Creative packaging design: Eco laundry detergent

Washing powder is one of those long-time stalwarts of marketing and advertising – alongside toothpaste, beer, cigarettes and foreign travel. Detergents were always “new & improved” giving you “whiter whites” and “brighter brights”.

Things have come a long way since the Mad Men mid-century era and before. The 21^st century eco laundry detergent buzz words are now ‘plastic free’, ‘refillable’, ‘ocean friendly’, ‘biodegradable’ and ‘cruelty-free’. We’ve never had so much choice! Furthermore, we don’t even have to go to the shops to buy those bulky, heavy boxes of washing powder. Light-as-a-feather laundry strips can be bought on subscription, popping through our letter boxes on a regular or flexible basis.

Sheets & strips

Liquid

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Pods & capsules

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Creative packaging design: Furniture polish

The preferred furniture polish in my childhood home was Mr Sheen. I can smell its distinct fragrance now!

Now, with a house of my own, I choose to use Wood Silk; a non-silicone beeswax based spray with a wonderful smell.

When it comes to the vintage and antique furniture that we sell in our shop, we apply dealers’ favourite, Bri-wax and buff to bring out the grain and shine in the wood.

Below, we’ve chosen a few of our favourite, eye-catching receptacles for furniture polish in liquid, aerosol and wax forms.

Left to right:

Method wood polish

Howard Feed-n-Wax wood polish

Wheeler’s Furniture Polish

Left to right:

Rhoose Point Remedies Beeswax Wood Polish & Treatment

Antiquax Original Wax polish

FurnitureClinic Beeswax Polish

Left to right:

The Original Wood Silk

Mr Sheen Multi surface polish

Best Shine Plus furniture polish

Creative packaging design: Easter eggs

Today, we begin a new series, ‘Creative packaging design’. Each time, we’ll concentrate on a different home, household or food product and showcase the best in the range when it comes to presentation. We’ll pay no heed to taste, quality, price or value for money – we’re judging the book by its cover, so to speak.

As we’re so close to the end of Lent, we’re going to start by shining our spotlight on Easter eggs. In doing or research, we realised what a saturated market it has become – but that a good thing for us consumers, we’re spoilt for choice; dark, milk, dark, vegan, fair trade, big small.

Some we’ve chosen on their dazzling good looks, others on their quirkiness. In some of the cases, it’s a double packaging affair; the outer, ‘non-food’ packaging as well as the design of the inner packaging… the egg itself.

I think the egg in the form of a boiled egg sandwich, complete with triangular take-away box, is so novel. I also think that the F&M drawer of 132 mini eggs is superb – like a Victorian collector’s specimen cabinet. The most attractive, in my opinion, is the exquisite, hand painted, papier-mâché Booja – Booja egg. What do you think? Do you have a favourite?