Graham Hill.

“I love the standup desk. It’s better for your back they say. I perch a little on the stool and change positions a lot. I took two inexpensive storage cabinets and added a sheet of ply to the top which did the trick. The large monitor uses more energy than most but it’s my workbench and allows me to get more done on the eco-stuff i am working on. So, I rationalize it that way.”
Graham Hill; Founder TreeHugger.com,Vice President, Interactive Media, Planet Green. A serial Designpreneur, Graham has a Bachelor of Architecture from Carleton University in Ottawa and also studied Product Design at Emily Carr in Vancouver. In 95′, with his cousin, he grew, and later sold, the web-developer, SiteWerks, to 60 people doing work for clients such as Microsoft. In 03′, he founded both TreeHugger.com and a ceramic cup business (WeAreHappyToServeYou.com). TreeHugger later became part of Discovery’s Planet Green initiative and is where he currently puts his efforts. Past businesses also include fashion, viral email and plant-based air filters. He speaks English, French, German and Spanish and loves kitesurfing, squash and snowboarding. From his New York home, he schemes daily about how he can help humanity avoid rapid extinction.

FROM YOUR DESKS: How did the idea for the NY Ceramic cups come about?

GRAHAM HILL: I was doing some ceramic work for another project and had always loved the cups. I wondered if I could make them less ephemeral.

FYD: Will you ever designs lids for those?

GH: I did years ago but never got on it. I was busy building Tree Hugger! It’s frustrating to see the “I Am Not A Paper Cup” come out!

FYD: Any early word on the I Love NY ceramics for MoMA? What a great idea (why didn’t I think of it?) Was licensing tricky to get around on that Glaser logo?

GH: Is that already public? Didn’t know it had leaked!  It wasn’t tricky to get the license.

FYD: What routine do you stick to concerning the environment; whether it be using the same coffee mug or walking to work? How can we educate non-New Yorkers (and big city folks in general) who tend to be a bit more savvy to educate those who consume more?

GH: Cities are indeed greener in general. But we also fly more than most non-big-city types and flying emits huge amounts of carbon.

The big ones in general to think about are:

-Sign up for green power (available most any state)

-Become a weekday vegetarian or figure out how to cut down your meat consumption

-Fly less by nixing “surgical” trips, combining trips and using video conferencing

-Understand your power usage and figure out how to reduce it (no power when not

-At home, dress up or down and adjust thermostat accordingly, replace energy hogs with energy star etc..)

Become a weekday vegetarian or figure out how to cut down your meat consumption.

FYD: Can you share any other prototypes you’re working on at this time (maybe a sneak camera picture?)

GH: Life Edited!

FYD: Any smart books that don’t play into the “fear factor” but allows people to make viable, conscious decisions regarding the environment?

GH: Yes, I highly recommend Sustainable Energy Without The Hot Air, as does Bill Gates.

Follow Graham on Twitter: @GHill

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