October 19, 2006

Lilipad Green

What, besides cloying cartoon characters and chocolate chip cookies, makes kids happy? Chasing butterflies, watching flowers grow and playing with puppy dogs, right? So wouldn't it be great if their furniture reflected the things they love?

Lilipad Studio is a new collection of "green" children's furniture by artist and designer (and mother of two) Laura Higdon, who works from a home studio just outside of Sun Valley, Idaho. Using four themed designs – "Butterfly Rhapsody," ?Crosby's Friends" (a charming pack of puppies), "Bohemian Garden," and ?Mandarin Butterfly? – these stepstools, tables and chairs are meant to stimulate and inspire. They're made entirely of sustainable certified hardwoods, and are hand painted using a custom-designed stamping process and non-toxic paints. Intricate layered patterns, symbols and colors evoke Asian block printing traditions, Eastern European textiles, American folklore and perhaps a favorite tapestry or two from your dormitory years.

Though it's modern in feeling and decorated in color palettes that go far beyond the usual pastels and primaries (Caribbean green and dandelion yellow, deep blues and purples, and exotic Asian reds and oranges) the furniture is made to add a more personal feel to cool contemporary looks. Each one is a work of art your kids may want to hold onto long after they've outgrown it.

Now that's sustainable design.

Call 208-788-8195 to order and for more info, visit lilipadstudio.com.