The Guild is a very professional looking website that sells artists’ art. I was glad to see they offer a variety of ceramic works. Via TechCrunch, who reports that the “Madison, Wisconsin based The Guild bills itself as the ‘leading source for artist-made home décor products shipped direct from artists’ studios to customers’ homes nationwide.’”

A green remodel in D.C. Real Estate agent Amy Levin remodeled a historic home in Washington’s Mt. Pleasant neighborhood, and is hoping for a platinum certification from LEED. While gutting the house, she uncovered a hidden fireplace which is now the centerpiece of her living room, as shown in Heidi Glenn’s following photograph from NPR.

[The photograph mentioned above has been removed per the request of a representative of NPR. I didn't expect this at all, especially since I made a specific effort to give credit to the photographer. This is a personal web diary of my own, and from what I understand I was in the right despite NPR's protest. Regardless, I have no desire to argue over such details with the blind, "old media" and removed the photo immediately. I'm very disappointed, however, in NPR's reaction to what was basically free publicity. Do the marketing and legal departments not talk to each other in their organization?

The NPR rep offered up a "passive link" in place of the photo, which is amusing on a number of levels, not the least of which is that this post already contained such a link. Further, if I recall correctly this isn't the first time I've used an image from NPR's website. Oh well. Eventually big media will realize they won't be able to fight the changes the internet is making to information creation and dissemination. A reminder of this from an older TechCrunch post:

"Societal ideals around what constitutes ownership over art are changing. People who try to protect and silo off their work are simply being ignored. Those that embrace the community, and give back to it not only allowing but asking for their work to be mashed up, re-used and otherwise embraced are being rewarded with attention. At the core is a basic implicit understanding - if you want to be part of the community, you have to give back to it, too."

I expressed my strong disappointment in a reply to NPR's email. We'll see if they respond. Also see a post of mine from December on the ownership of art (photography, in this case) along a similar vein.]

An interesting excerpt from the story:

Green means easy on energy, durable and efficient, but not necessary natural. There are many synthetic materials throughout Levin’s home.

“There are some natural materials that are very appropriate for use in 21st century houses, but there is a lot of neat stuff we’ve made, particularly as it relates to energy efficiency, that does a better job than Mother Nature does,” Yost says.

Of all of the green virtues, the greenest is durability, he says. For people looking to build more environmentally friendly homes, Yost advises installing something that lasts a lifetime and consumes less energy, rather than something that’s more efficient in the short run but must be replaced several times.

I personally hope for the best of all worlds: Natural materials, durability and sustainability.