Sustainability

Tread Tenderly

At the time of launching Leading Edge Designs, we committed ourselves to using Nature lightly. 

This includes using renewable energy, minimizing waste, buying durable goods, growing a garden, foraging, and, naturally, recycling. 

Our work and our life are integrated, reflecting the seasons: working with wood, growing and preserving food, preparing good meals, reflecting, and planning for next year. We strive for healthy living and sustainable habits in a respectful, flexible, and caring workplace. We are constantly learning and perfecting our craft.

Wood Forever

Maple is tough and flexible, heat resistant, bacteria repellent and beautiful. Our maple comes from the managed forests of Eastern North America. We cut and shape the tools by hand, sign each utensil individually, and make use of every little bit of the wood. 

We like to tell people we make three products: wooden cooking utensils, shavings, and sawdust. The sawdust and wood shavings are used in the hugel garden and for making mushroom-growing medium. After the mushrooms are harvested, the spent mycelium becomes soil. The garden sustains us, and we make more Mapleware. 

Biomimicry

Every Littledeer design has its roots in Nature. A canoe paddle inspires the Pot Scoop — the cooking spoon that resists breaking and will not leave you up the creek. A bird's beak inspires the Tines— eating tongs that extend your fingers' dexterity to accurately grasp a morsel. Each utensil has evolved though culinary mechanics--our study of the relationship between the human hand, the food, and the vessel.

Permaculture

In our garden, we employ sustainable and self-sufficient systems. Beyond the garden, we forage for Nature's given gifts: dandelions for a burst of vitamins and minerals in the Spring; wild mushrooms that are a year-round staple in our kitchen; and red-berried sumac (rhus) for wine—if we can get to it before the birds do. Working symbiotically with Nature means giving back by building soil and taking care of the living Earth.

Carbon Dove

Another project that puts maple scraps to good use is making biochar. Biochar results from torrifing organic matter to sequester carbon dioxide—to keep it out of the atmosphere and return it to the earth as terra preta. Along the way, we make art out of biochar. Carbon Dove is our artistic expression of sustainable living, transient art that celebrates the current carbon cycle.

Ecodrummers

We provoke conversations about how we can all live respectfully with Nature and we collaborate with like-minded individuals and organizations. We donate a percentage of our time and profit to several Earth-friendly organizations.