A Warm Welcome From Our Team
Dear GDG Friend,
Besides our families, our passions in life are contemporary design and our planet earth. As many of you, we love beautiful products that represent who we am, and just like you, we want to be mindful of our purchasing choices.
A few years ago the Green Design Gallery Team began a significant search for more responsible furniture and décor products, which led us to the good design movement, also called thoughtful or better design in the industry - a wonderful growing design notion where we envision and create smart, environmentally responsible products. We were inspired by the famous German industrial designer Dieter Rams’ principles, where good design is as little design as possible: less, but better.
The challenge, as we soon discovered, was the difficulty finding these better products for our home, locally or online. When we did find a few, the other issue was their lack of contemporary aesthetics - a key element for us - and when those were finally identified, most of them were unavailable in our region, and/or inaccessible price wise.
And so, in 2012, the very first thought of what was going to become Green Design Gallery was born. The idea was to establish an online destination, a trusted e-marketplace, where design sensitive, earth-mindful consumers were to find a diverse and curated platform of high-quality, innovative, contemporary and sustainable furniture and home decor - better designed products that enrich and enlighten our lives.
GREEN DESIGN e-DESTINATION
On September 1st 2016, after 4 years of scouting the world for unique products, Green Design Gallery (GDG to our friends) was officially launched. Today, we proudly showcase over 1,000 highly valuable, made-to-order, good design items. These smart, often multifunctional products, are gifted with unique contemporary signature, most are one-of-a-kind and handmade from sustainable materials and low-waste production methods, many are limited-editions, from award-winning designers, and we even offer a few exclusive collaborations.SMART PRODUCTS WITH PURPOSE
Besides the good design principles, we also follow international Sustainable Design Guidelines prior to product selection. Comprehensive information about materials and production conditions are essential to product retention. All phases of the product’s life cycle are considered: intention, conception, pre-production, production, distribution, usage, after usage.
In a nutshell, Green Design Gallery product pillars are: form, function, sustainability and affordability. When choosing a product, we think more in terms of a daily activity, as opposed to a particular room in the house. We believe that home products should be more and more multifunctional and versatile, having to ability to go from one living setting to another.
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN FOR EVERYONE
Designer products are emblematic of luxury and exclusivity. Being uniquely crafted under specific criteria, our designer products have an even higher value in the market. They are indeed very special to us and we will always reserve an honorable place for the exceptional through our Exclusive Collections.
However, for Green Design Gallery, better product development both expresses a thoughtful focus on craft, while showing a careful consideration for affordability. We intend to make most of our products accessible to a larger portion of the population by focusing on better design principles and by eliminating unnecessary operational layers in our business model.
Democratization of good design is one of our most cherished goals. More people should have access to great eco-conscious design, to smart durable products that hold a meaningful story. A better product is no longer considered a status symbol, but a means of leading a mindful life.
GREEN DESIGNERS & THE INDUSTRY
As we discovered, our world is full of talented, innovative designers/makers that are choosing the good design approach. So far, we have created collaborations with over 30 leading-edge designers from 18 countries. Our talented artists are doing their part in saving the planet by applying sustainable design principles to their work. Benefiting from the latest technologies, innovating with eco-friendly materials and production methods, they are handcrafting the future generation of design products.
Being their advocates, representatives and friends, we are helping them to take the furniture industry by it’s rather conservative horns. Green Design Gallery wants to honour them, offer them loads of well deserved international visibility. Each one of our products showcase the story of it’s creator, his/her inspirations, awards, and future projects. These fearless artists are Green Design Gallery’s heart and the foundation of its success.
The sustainable design cause can not be led without the support and expertise of fellow companies and organisations promoting design sustainability. These strategic partnerships with industry leaders such as the Green Product Award and Carbonfund.org are crucial.
It is together that we will succeed to efficiently complement the global market with greener, smarter, accessible products.
WORLDWIDE CARBON-FREE DELIVERY
We understand that buying local is vital for the local economy while reducing substantial impact on the environment, and we encourage it whenever possible. Since we know that shipping worldwide is an unavoidable part of our good design democratisation and accessibility goals, we’ve taken measurable steps to reduce our carbon footprint across our entire business.
This includes encouraging product flat-packing and minimal packaging made from sustainable materials, working with greener shipping carriers (i.e. UPS), and eliminating the carbon impact in 100% of our shipments. With Carbonfree® Shipping, through clean industry leader and partner Carbonfund.org, we’re offsetting unavoidable emissions, supporting reforestation projects, and achieving our goal of delivering carbon-free to our customers’ doors.
WE PRACTICE WHAT WE PREACH
The team at Green Design Gallery is made of passionate individuals who live by our green principles. We define ourselves, personally, as custodians of the earth, dedicated to explore the planet for better design and approaching our personal purchasing habits with a long view of how our decisions impact the planet. Our corporate offices are located in a peaceful, lakeside wooded area in Quebec, Canada - and we live by a strict 4RV-E rule (Reduction at source, Reuse of a product, Recovery, Recycling and Valorization of residual material and as a last resort the Elimination).
We are proud to be LEAN management experts too. Our work philosophy is as eco-innovative as possible. Much like our partner suppliers, GDG strives to optimize its logistics by working on a made-to-order and just-in-time organisational mode.
We give more than 1% of our profits to environmental organizations working to improve the 3 sectors of our Sustainability & Innovation 2020 Goals: People, Places and Practices. Each member of our team receives five hours per month of paid time away from the office to volunteer for environmental projects.
And not surprisingly, the team at Green Design Gallery has a passion for cutting-edge contemporary + sustainable design. From the industrial chandelier, to the ultra-contemporary daybed, to the rustic side table, we're always striving to offer the best to our customers.
CONSCIOUS LIFESTYLE
This is what drives and fulfills us today. We all deserve a more natural, adventurous, healthier, slower, gorgeous, meaningful, forward-thinking, significantly well-lived life. Let’s be inspired and inspirational.
We no longer have to compromise aesthetics, quality, and performance to be mindful of the environment – Green Design Gallery is proof of it.
Today, we can have it all – by making better choices.
WHAT’S NEXT?
We are presently looking into various exciting projects. Of course we will keep working hard and continue to showcase the best in good design, from all over the world. New products and designers are being integrated onto our e-shop regularly.
To keep growing our green industry networks and working closely with interior design professionals is part of our mandate, as well as a contemporary sustainable design quality Label for home products.
As for product development, we’re much too curious to wait around for trends to arrive. We prefer to ask “What are people doing in their homes? How do they do it, and when?” We then inspire our designers to make relevant products, and our customers to make small changes aimed at living mindfully, one design conscious home at a time.
Your feedback is capital to us; we’d love to hear your thoughts, comments and ideas. Please live a comment or simply drop us a line at green@greendesigngallery.com.
Empowering a better living,
The Green Design Gallery Team
Commentaires sur ce post (2)
I made an order last september and the whole team was very professional. Thank you. Love your products and website! Congrats!
— Vicky Tremblay
WOW! Just started my X-Mas shopping. Your e-shop looks wonderful. I love your collections. I too, believe sustainable can be contemporary. Congratulations to the team, good job!
— Justin