September 16th, 2010

In these more environmentally savvy times, plenty of folks have taken up composting. Gather up those leftover fruit and vegetable parts, organize a pile in the corner of the backyard, and soon enough, you’ve turned your landfill-clogging garbage into something of real value. But what to do if you have, say, 2 ½ tons of expired produce…per week?

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June 11th, 2010

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and North Little Rock, Ark., Mayor Patrick Henry Hays have been selected to receive the 2010 Mayors’ Climate Protection Awards, a program sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

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March 10th, 2010

The Frisco Mercantile brings together a vast collection of vintage treasures and inventive recycled art, furniture and accessories for the home.

Nearly 200 dealers of antiques and collectibles have booths or dedicated cabinet space (see picture) inside the Mercantile, at 8980 Preston Road at the corner of Main in Frisco, Texas. The assemblage fills the former grocery store building. Offerings range from 19th Century hat racks to 1950s lawn chairs; from whimsical Disney figures to sturdy bed frames. In addition, many booth owners actively recycle or re-purpose consumer goods, whether it be reupholstering antique furniture, reclaiming old wood, refurbishing vases and lamps or painting old ceiling tins for new life as wall hangings.

We took a tour of this uniquely green store with manager Brigitte Kelly, who worked for years in home design before opening the Mercantile in November. (Her dog Ginger, shown here, came along.)

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