The Nature Conservancy and the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York is currently presenting Design for a Living World, a travelling exhibition featuring objects created by leading designers and made from sustainable, natural materials (14 May 2009 – 4 Jan 2010).

In collaboration with prominent designers from the worlds of fashion, industrial and furniture design, each designer focused on a natural material from a specific place where the Conservancy works. The locations ranged from iconic American landscapes, such as the sweeping grasslands of Idaho, to exotic places as the southwest coast of Australia and the forests of China’s Yunnan Province.

The designs explore the transformation of organic items – wood, plants, wool – into beautiful and functional objects. By choosing sustainable materials that support, rather than deplete, endangered places, designers can help reshape our materials economy and advance a global conservation ethic. The exhibition reveals fascinating stories about regeneration, natural places and the human connection to the Earth’s lands and waters.

Featured designs by Yves Béhar, Stephen Burks, Hella Jongerius, Maya Lin, Christien Meindertsma, Isaac Mizrahi, Ted Muehling, Paulina Reyes and Ezri Tarazi. Our favourites include:

Kate Spade handbags embellished with Bolivian wood that has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. We love the cute New York handbag made from loosely woven cotton with FSC-certified morado handle.

Furniture Designer Abbott Miller are also using FSC-certified plywood from Bolivia. Miller designed a chair with components that can be shipped flat and dry-assembled with a rubber mallet. The chair design highlights the beauty of Bolivian wood, while also yielding three chairs per sheet of plywood with minimal waste.

Dutch textile designer Christien Meindertsma knits her commissioned wool rug in her studio. The rug is comprised of 11 individual tiles. Organic sheep wool was sourced from southern Idaho near the Lava Lake Ranch among wild flowers and high mountain grazing grounds in summer.

Design for a Living World exhibition will remain on display at Cooper-Hewitt through 4 Jan 2010, and then begin a three-year tour to venues across the United States.

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