Are you a green, eco-friendly person? I know, what a dumb question - who is not these days?  If you like bamboo, then you’ll love this post for having discovered Rebecca Reubens. Seriously, the moment I discovered Rebecca’s work, I was floored and wondered how on earth could I not have heard of her before.

Rebecca runs a store called Bamboo Canopy in Ahmedabad.  The store carries sustainable products designed by Rhizome, which she founded in 2009. So, how did it all began? Not one fine day in a single aha moment. After being associated  for 7 years in the international development sector with the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan coordinating projects in Asia, Africa and Latin America, she decided to pursue her PhD to assess the market and feasibility of selling sustainable design in a more organized manner.

Rebecca says the response for bamboo products has been overwhelming so much so that they cannot meet demand with the current infratructure and are in a expansion mode. She is proud to have broke even within six months. Currently, products are primarily retailed through Bamboo Canopy and other outlets such as Dhoop in Mumbai, Good Earth and TRIFED.

It’s time to delve straight into the pictures. So shall we?

Rebecca says the store is housed in a beautiful, spacious bungalow in Ahmedabad. The lovely surroundings definitely shows in the pictures.

Let’s start at the begining - entrance of the store.

A peek inside from the store window. Can you spot those bookends?

Read the rest of this entry…

I can’t get over these two pictures and I’m sure you’ll agree with me:

Stacked wooden baskets

Under-bed storage

I first spotted the open shelving for wooden boxes on Apartment Therapy two months back; and it’s remain etched in my memory ever since. I forgot to bookmark the link and believe it or not, I hunted for this post for three days. No exaggeration! That should explain why there was no post on Friday.

Most cities in India, except the ones in the South, have zero to minimal wood work done in homes. When I moved from Bangalore to Pune, from a fully-furnished apartment to a house with just walls, it was a harrowing experience. We lived out of boxes and eventually invested in two steel almirahs (what an eye sore!) and a wooden cupboard. The house was far from being elegant and remained a cluttered mess.

I look at these pictures and wonder what an inspiration it could have been. Wooden baskets are comparatively a cheaper way to add storage space for people on the move. Easy to maintain, move around, and stack with an open shelving system. Don’t these baskets also make for neat under bed storage?

Would any of you know where to get such square baskets in India?

Image courtesy:

1. ohdeedoh

2. re-nest