Stuff We Love: State Slates from the UncommonGreen

Boston-based designer Brian Johnson started theUncommonGreen in 2009 in order to create everyday products that "meld artistry with functionality, practicality with wit, and style with sustainability." From his contemporary design house and workshop in Boston, Massachusetts, he and his team focus on artistic homewares that are eco-friendly and made in the USA. (We're big fans of one of his earliest projects, an end table made with "flotsam," which is a composite used on the decks of U.S. Navy Destroyers for buoyancy control.)

Right now we're lusting over the newest addition to UncommonGreen's unique inventory — natural-edged slate serving platters featuring hand-drawn, laser-etched state maps. Each piece of slate is quarried with care from Vermont, says co-owner and chief marketing officer Neil Angis, and comes equipped with four cork feet for stability.