California Sustainability Experts Highlight Live Green, Live Well
12 Experts to Share Passion & Knowledge at SF Mart Green Conference & Expo
SAN FRANCISCO, California, August 30, 2007 /San Francisco Mart/ -- When it comes to environmental consciousness, the San Francisco Bay Area is one of the greenest areas of the country, geographically and demographically, and California is one of the greenest states. As a result, the many sustainability experts, particularly in the field of interior design & architecture, call the Bay Area or California home.
The San Francisco Mart is availing itself of the wealth of local expertise during Live Green, Live Well, a sustainable home furnishings + design trade show that will be held at the SF Mart September 19 & 20. In keeping with the eco-conscious nature of the show, seven presenters are from California, and of those, five reside in the Bay Area.
“In planning the show, our intention was to draw upon as much local talent and expertise as possible,” says Roseann Carini, the SF Mart’s general manager. “Each speaker is an innovator in the field, and together this cadre demonstrates a long-term commitment to environmental issues.”
These California champions of sustainable design include:
Gerry Cooklin
CEO & Chairman, South Cone, Gardena, CA;
Founder & Chairman, Sustainable Furniture Council
Lydia Corser
USGBC, ADPSR, NKBA, CKD
Principal, Eco Interiors, Santa Cruz, CA
Rowena Finnegan
Certified Bau Biologist
Building Biology Environmental Consultant (BBEC)
Owner, Healthy Home Design/Finn Design/Eco-terric, San Francisco
Eric Corey Freed
LEED AP, USGBC, ADPSR
Principal, organicARCHITECT, San Francisco
Nicholas Greene
Building Biology Practitioner (BBP), LEED AP, and a Certified Green Building Practitioner (CGBP)
Design Consultant, Eco-terric, San Francisco
Francisco Pinedo
CEO and Founder, Cisco Brothers, Los Angeles
Jennifer Roberts
LEED AP
Author of Good Green Kitchens
Live Green, Live Well will also feature some nationally-recognized experts who reside in other parts of the United States. These outstanding presenters include:
Ray Anderson – chairman & founder of Interface, Inc.
David Bergman – architect & educator
Deborah Dunning – founder & CEO, The Green Standard.org
Victoria Schomer* – interior designer (former long-time resident of San Francisco)
Annette Stelmack – interior designer
Live Green, Live Well will be open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Wednesday, September 19, earmarked as the education day co-sponsored by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), and from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on Thursday, September 20. Entrance to the expo is complimentary to all trade professionals. Fees will be charged for all seminars. Advance reservations and prepayment are required. Visit www.sfmart.com/livegreen for seminar pricing. To RSVP, e-mail or call .
The San Francisco Mart is one of Northern California's premier wholesale design centers. Built in 1937 as the home of the Western Merchandise Exchange, the historic art-deco building continues to serve as a home furnishings and home accents center open to the trade only. Conveniently located in San Francisco’s Civic Center area, the SF Mart is situated close to freeways, public transit, major hotels, restaurants and other attractions.
To become an exhibitor, contact Dawn McCann at or . For registration information, contact Guest Services at or .
Local Speaker Biographies:
Presented by Gerry Cooklin
· CEO & Chairman, South Cone, Gardena, CA
· Founder & Chairman, Sustainable Furniture Council
Gerry Cooklin is founder and CEO of South Cone, and founder of the Sustainable Furniture Council. After earning an MBA from UCLA, Cooklin launched South Cone in 1987. By 1997, South Cone was Peru’s largest furniture manufacturer, responsible for 75% of the country’s total production. With the rising success of South Cone, the Lima, Peru native, became concerned about the detrimental effects of mahogany harvesting in the Peruvian Rainforest.
Gerry began using his position to make a difference. Instituting South Cone’s “Giving Back Program,” he hired forestry engineers to improve his procurement practices, developed new sources for wood, and started researching alternative wood species for making furniture.
He was also instrumental in forming a program that trains, finances and helps the native people design and manufacture products that are sold and distributed in the U.S. by South Cone. In October 2005, after years of prodding the furniture industry to stand for environmental sanity, Gerry spurred industry players to join form the Sustainable Furniture Council (SFC), a body of like-minded manufacturers, retailers, and suppliers seeking to change the way the industry behaves toward the environment.
Lydia Corser
· USGBC, ADPSR, NKBA, CKD
· Principal, Eco Interiors, Santa Cruz, CA
Lydia Corser, principal of Eco Interiors, is a lifetime environmentalist, dedicated to living green and helping you build green. She is a certified kitchen designer (CKD), who specializes in environmentally sustainable design and finish materials, lighting, color. She has designed and launched two retail showrooms specializing in green finish materials and lifestyle.
Her work has been featured in Green Fabrics Update, Woman’s Day Special’s Kitchen and Bath, greenhomeguide.com, Good Green Kitchens and Sustainable Residential Interiors. She has been a guest lecturer on green kitchens, green design, green materials, Title 24 and low-energy use lighting at numerous Bay Area colleges and association meetings.
Rowena Finnegan
· Certified Bau Biologist
· Building Biology Environmental Consultant (BBEC)
· Owner, Healthy Home Design/Finn Design/Eco-terric, San Francisco
Rowena Finnegan, owner and founder of Eco-terric, creates beautiful, colorful and environmentally friendly living spaces using healthy materials that are also socially responsible. After studying Bau biologie, Finnegan opened her first Eco-terric store in Bozeman, Montana in 2005, and she now has two stores in San Francisco. Finnegan, who is a member of the Board of the International Institute for Bau Biologie & Ecology (IBE), collaborated with Cisco Brothers to create the Inside Green furniture collection. Rowena Finnegan is also a contributing writer to Green*Light magazine, and has been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Eric Corey Freed
· LEED AP, USGBC, ADPSR
· Principal, organicARCHITECT, San Francisco
Eric Corey Freed is principal of organicARCHITECT, a design and research firm in San Francisco with 15 years of experience in green building. Freed teaches the Sustainable Design program at the Academy of Art University and University of California Berkeley. He is on the boards of Architects, Designers & Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR), Natural World Museum, Green Home Guide and West Coast Green.
Freed is one of the founders of ecoTECTURE: The Online Journal of Ecological Design and he is a regular contributor to Luxe Magazine and GreenerBuildings.com. Freed lectures around the world and his work has been featured in Dwell, Natural Home, Town & Country and Newsweek. He is the author of "Green Building for Dummies", to be released in September 2007.
Nicholas Greene
· Building Biology Practitioner (BBP), LEED AP, and a Certified Green Building Practitioner (CGBP)
· Design Consultant, Eco-terric, San Francisco
Nicholas Greene is a Healthy Home Consultant at Eco-terric at The Green Home Center. He studied Interior Design & Architecture at the Boston Architectural Center. While in Boston, he worked for William Hodgins Interior Design and Benjamin Thompson Associates. He examined the effects of the built environment on human health through additional studies at Harvard University. Then, seeking further education in this budding discipline, he moved to San Francisco to continue his studies at U.C. Berkeley.
Francisco Pinedo
· CEO and Founder, Cisco Brothers, Los Angeles
Francisco Pinedo is CEO and founder of Cisco Brothers, a custom furniture manufacturer based in Los Angeles. In 2006 Cisco Brothers unveiled the eco-friendly upholstery collection Inside Green. The collection features sustainable design and construction in materials such as natural latex, hemp, natural wool and cotton. Cisco's accomplishments have been featured in The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN and NPR.
Jennifer Roberts
· LEED AP
· Author of Good Green Kitchens
· Based in San Francisco
Jennifer Roberts is the author of three acclaimed books on green homes: Good Green Kitchens, Redux and Good Green Homes. As a writer, she advocates ways to improve our environment and enrich our lives by building better buildings. She has written on sustainability for Dwell, The Financial Times, Body & Soul, and Professional Builder. As a LEED Accredited Professional, she has presented seminars at many national venues.
*Victoria Schomer
· ASID, AIA, LEED-AP
· Principal, Green Built Environments
· 20 year resident of San Francisco who recently moved to Asheville, NC
Victoria Schomer, principal of Green Built Environments, has been a commercial and residential interior designer since 1972. In 2000, Schomer received the ASID "Design for Humanity Award" for her pioneering work in the green design and building field. A LEED 2.0 Accredited Professional, she has been an internationally recognized expert in green building and indoor air quality since the early 1990s. Her work has appeared in many national publications including Business Week, The Wall Street Journal and Interior & Sources. She has lectured internationally, sits on advisory boards, and is active in ASID and AIA, helping to make environmental concerns a cornerstone of every design project.
The Live Green, Live Well expo will be open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Wednesday, September 19, earmarked as the education day co-sponsored by ASID, and from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on Thursday, September 20. Entrance to the expo is complimentary to all trade professionals. Fees will be charged for all seminars. Advance reservations and prepayment are required. Visit www.sfmart.com/livegreen for seminar pricing. To RSVP, e-mail or call .
The San Francisco Mart is one of Northern California's premier wholesale design centers. Built in 1937 as the home of the Western Merchandise Exchange, the historic art-deco building continues to serve as a home furnishings and home accents center open to the trade only. Conveniently located in San Francisco’s Civic Center area, the SF Mart is situated close to freeways, public transit, major hotels, restaurants and other attractions.
To become an exhibitor, contact Dawn McCann at or . For registration information, contact Guest Services at or .
September 19 & 20
Live Green, Live Well
Design + Home Furnishings Show
at the San Francisco Mart
The Design Industry’s First Dedicated Green Expo!
Displays, Discussions, Didactics & Demonstrations
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. September 19
10 a.m. – 7 p.m. September 20
Source: San Francisco Mart
Media Contact: Ellen Hall,
Website: www.sfmart.com
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