Slow Living, as proclaimed by some Italian writers calling themselves The Art of Slow Living. Great idea - let's make it actually global! What will you do to celebrate?
Wait, there's a Slow Living Summit, and the attendees will be forming a new Slow Living Network, and there are invited speakers I admire? Now I wish I lived closer to Vermont.

On Slow Travel:

The Travel Word defined Slow Travel.
Boots'N'All published some great tips to help you enjoy a long train ride. (The best tip for Via Rail travellers is to get a sleeper berth. Trust me.)
A Slow Food destination in Costa Rica? You have my attention.
Slow Down London, while aimed at Londoners, looks like a great resource for anyone planning a slow visit to the UK's capital city.
Zoe from SlowMama is just back from her trip to Spain. Start here and work your way forward through her luscious photos and evocative posts.