Latest news with #Reddie
South China Morning Post
26-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
I started a sustainable furniture brand in Hong Kong. Here's what I've learned
Sustainability. I confess, as a furniture brand owner committed to its principles, I dislike the term. It's a tangled, buzzword-laden concept that is, frankly, confusing. Absolute sustainability is impossible for any business because even eco-friendly products require transport. Advertisement At the end of 2014, when I founded Reddie (a play on 'ready-made' and Eddie, my son's name) in Hong Kong, I aimed to build a mid-to-large-scale furniture brand with showrooms in Sydney, London and New York, employing 20 people in each location. I wanted to do right by our planet, but was unsure how to proceed. So I simplified our mission: prioritise using waste to make products. Instead of following a manual, I trusted my instincts throughout the production process, an approach that has guided us, ironically, to environmental responsibility. Our transparent practices ensure our furniture's compliance for use in buildings with high-rated standards such as WELL and Green Star. And we are 80 per cent of the way towards obtaining FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification for reclaimed-wood production, with full recognition expected this year. Olah's Sydney home, where she now lives after leaving Hong Kong for Australia, features her reclaimed-teak designs. Photo: Desmond Chan My entrepreneurial roots can be traced to my days as an interior architect in New York, when I felt frustrated specifying furniture for projects. Designer commercial furniture was impressive but lacked soul – mass-produced, it offered little versatility or opportunity for personalisation. The organic quality of handcrafted pieces was lost in the machinery of mass production. Sustainability posed another challenge. Many brands flaunted numbers but danced around the elephant in the room: what the products were made of. It struck me as absurd that waste was not prioritised as a primary resource. Why not repurpose discarded materials destined for landfills ? This approach mitigates emissions while avoiding the energy-intensive process of manufacturing new materials. I didn't need a degree in sustainability to grasp this logic. Looking back, my naivety was a blessing. I undertook the formidable task of creating a commercially viable line of design-led, handmade-to-order customisable furniture primarily from reclaimed and recycled materials. It struck me as absurd that waste was not prioritised as a primary resource Caroline Olah I was also trying to have a family. In 2013, I moved from New York to Kuala Lumpur, with my husband, Andrew, for his job at Google. With a baby on the way, and some down time, it was the perfect time to explore my ideas. I wrote a business plan, designed a collection and began to look for a manufacturer.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Henderson State University launches aviation courses for non-degree-seeking pilots
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — A change made last week at Henderson State University is ensuring more people are 'Reddie' to fly. The aviation flight training program, turning into the Arkansas Aviation Academy, is more than a name change. It expands flight education beyond those enrolled at the school. New Arkansas law creates incentives for alternative aviation fuel Three courses are now open to non-degree students. They include a commercial multi-engine add-on course, a tailwheel course, and a Certified Flight Instructor spin-training course. They are available only to people who already have a commercial pilot certificate. Shannon Clardy, Henderson State University Dean of the College of Aviation, Science, and Nursing, said the 16-plane fleet allows more room for advanced training. 'That's what we're focused on right now. As our fleet capacity grows, then our offerings will also grow,' Clardy said. It also fills a hiring need in the aviation industry. 'That is all experience that pilots will need to move out into industry, whether they are flying charter airplanes, flying freight, or flying passengers,' Clardy explained. United Airlines wants to turn algae into jet fuel Taylor Scalzi went from student to instructor. She completed the commercial multi-engine add-on courses last week. 'It really broadens my horizons of where I can go, and what I can do,' Scalzi explained. Each of the three initial courses can be completed in less than a week. Accommodations will be available on campus for participating pilots during their week-long training. Scalzi said she is excited to see who the academy brings in. 'It is a very dynamic group. It could be anybody from 18 years old to in their 50s. It doesn't matter,' Scalzi said. The creation of an aviation advisory board is underway, and the academy is working on alumni connections, along with pursuing potential partnerships with airlines, which could help with landing a job. Chad Cocroft is a junior HSU aviation major. He said the course is his 'next step' in achieving his dream of becoming a career pilot. 'I enjoy it. I want to do it for the rest of my life,' Cocroft said. University of Central Arkansas celebrates groundbreaking of Aviation Academy hangar Henderson's long-established professional pilot bachelor's degree program is the only public university program of its kind in the state. For additional information, visit or call (870) 230-5585 to schedule training. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
