This edition of Silk Plants and Trees In The News brings us a few oddball stories from around the country and confirms that truth is indeed stranger than fiction.
A reminder that you probably haven’t seen it all comes courtesy of artist Justin Shull. Something in his artist brain told him to construct a mobile shrub rover made of silk plants. The rover, which appears from the video to be able to handle both normal streets and off-road conditions, has a side hatch door revealing a box shaped compartment with enough room to fit a lone driver. No windows, no problem. The roving shrub is also outfitted with cameras and small LCD screens inside for navigation.
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With technology becoming more and more a part of our daily lives it was only a matter of time before the silk plant industry got in the game. As you'll see in the examples below, faux plants are being used as soil meters, humidifiers and cloak and dagger spy tools reminiscent of your favorite James Bond movies. Not surprisingly, the "devices" discussed perform many of the same functions as normal silk plants -- to enhance, shape, or disguise contraptions or sights that are best served hidden.
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We wrote recently about concealing cell towers with silk plants and trees, and soon after there was more news about a Chicago neighborhood evaluating concealment options for a particularly
obtrusive tower in scenic Westridge. Fortunately for the community, many concerned residents have stepped up to demand that they get a high quality artificial tree solution. Done right, the cell phone tower won't be an eyesore and visitors will hardly notice it.
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You can decide for yourself whether the iPad is truly a revolutionary device or just a passing fad. We were excited to learn, regardless, that there is a new app game for the iPad called
Plants vs. Zombies. In this tower defense game, your job is to plant a variety of foliage that shoot thorns and other plant-style armaments to stop zombies from entering your house.
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Trade show designers and exhibitors have turned to artificial plants and trees recently, sprucing up (no pun intended) their booths while streamlining logistics. It makes sense: you put countless hours into the design, ship it out, set it up, wear out your shoes and jaw standing and talking for three days, pack it up, and send it off to the next one. You better be efficient, and you better have a design that stands out from your competitors next door.
A few benefits of going silk:
- Staying fresh. For booths that move from show to show, live plants are not cost-effective. Silk plants don't wilt or lose their leaves in shipping and only need a little touch up to look good as new.
- Creating themes. Booth designers have used Commercial Silk Int'l silk plants and trees to convey forest themes, such as this Aspen Rocky Mountain booth for guitar company Two Old Hippies, and this Central Park booth for The Ladders.
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Carrie Underwood likes to make a splash in her personal and professional life, whether it's dating Coybows star quarterback Tony Romo, or screaming out lyrics on stage. Recently, though, she's taken it to new heights with her concert set design, which featured a virtual fake forest and a rope swing hanging from a giant artificial tree limb.
Our beloved US government, known for it's slowness and insatiable appetite for paperwork, put out a bid looking for a company to water its artificial plants. To be fair, the contract did also call for watering live plants. Bidders with a GSA Contract were expected to submit a quote on a very short deadline prior to the end of the department fiscal year, which may have led to the editorial oversight.
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In Brockton, MA this week, a judge ordered a car wash owner to remove artificial grass he had installed on his business property, citing the dictionary definition of landscaping in his ruling. The owner had installed it because of how impractical and expensive it was to maintain real grass in his place of business, and is vowing to appeal the decision.
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New library of 2D CAD Drawings and 3-Part Product Specifications of silk plants available for free download.
Minneapolis, MN, December 1, 2009 -- www.commercialsilk.com -- Commercial Silk Int'l, a leading manufacturer of silk plants and artificial trees, has created 2D CAD drawings and 3-Part Product Specifications for its extensive catalog of artificial plant products. Building Architects, Interior Designers and Landscape Architects are now able to create entire interior landscaping plans by selecting from Commercial Silk's library of silk plant and tree drawings. The 2D CAD drawings include elevation details and plan views of both the plant and the planter. In addition, each artificial tree and plant has a 3-Part Product Specification. The plant specifications are written according to MasterSpec which was developed by the AIA (American Institute of Architects) and incorporates Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) 3-Part Format, MasterFormat 2004 Edition.
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Recently featured in Hospitality Design Magazine is San Diego's wine parlor, Vine De Syrah. The magazine's article, Fantastic Voyage, illustrates how our artificial Boxwood mat became empirical to the design of the secret underground lounge, a design that Michael Soriano delightfully created with complete freedom.
The street level entrance adroit with graffiti demands an instant reaction, and the downward staircase leads patrons past a heat blasting condenser to the underground entrance, disguised with artificial Boxwood panels cladding the door. Soriano wanted to "...play into the whole psychological sense of going into a subterranean environment", and in fact he does while delighting and intensifying all senses. Once patrons figure out how to enter the wine lounge, they can step inside to this welcoming and comfortable childlike mirage, where more Boxwood panels suit up the walls and oversized decor furnishes the semi private lounges. An opulence of mirrors both overhead and on the walls create an illusiveness to the lounge, while feeling comfortably connected inside.
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Five people in Frederick, Maryland were rescued from an apartment fire that was ignited in a silk plant on the top floor. The silk plant caught fire from a nearby lit candle, and the flames spread to the resident's couch then quickly blazed throughout the apartment. The fire was contained to the one apartment, but spread into the roof, causing other apartments to have smoke and water damage; overall damage to the building, including the contents of the building estimate around $150,000. Two people rescued were on outdoor balconies and three other people were assisted down the complex stairs.
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