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I just shipped my first storage box to a customer in the Portland area. She was thrilled with the “toy” box, it’s soft close lid, and the citrus smell. She has left positive feedback at Modgrain’s Etsy Store.

I learned a few things along the way. It’s one thing to build the furniture… it’s another thing to figure out how to ship it safely. UPS delivered the box undamaged… so, that’s good. However, it’s hard to be eco-friendly when packing furniture to ship long distances. It pained me to buy so much styrofoam. I’m doing research for the next time around and have found a cool product that I need to learn more about. It’s EcoCradle by ecovativedesign. Their packaging is biodegradable and home compostable. It’s made from seed husks and mushroom roots. EcoCradle perform similarly to synthetic foams, but it takes far less energy to produce, is made of natural materials and is eco-friendly every step of the way. I don’t do a ton of shipping, so I’ll be interested if I can get my hands on lower quantities of flat sheets.

Below are a few production photos of the finished storage box.

I just came across these pretty cool building blocks from House Industries. I love the color palette, the typography styles, the graphics and the packaging. I just might have to get a set of these someday… for my daughter of course. I Imagine that she’ll play with them for a couple weeks… then, voila! I’ll have a new centerpiece for my coffee table!

Eames House Blocks: $175Tours of the Eames House and Studio require a sizable donation to the Eames Foundation, but you can bring the Case Study No. 8 house to the convenience of your coffee table or kids playroom for less cash than dinner for two at the local upscale chain restaurant. It’s a bargain when you consider that each set of 36 replenishable Michigan-grown basswood blocks represents 29 separate hand-pulled screen passes. In the true Eames spirit, your kids can create a ligneous yard sale on your living room rug while youre in deep conversation with your guests, then build this living landmark to demonstrate how you are properly introducing them to important bits of culture. And, as a whole, they take up much less room than those awkward and unsightly Montessori toys.

36 Alphabet Blocks 20 for the house, 16 for the studio

Blocks 1.75″ 4.5 cm square

House 8.75″ x 3.5″ x 3.5″ 22 cm x 8.9 cm x 8.9 cm

Studio 7″ x 3.5″ x 3.5″ 17.8 cm x 8.9 cm x 8.9 cm

Made in the USA!

Replenishable Michigan-grown, kiln-dried basswood.

Printed with non-toxic, lead-free, child-safe inks.

via House Industries – Objects – Eames Blocks.