Mi Casa | Minnie Piccardo & Christian Gibson

Today we take you into the home of two creatives who share a passion for the environment and living simply amongst our costal town. Minnie & Christian share a similar story to Vicky and Carl (Pampa Co-Founders), having met in South America traveling and joined forces as two creatives behind their business and now reside in Byron Bay, Australia. Combining their passion for creating and saving the planet they have put their heart and soul into their business, URTH.

They both believe photography can be a powerful tool in the global conservation movement because it helps those who can’t spend time in nature to connect with it. Using the tools of a simple vision and a big impact Chris and Minnie’s mission is to show the world that business can be a powerful force for conservation. We hope you enjoy their story and inside sanctuary of simplicity and contemporary beauty.

SHOP THE LOOK

1/ Danna Rug 2/ Other Americans Book 3/ Monte Bolster Cushion #10 4/ Rainbow Altar 5/ Monte Runner #1562 6/ Puna Llama Throw | Tobacco

Tell us how you both met and where this took you?

We met in the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. We were both travelling with friends and happened to cross paths. We shared a full day together and it was so dreamy: we went snorkeling, swam with turtles, visited a nature reserve, and then had empanadas for dinner. Although we really liked each other, we honestly thought we would never see each other again as I was flying back home the day after and we were from opposite parts of the world. We added each other on Facebook and we never stopped chatting after that day. Four months later, Christian flew to Buenos Aires and we reaffirmed there was something there. It was a bit of a long distance relationship at first but here we are, six years later!

Can you describe your home aesthetic and style?

If I could describe it in a few words I would say it’s modern, minimal and balanced. Also a bit artistic. Everything has a place and a function, everything works together. It represents who we are and has some of the bits and pieces we brought back from our travels and adventures. We like to stay as minimal as possible and only keep treasured items that evoke memories. Clean and open spaces make our minds fly and create deep conversations, just like a blank canvas.

What is your morning ritual?

Breakfast is sacred. It is no doubt my favourite meal of the day and it’s the first thing I get excited about in the morning. I have to admit we are both pretty bad in the morning… we are definitely not early birds, so coffee is essential. I also like to chat with my family and friends from Buenos Aires as it’s the one time of day when I can find them online!

Tell us about Urth and what your role in the business is…

Urth is a project we’ve been working on for a long time now. It’s a combination of our passion for creating, and our purpose to help save the planet. It’s been amazing to see it come from the ground up.

We sell accessories for creators and plant five trees in areas of deforestation for every product purchased. At the moment mostly photography accessories, but we’re expanding into new exciting lifestyle lines soon.

Our mission is to plant a billion trees by 2032. And we plan to achieve this by designing products that inspire others to create and spend more time in nature.

I’m the Creative Director of the brand. I started helping out Christian with graphic design 5 years ago and basically became so involved that I couldn’t think of myself doing anything else. When you truly believe in something, it just gives you purpose and nothing in the world can compete with that. The team has grown a bit since then and my role today includes coordinating the brand’s creative from marketing, product development, photoshoots and all the little things in between!

How does nature inspire you?

Nature is the place where we feel most calm and at the same time most alive. It’s the place where it all makes sense. It’s funny how when you have the luck to immerse yourself in it for a long period of time, then you can’t live without it. You crave it. Nothing is more beautiful and perfect. That’s why we love to take inspiration from it whilst designing products, and although we are aware that we will never reach its perfection, we want to get as close as we can.

How does Urth support the environment?

We have teamed up with an amazing organisation called Eden Projects, to plant 5 trees in deforested regions with every Urth product sold. We have now planted over 3 million trees in Madagascar, Indonesia, Haiti, Nepal and Mozambique. This not only helps offset tonnes of CO2 of the atmosphere but it also gives jobs to entire communities, giving them opportunities for education and access to a revitalised ecosystem.

Beyond planting trees, we are constantly working on new ways to minimise our impact on the planet and have developed an LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) software to calculate the impact of each of our products from the sourcing of raw materials to the end of the product’s life.

We believe the best way to make a product sustainable is to make it last a lifetime. So making our products durable is a priority for us at Urth.

In 3 words how would you describe the blend of Argentinean & Australian culture in your relationship?

Same same (but) different! Haha, If I had to pick three words it would probably be adventurous, passionate and open-minded. We get a perfect dose of excitement and ‘freshness’ from coming from different parts of the world, but we also share the same core values. — I think we balance each other in a beautiful way. I guess I encourage Christian to be his passionate self and he helps me keep my feet on the ground! We both love the simple pleasures of life and are always open for an adventure. Sense of humor is essential and has been bang on since day one. It’s amazing how people from opposite parts of the world can fit each other so well.

What are you working on next?

In the next few months we will be preparing for the launch of our new range of bags and lifestyle accessories. We are super excited to launch these as we’ve been working on them for a long time now and we think it will bring the brand in full circle. We can’t reveal too much yet but there will be some exciting combinations of technology and lifestyle.

We would also love to plan some trips away, even if it’s not too far, to soothe our curious minds, find inspiration and let ideas sink in.

Photography: Victoria Aguirre