The Aquafarm Is A Self-Cleaning Fish Tank And Herb Garden In One.

Aquafarm is an Aquaponics Garden from Back to the Roots, a company founded by Alejandro Velez and Nikhil Arora during their last semester at UC Berkeley in 2009.


above: Alejandro Velez and Nikhil Arora of Back To The Roots.


The second product offered from Back To The Roots (the first was a grow-your-own mushroom kit), Aquafarm was successfully funded via Kickstarter in December of 2012.

So, What Is It?
The tabletop eco-system uses the fish waste to naturally fertilize the plants above. In turn, the plants clean the water for your pet fish.





The Aquafarm includes natural aquatic supplies from Home Grown Ponics and organic seeds from Seeds of Change.

What's Happening Inside?



The fish, they poo and they pee, and all that waste-water gets broken down by beneficial bacteria into nutrients.



The waste-water from the fish is then pumped up & upcycled as an awesome organic fertilizer for the plants. The plants take up the nutrients and, at the same time, clean the water which then falls back down for the fish.



There is no soil - the plants are growing just on rocks - all the nutrients coming from the fish (no need for any artificial fertilizers - it's all organic)

There is no need to clean the water because of the plants - it's a self-cleaning fish tank!

What Can I Grow?


Choose from a variety of fresh produce, including spinach, baby greens, oregano, beans, basil, mint, parsley & thyme.

What Kind of Fish?

above: various types of Betta Fish.

You can pick from a ton of different types of fish that will work great in the system - including the Betta fish pictured in their system in this post.

On June 7th of this year, they finally shipped the first one. Below is a video of Alejandro and Nikhil giving us a peek into the production:



Aquafarm, The Self-Cleaning Fish Tank that Grows Food


• Self-cleaning fish tank that grows food.
• Fish waste feeds the plants. Plants clean the water.
• Includes everything you need to get started as well as organic seeds and a discount     coupon for a Betta fish.
• Sleek and attractive design with 3-gallon capacity.
• Perfect for your kitchen or classroom. Also makes a great gift.
• Designed and manufactured in California

Where Can I Get One?
The Aquafarm retails for $59.99 and can be purchased here

Adorable Hand Carved Wooden Puppets By Australian Wez Champion.

With initial training and a mentorship in Prague under Puppet master Michaela Bartonova, Wez Champion is establishing himself as a “one of a kind” puppet carver in the Australia. Combining the traditional Czech carving techniques with the unique Australian experience and “heart”, Wez is constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible in wooden puppet building and loves the challenge of custom puppets.

Hello Ugly! Hello Kitty X Uglydoll Make Their Debut At SDCC. The Items and Prices.

Sanrio and Pretty Ugly (the company that produces David Horvath's Uglydolls) have partnered for a co-branded line of collectibles featuring a mash-up of Hello Kitty and Uglydoll characters.

Deliciously Different Delft by Artist Magnus Gjoen

London based artist Magnus Gjoen’s embellished objects are all created digitally, he does everything on his Mac. His graphic skills are largely self taught and stem from being a self-confessed “geek.” Gjoen keeps a digital scrapbook where he collects images including “everything from pictures of a urinal wall to a painting at the Pitti Palace.”


above: Magnus at work in his studio

To create these images Magnus first builds a virtual 3D base outlining it in illustrator, he then meticulously shadows and highlights it in Photoshop. The delft porcelain pieces require an even more lengthy process as the original flat etchings need to be layered and blurred in just the right way to give the final effect.

DELFT STAG BEETLE

Limited edition of 50, hand signed and dated porcelain inspired Stag Beetle. A play on the fierce-looking Stag Beetle, which to us humans although frightening is fragile in comparison to us.
Printed with archival ink on 186 gsm enhanced matte art paper.
$320

AK-47 DELFT

details:


A Giclée of the iconic AK-47 made to look like a piece of beautiful fragile porcelain.
An edition of only 50 printed on 308 gsm archival Hahnemule Photorag paper.
Signed and dated.
$1,095.

DELFT SKULL

Limited Edition of 30 Signed and dated by Magnus Gjoen Delft porcelain skull Giclee print on 180gsm art paper.
$480

DELFT SKULL ANGELS OF DARK & LIGHT

A large delft porcelain inspired skull with imagery of angels. Limited edition of 50.
Signed, numbered & dated
Printed with archival ink on a 188gsm Enhanced Matte paper.
$780

DELFT SKULL DESCENT OF AN ANGEL

A delft porcelain inspired skull with neo-classical imagery of angels. Limited edition of 50.
Signed, numbered & dated
Printed with archival ink on a 188gsm Enhanced Matte paper.
$360

DELFT HEART: MY HEART IS YOURS FOREVER

A Delft inspired porcelain heart. Limited edition of 60 Giclee print on 189gsm Enhanced Matte paper
$350

DELFT ROCKET LAUNCHER

Only 3 Artist proofs remaining of this print.
The normal edition of 30 all sold out.
A delft porcelain inspired rocket launcher Giclee on 180gsm Matte art paper.
$750

DELFT GRENADE

Limited Edition of 60 Signed and dated by Magnus Gjoen Delft porcelain Granade Giclee print on 180gsm art paper.
$250

DELFT SOUP CAN: WORRIES GO DOWN BETTER WITH SOUP

A porcelain twist on Warhol's Campbell's Soups.
Signed, dated and numbered limited edition of /100 printed with archival ink on a fine art 186 enhanced matte paper
$160

ORIGINAL SCULPTURE

Magnus Gjoen
Worries Go Down Better With Soup, Sculpture
Size: 3.9 x 5.5 x 3.9 in
$350

Prints No Longer Available:
DELFT SCARAB


DELFT MACHINE GUN


You can see more of his work and/or buy his available prints at SAATCHI- ONLINE
Or you can browse and/or purchase his prints here at Art Republic


About the Artist:

Magnus Gjoen's prints examines how to change peoples relationship and preconceived notions of objects. Something which is potentially extremely destructive can be made into beautiful yet fragile objects of art. It's this misconception of beauty which Magnus Gjoen wants us to see in a different light, being it weapons, animals or the human race itself. The latter which is capable of creating immense beauty but also capable of destroying it all. Taking inspiration from street and pop art and juxtapositioning it with fine art, he creates new and modern takes on old masterpieces or manipulates something powerful and strong into something fragile but beautiful. He often questions the correlation between religion, war, beauty & destruction in his art. Magnus Gjoen was born in London to Norwegian parents and studied design in London and Milan and has worked as a denim designer and graphic designer for Vivienne Westwood amongst others.

Location: London, United Kingdom

Get Amped, The Marshall Fridge Is Here. And Yep, It Goes To Eleven.

Here's a fridge music lovers can get amped about. Made to look like an authentic Marshall Amp, this rockin' mini refrigerator uses actual Marshall Amp parts including logos, fret cloth, and a brass-finished faceplate. It has a freezer, brass rivets, white piping, bears Jim Marshall's signature and control knobs that actually go up to 11 (If you don't know that reference, shame on you!)


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Even the box is cool:


Specs:



$399, two year warranty
Buy it here

Marvelous Modern Meditation Sanctuary by Architects Parque Humano

Pabellon en Lamina, a modern meditation retreat designed by Parque Humano, is a temporary shelter that invites contemplation and philosophical speculation.

Incredible Toilet Paper Roll Sculptures by Anastassia Elias

Some of my more faithful readers may recall an old post on the toilet paper roll art of Yuken Teruya. Not the only artist to use an empty toilet paper roll as a medium, meet Anastassia Elias.