LIFESTYLE REVIEW: SHFT

A Pop-Up Shop/Gallery of Environmentally Friendly, Functional Aesthetics

By: Seth Shellhouse

October 28, 2011

(Sungevity) Last Thursday, October 20, 2011, I got to check out the opening of SHFT's pop-up shop/gallery here in LA.  The SHFT gallery was co-sponsored by solar installation specialists, Sungevity and took place on what has become a very cool, ecocentric, and (surprisingly) surf-centric block on La Brea.  The gallery they chose is the exact same one where Team Buzzine interviewed Mike from Incubus a couple months ago, and is next door to the Feal Mor flagship.  I'm really starting to dig this block.

Thursday, October 27, 2011 was the final day for the SHFT pop-up shop, but the vibe of the shop will be echoed in perpetuity on SHFT.com, and both/either of the two are definitely worth a look.  The shop, like the site itself, is a perfect merger of style and substance, meaning that every item selected for placement in the shop is environmentally friendly without compromising function or, in a more rare accomplishment, aesthetics.

This, I think, is the beauty of SHFT.  All of us who have spent our youths hugging the occasional tree are going to eventually have to grow up, join the rat race, and settle down.  And settling down means deciding what types of lives we would like to establish. And establishing anything has an impact.  So settling down means establishing what kind of impact we choose to have.  If we are lucky enough to attain any degree of success, there will come a time in each of our lives that we will get the urge to define our private environments. We will want to build or purchase homes, create our respective sanctuaries, define our personal styles, and wrap our lives in things that are sensually pleasing.  And, of course, we will want to do this in the most responsible fashion possible.

If you have ever attempted to merge good eco-stewardship with good style and practicality, however, you've probably found yourself rather frustrated. The things you should do require additional steps; the products you should use are hard to track down, exceptionally expensive or, well, just plain ugly.  So what are your choices? Throw out the baby with the bathwater and become a well-dressed, well-housed, and well-appointed horrible citizen? Or meet some white people with dreads and start a zero-impact hemp farm/drum circle?  Or put an unending amount of stress into attempting to balance the two?  

And that, readers, is where SHFT comes in.  SHFT's tagline includes the perfect description of the site as a "curator" of eco culture.  SHFT may be the first legitimate 360-degree environmental culture site, and they really do an excellent job of curating, filtering, and presenting the things you need in a form that you would prefer to have them in.  SHFT is part magazine, part web TV, part online gallery, and part really cool department store.   

SHFT's online store includes repurposed and reclaimed furniture, everyday alternatives to plastics, bicycles, skateboards, and personal effects constructed from sustainable materials, organic and recycled fashion and, of course, solar EVERYTHING.

And SHFT's focus isn't just on consumer products, but also on the arts and information.  There are some very informative articles and a good deal of interesting video content.  For instance, the site's first proper video series focuses on bands and performers who are reducing their carbon footprint as it relates to the touring process.  Also, there are galleries of inspiring, low-impact architecture, functional art, and environmental art that, well, doesn't look like environmental art.

Check out shft.com today!