Forestcityphotoalbums's Blog

Eco-friendly vs. Traditional Photo Albums

forestcityphotoalbums — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:18:19 +0000

When you hear the term “traditional photo album“, the image that undoubtedly comes to mind is a photo album made of cardboard covered with a plastic material of some sort, and with a set of rings for holding the pages, which in turn will hold your pictures, presumably safely for years to come. However, these pages are most likely going to be made of plastic, with four to six pockets, holding eight or twelve pictures each. The thing many people don’t realize is that, if they’re like most pages of this type, they will be found to contain a chemical called polyvinyl chlorides, or PVCs. They aren’t a danger to humans, but they certain can wreak havoc on your photos over the years. The way they do this is by slowly sucking the color out of them. After a period of years, instead of the vibrant colors that were originally on the photos, they become a sort of pastel, which is really disappointing, since most pictures can’t be redone, as they’re of people who have since aged, or scenes captured on a vacation long ago. So, the memory is forever lost in its original form.

However, eco-friendly photo albums, like the ones available through forestcityphotoalbums.com will not do this damage, no matter how many years the pictures remain in them, since they don’t contain any plastic of any kind, so the PVC danger doesn’t exist. Instead, the pages are a heavy paper similar to construction paper, thus completely safe. You can trust your precious, irreplaceable photos to them for your lifetime and beyond. Not only are they functional, they’re also very artistic in nature, in that they are each a work of art, handcrafted by master craftsmen on the island of Bali in Indonesia. Each ingredient in them, whether bamboo, or various kinds of seeds, leaves, or flowers, is used as is–no tampering with the natural color. Since things in nature tend to be one-of-a-kind, rather than assembly line in nature, each is slightly unique in some way, whether the pattern of the coloring on the bamboo, the time in the life of the flower when it was picked for use in a photo album, etc. Thus, each one of these organic photo albums is literally as unique as people or snowflakes.

Feel free to stop in at our website, and check out the wide variety of styles–more than 80 from which to choose. Also, we make it a policy to give you free shipping and handling whenever your order reaches $75.

Picking the Right Eco-friendly Photo Albums for You

forestcityphotoalbums — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:42:05 +0000

There are many ways to go when attempting to resolve this interesting little dilemma to fit your needs. After all, there are more than 80 different designs to choose from here at forestcityphotoalbums.com, and they come in over 20 categories such as palm trees, dolphins, checkerboard, cactus, kokopelli, pineapple, etc.

Let’s say, for example, that you just returned from a vacation to the Southwest. In that instance, one of our kokopelli photo albums would be perfect, and they can be bought in small, medium and large sizes, as can all of them. Or imagine you’ll soon be going to Hawaii. You could order one of our palm tree, dolphin or sand dollar photo albums right now, so it will be available when you return.

Of course, any of these beautiful and unique albums could be used in any circumstance. But, it is fun trying to match up the design with what you’re putting in them. The important thing to know is that these eco-friendly photo albums will never damage the environment in any way, since they would break down in a short time in a landfill, which would be a tragic place for them to end up, in comparison to the plastic-covered cardboard albums with metal ring mechanisms, found in drug stores. Those albums would take centuries to break down, and that’s aside from the pocket-type plastic pages, which most likely have the polyvinyl chlorides, or PVCs in them, which are responsible for the fading of the colors in your pictures over the years.

It would be a worthwhile stop for you to come by and check out our wide selection of organic photo albums–maybe even today. Please note that any album reaching the $75 mark gets free shipping and handling.

What is an All-Natural Photo Album?

forestcityphotoalbums — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:23:10 +0000

In my way of thinking, an all-natural photo album would need to be assembled without the use of assembly line parts. They would need to be used as they are found in nature. It might also be good for them to not be assembled with the use of machines. Ideally, they would also be made without the use of anything that is endangered or at risk. It would also be important that nothing in the album would cause harm to the pictures stored in them. An added bonus would be if they were made somewhere exotic, rather than in a town down the road from where you or I live.

It just so happens that there’s a website out there that fulfills all of these criteria. It’s called forestcityphotoalbums.com. These albums come in an assortment of designs (more than 80), each coming in small, medium and large, and the raw materials used–bamboo, seeds, leaves, flowers, etc., are growing abundantly right outside the door of the assembly building. Secondly, they are assembled by handcrafting artisans on the exotic island of Bali–one of the approximately 13,000 islands comprising the nation of Indonesia. This, of course, infers accurately that there are no machines involved. All of these materials are growing in profusion around the workshop.

Since the main source of problems with photo damage is PVCs, or polyvinyl chlorides, which is a part of many plastics, including photo album pages, these organic photo albums have no plastic pages, but rather, a heavy paper akin to construction paper, though of Indonesian origin.

Lastly, long ago, we made it a standing policy that, when your order reaches $75, we pick up the postage and handling charges for you. Come in today and check us out.

Give the Gift of “Green” Photo Albums

forestcityphotoalbums — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:28:41 +0000

As this article is being written, we’re personally on the verge of the Christmas season, but commercially, it’s already in full swing. However, you may read this six months from now, but at that time, it might very well be near a birthday or anniversary, or just after a wonderful vacation, so you could give yourself a gift in which to put your mountain of pictures. Of course, you have a choice to make. Will it be the cheap, and cheap-looking, photo albums available at any drug or department store. You know the kind I mean–a metal ring mechanism for the 3 rings, cardboard album covered with plastic, or will it be something with character, even so far as to say something that is nothing short of art?

You may realize by now that I’m not talking about the color green, but the mindset green. Yes, I’m talking about something safe for the environment. However, what I’m suggesting is not only safe for the environment, but which would also be beautiful, and would probably generate a conversation if displayed on your coffee table.

You see, at forestcityphotoalbums.com, there is a selection of around 250 “green” photo albums available, when you realize that there are more than 80 designs, each in 3 sizes, namely, small, medium and large. The green part comes into the picture when I point out that they are all handcrafted, and this is done in a workshop on Indonesia’s island of Bali. Used in the creation of these organic photo albums is nothing that is in danger of going extinct, or even remotely close to that, for that matter. In that tropical climate, everything used in the handcrafting is growing like weeds–plant materials such as leaves, seeds, flowers, bamboo, etc. They couldn’t use it fast enough to ever cause a problem, any more than Daniel Boone causing an environmental problem when he chopped down enough trees to build his log cabin.

So, with that all said, feel free to stop in today, and check out our stock of designs in the unique field of eco-friendly photo albums. We think you will like what you see. As always, an order of $75 or more gets free shipping and handling.

How Eco-friendly Photo Albums Can Preserve Your Memories for Future Generations

forestcityphotoalbums — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:54:59 +0000

Yes, eco-friendly photo albums can preserve your memories for future generations. In normal circumstances, unless you have one of the ancient albums passed along to you by parents or grandparents, with the black stick-on corners, you’re probably noticing, or will eventually, that the pictures in your oldest photo albums are not quite as rich in color as they once were. This would especially be true if they’ve been put into the photo albums with the plastic pages, since it’s more than likely that the pages have something in their make-up called polyvinyl chlorides, or PVCs. Over time, these chemicals actually bleed the color out of photos. After years of being stored in there, the best pictures look like they were originally overexposed.

Obviously then, what needs to be done is to find a photo album without these PVCs in their pages. There may be others available out there, but the one I’m familiar with is forestcityphotoalbums.com, which has 80+ different designs available. Each of these designs has, instead of plastic pages, paper pages akin to heavy construction paper. This will never fade your pictures, no matter how many decades they remain in the photo album. Since the albums with the plastic pages are so prevalent these days, it’s good to know that an alternative is out there awaiting purchase.

In addition to being PVC free, they are also, as the article’s title infers, eco-friendly photo albums. This means that they use no animal parts of any kind, as well as no endangered plants. In fact, since they’re made by hand on a tropical island, Indonesia’s Bali, to be exact, the materials–seeds, flowers, bamboo, leaves, etc., will be in generous supply right out the front door, certainly throughout my lifetime, if not through several more, at a minimum.

We hope to meet you soon.

Handmade–a Rare Trade

forestcityphotoalbums — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:13:20 +0000

If you’re old enough, or if you talk to your parents and grandparents, you know that at one time, doctors made house calls. Also, if you pay attention to old buildings and old furniture, you note that there was a huge amount of time spent on making really ornate furniture and buildings by way of intricate wood and stone carving. Amazingly, this was not just reserved for the rich customer. Everyone had ornately-carved, handmade furniture and nearly every building was way beyond the glass and steel monoliths we see today. You don’t see that nearly as much here in the U.S., but there’s a huge amount of it in most, if not all, of the countries of Europe. Gargoyles and filigree in both wood and stone are found everywhere over there. Maybe that’s why stores selling Amish furniture are so popular here. It’s really rare to find this sort of thing anymore in our modern world. Nobody seems to have the time (doctors) or want to take the time (artisans) to do these sorts of things anymore.

But, in many parts of the world, this sort of craftsmanship is still alive and well. One place where it’s definitely prospering is the island of Bali, over in Indonesia. If you look in the right area of that small island, you’ll find one specific craft shop where artisans are making organic photo albums from raw materials found right there in the island’s jungles. These items include bamboo, seeds, leaves and flowers, to name a few. They come in more than 80 different designs, at least one of which is sure to attract your attention because of its beautiful craftsmanship. This is not a recent start-up, either. It’s been going on over there for more than 20 years.

Kokopelli On Your Photo Album

forestcityphotoalbums — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:52:29 +0000

If you’ve been to our website (forestcityphotoalbums.com) already, you may have noticed that one of the categories offered there is entitled “Kokopelli”, and thus may have wondered what that’s all about. After doing some research on the Internet, I find it rather remarkable that the handcrafters on the Indonesian island of Bali, where these photo albums are made know of that symbol, while I knew nothing about it until this business got started, though I’ve vacationed a number of times in the desert Southwest.

The name comes from two words from both Hopi and Zuñi–”koko”, a deity, and “pelli”, meaning “desert robber fly”. A more recent etymology shows that it actually means “kachina hump”. At least 400 years ago, the Spanish explorers came across the Hopi, and learned of the god with this name, and the Hopi version, as a result, has stuck.

It appears he has been showing up on pictographs and petroglyphs in that part of the country for quite some time, as some of the figures have been dated to around 1000 A.D. Some pottery has also been found with Kokopelli on it, and has been dated to somewhere around 750-850 A.D. He’s become a symbol of the Southwest in general in recent years, and has been finding his way onto baseball caps, keychains, T-shirts, etc. For certain he’s part of the cultures of the Hopi, Pueblo and Zuñi, and good evidence he was part of the ancient Anasazi and Hohokam cultures. Also, a similar figure has been found in artifacts of the Mississippian culture of the Southeastern USA. So, it appears he’s gotten around quite a bit through antiquity.

Today, a bicycle trail between Grand Junction, CO, and Moab, UT, called the Kokopelli Trail is open to riders. He always is shown with something in his mouth which appears to be a flute, but some have surmised it is actually a blowgun, or even a ceremonial pipe for tobacco. Additionally, he’s been associated with many rituals and activities down through the centuries by various tribes. To the Hopi, he takes on the job of the stork in delivering babies to women, but for other tribes, he’s part of marriage rituals, chasing winter away, bringing rain, even seeds. He seems to be associated with a number of animals as well. Some examples of this are snakes, lizards, insects, rams and deer.

However, kokopelli is only one of nearly 20 categories on the website. All are eco-friendly photo albums, in that they’re made of jungle-renewable materials on Bali, in that nothing used is an endangered plant species, and there are no animal products used whatsoever, in the production of these organic photo albums. Stop by today and see what our selection can offer. Lastly, as always, any order reaching $75 gets the shipping and handling paid by us.

Materials Used in Eco-friendly Photo Albums

forestcityphotoalbums — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:05:09 +0000

In preparation for this article’s composition, I pulled out one of our photo albums, and took a good look at it for the first time in a good long time. It was then that I noticed once again how much work is involved in the making one of these beautiful one-of-a-kind works of art. Bamboo is a major component in the one I chose, though leaves, seeds, and flowers are also routinely used. To be more specific, the following are used, not in each album, but you’ll find some of these in all of the 80+ designs we make available on our website: dried hibiscus leaves, dried banana leaves, dried lilies, dried lotus, dried kava, alang grass, lamtoro seed pods, twigs, coconut buttons, rope, seashells, recycled rice-bamboo paper, and other materials.

However, though we in the West usually picture a tube when we think of bamboo, this form is seldom, if ever, used in their construction. In the one I’m examining at present, there are quarter-inch strips of varying colors used throughout, as well as wide strips. There is also quite a profusion of string in some really intricate knotting and twisting around various stays in order to bind the albums together.

In others I’ve seen, there are various species, sizes and colors of seeds. This can also be said of the various types of pressed flowers and pressed leaves. All appears to be glued or cemented into place, though never have I been able to find the slightest hint of glue/cement showing anywhere on any of these organic photo albums. There are also a twig and string involved in a very intricate binding technique to hold it all together for years to come. They are assembled by truly talented craftsmen and women there on the island of Bali in the country of Indonesia.

I’m sure you could find other eco-friendly photo albums out there on the Internet, but I believe you’d be hard pressed to find any more beautifully and artfully constructed than these from Forest City Photo Albums. Stop by today and have a look–forestcityphotoalbums.com.

Organic Doesn’t Mean You Have to Lose Style

forestcityphotoalbums — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:16:28 +0000

I’m sure many people have the mistaken idea that , if they buy something organic or eco-friendly, they sacrifice taste, quality, beauty, or style in the area of food, goods, art, or clothing and unique items, respectively. To that, I respond with an unqualified “Not true!”

There is a place on the other side of the world where style is very much alive and kicking in the field of hand crafting. On the Indonesian island of Bali, known for its beaches and beautiful scenery, there is a shop where beautiful manufacturing takes place on a daily basis, in the form of organic photo albums, which eventually end up in the hands of us at forestcityphotoalbums.com. They are available in small, medium and large, as well as in over 20 categories, and more than 80 different designs, each very sharp and stylish.

When you set them out on your coffee table with your favorite photo on display in them, and friends come over, they’re sure to ask where you got such a unique eco-friendly photo album. You can then tell them that not only is it stylish and unique, but it didn’t damage the environment one iota. There’s not a smokestack to be found at the workshop on Bali, and there’s no non-renewable material used in their construction.

With that in mind, feel free to click a link and stop in for a look. You’ll be glad you did. Lastly, it has always been our policy that whenever your photo album order exceeds $75, we pay your shipping and handling.

Albums’ Raw Materials Produce Textural Illusions

forestcityphotoalbums — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:18:22 +0000

I was just thinking of something which has been a tradition in my life for years. On each New Year’s Day, I watch the Rose Parade from Pasadena, CA. In recent years I’ve found that HGTV does an amazing job of focusing on the types of flowers, seeds, and other organic raw materials used in making the textures and colors of the Rose Parade floats. The right substance can make a piece of styrofoam covered with plant materials look like water, a living animal, human skin, animal fur, etc.

Then, I realized that this is the same type of thing that happens at the workshop on Bali in Indonesia, where the organic photo albums we sell through forestcityphotoalbums.com are made by hand from things like bamboo, seeds, leaves and flowers. Bamboo, for instance, can be a tube, half a tube, flat pieces, stripped down to something akin to corn silk, can be any color or texture, depending upon whether it was old or young when harvested, and numerous other factors someone like me from the USA couldn’t begin to imagine. Then, there are the other ingredients also found in these eco-friendly photo albums, seeds, for example. If they’re fairly large seeds, they produce a totally different look and feel than if they’re the size of sesame seeds or smaller. The possibilities are just as endless when using pressed flowers and pressed leaves.

Thus, categories on my website become possible–what appears to be burlap or snakeskin, paneled wood, or even a sand dollar. It’s truly amazing what can be done with a neutral item in the hands of a skilled craftsman to become something appearing to be something else totally unrelated to the original material.

Come on in for a visit, and check out the 80+ different designs of photo albums. We think you will, like me, be amazed at the color and textural diversity found on these albums. Also, please note that when your order totals at least $75, we pay the shipping and handling.