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Vancouver-based Contexture Design's brand-new hanging mobile 'Pollen Nation' aims to put honeybees first for August 2011

Media Release | August 10, 2011
Contexture Design
Vancouver, Canada

Eco-conscious designers donate profits to support making of 'Vanishing of the Bees' documentary narrated by Ellen Page

For the month of August, Vancouver-based industrial designers and co-founders of Contexture Design, Trevor Coghill and Nathan Lee, will donate fifty percent of profits from every 'Pollen Nation' mobile sold through their online shop to support the making of the documentary 'Vanishing of the Bees', in hopes to educate and raise awareness about the current plight of the honeybee.

The designers have been beekeeping for over a year and currently manage eight chemical-free hives on a small bee farm just outside of Vancouver, BC, Canada. This year, local British Columbia beekeepers have experienced a particularly difficult season due to the late spring and summer weather, and, as a result, honeybee farmers have found it difficult to maintain their honey business. Read this article for an in-depth look.

Since August is honey season for most beekeepers, Trevor and Nathan felt this would be an optimal time to help raise awareness about the struggles facing the global honeybee population. "After recently watching a very interesting documentary called 'Vanishing of the Bees', we felt the need to support and to help spread the word about this eye-opening documentary," states Nathan Lee. "For the month of August, we will be donating half of profits from every 'Pollen Nation' mobile sold through our online shop to help support the making of the film." The film is working with the non-profit organization Save The Honeybee Foundation to allow tax-deductible donations to support food supply, the bees and the making of this film. www.vanishingbees.com/donate

To add to their award winning collection of sustainable designs, 'Pollen Nation' is the latest addition to Contexture's collection of hanging mobiles. Like others in the series, this mobile touches on themes of family, community and sustainability. Other mobiles in Contexture's collection include the award winning 'As the Crow Flies', which depicts the daily commute of a family of crows, and 'Redfish', which illustrates spawning salmon returning to their native stream. www.contexture.ca/pollennation.

Contexture Design's work emphasizes simple, elegant and sustainable design, and is often inspired by reclaimed materials with historical, cultural or environmental significance. Their projects transform waste into new products while maintaining a connection to the original source material. www.contexture.ca

'Vanishing of the Bees' Documentary: Vanishing of the Bees, narrated by Ellen Page, takes a piercing investigative look at the economic, political and ecological implications of the worldwide disappearance of the honeybee. The film also highlights the positive changes that have resulted due to a tragic phenomenon known as "Colony Collapse Disorder." The documentary will screen in Vancouver, BC, August 9, 10 &11 and in select theatres across North America. For more information and screening times, visit: www.vanishingbees.com

Save the Honeybee Foundation: Their mission is to raise honeybee awareness and to disseminate the results of our practices through published written works and apprenticeships within the sanctuary. www.vanishingbees.com/donate

To download Contexture's print quality images, visit http://www.contexture.ca/press.

For interview requests, please contact:

Tanya Tweten
Publicist and Sales Agent for Contexture Design
604-872-2352

www.promoteratheart.com

'Vanishing of the Bees' contact:
Maryam Henein
Writer/Film Maker

www.vanishingbees.com

Backgrounder: Contexture Design

Contexture is an award winning Vancouver-based multidisciplinary design firm with departments in product design, fabrication, and graphic art and design. The firm's two designers, Nathan Lee and Trevor Coghill, are graduates of UBC's Landscape Architecture program and have been working together since 2005. Their work emphasizes simple, elegant and sustainable design, and is often inspired by reclaimed materials with historical, cultural or environmental significance. Respect for materials and dedication to sustainable design has earned Contexture a reputation for intelligent, well-made products with the smallest possible footprint.

Contexture products include a line of wooden accessories featuring the 'Coffee Cuff', made from reclaimed architectural veneers, the 'Fly-Like-a-Hot-Dang' wood and paper glider, a 'Mapbook' and a line of wildlife-themed hanging mobiles including 'As the Crow Files', 'Redfish', and 'Pollen Nation', all made from found maps. Contexture has also introduced a line of 'Cutout Cards' that are made out of the laser-cut leftovers from their collection of hanging mobiles.

Contexture Design has been featured in The New York Times Style Magazine, Spin, Plenty, Fashion Magazine, and the Globe and Mail, to name a few, and has appeared on CBC Radio and TV. Contexture has won numerous awards including 'Eco Designer of the Year' in the 2011 Western Living Design Awards , 'Ones to Watch' in the Western Living Designer of the Year Award in 2010, and the Design Exchange Award for Industrial Design in 2008 for their mobile, 'As the Crow Flies'. Additionally, Contexture has participated in design-related events such as IDSwest and the West Xprssd exhibit of emerging Western Canadian designers, and their work has been shown at the Museum of Vancouver and at the Royal Ontario Museum as part of the Toronto International Design Festival.

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