You established Scout Regalia in 2006. What led to that point? We started Scout Regalia right after we graduated from the Southern California Institute of Architecture in 2006. We worked on a few competitions and projects, but it wasn’t until 2008 when we released our first product, the SR Raised Garden Kit, that Scout Regalia moved from ideas to actual products and spaces. Of course, 2008 was also when the economy collapsed, so it was a little rough going. Starting a business during lean times has definitely forced us to be more creative and adaptable as designers. But if you can make it through the last few years, you can make it through anything!

Tell us about Scout Regalia: what you’re passionate about, what inspires you, and where you’re going. The name of our office says a lot about what we’re about and our interests. We chose a name that conveyed our interests rather than creating a brand based on a signature design. Scout Regalia can be translated as “humble ornament”– an homage to finding the splendor in something simple or celebrating the inherent design of everyday living.

We’re inspired by the outdoors, exploring new landscapes, road trips, woodside cabins, mountains, the desert, the Pacific Ocean….pretty much everything you can access within a few hours from Los Angeles. We love living and working in LA. It has really inspired our design direction, from the SR White Oak Table Sets to our Trail Registry project for High Desert Test Sites. Year-round great weather can be a great incubator for creativity.

We’re currently working with Reunion, a design office in NYC, on a bar and hotel in Snowmass, Colorado. We’re really excited to collaborate with them on these projects as the design architects. We’ll be debuting some fun concepts and new furniture pieces for the bar and the hotel. Both projects will be completed by year’s end.

You’re introducing the Scout Regalia Bicycle this summer. What inspired it, and what are your hopes for it? We’ve been working on the design of the frame for about a year and a half now. In a lot of ways, the Scout Regalia Bicycle is the embodiment of how we work and what we’re interested in. The Scout Regalia Bicycle is our vision for an American bicycle that combines performance with style, and design with craftsmanship. We wanted the Scout Regalia Bicycle to take its cues from three distinct bicycle typologies: the English/Dutch town bike, a cycle truck, and a mountain bike — all with a distinctly American feel.

Why are you calling it your “Ode to America”? Not only because of its design cues, but, most importantly, because we worked with an American bike-frame builder and other stateside craftspeople to bring our vision to life. We worked with bike-maker David Wilson in Philadelphia who was incredibly helpful in refining and building our frame design. We also collaborated with Winter Session from Chicago to design saddlebags for the bikes that fold into a seat pad for the rear rack, and Topo Designs for the Wool Blanket and Accessory straps. We also worked with Swamp Road Baskets from upstate New York, who hand-weaved a beautiful black-ash market basket specifically designed to fit on the front rack of the bike. The Scout Regalia Bicycle, more than any other piece of furniture or product we’ve ever designed, was truly a collaborative effort.

Tell us about your home workspace. Any special considerations that influenced its set up? What do you like or dislike about it? Our workspace is truly multifunctional — serving as our primary office space, conference room, prototyping space, and of course, our living room. Our desktop is made of solid-core doors on top of plywood storage units that we designed. We’re working on creating a Cutsheet Project out of the storage units so people can build their own desk spaces. We also have a wall of Homasote that serves as our pin-up space and inspiration board. Our entire home has really become a laboratory for prototypes and testing out new ideas. We have the first prototype of the SR Outdoor Table Set along with a few SR Patio Gardens and SR Raised Gardens in our yard.

Are there any desk accessories you can’t do without? On any typical workday, you’ll definitely find a mug of coffee next to both of our workspaces. Scout Regalia is powered by coffee. We’ve also somehow accumulated a collection of yoyos and tops, which are a good way to pass the time when you’re on a call or need to sit back and think a problem through. We also keep things organized in our workspace with our SR Wall Pockets, which help keep clutter at bay. Our Homasote wall is indispensable — we use it to pin up new ideas or look at inspiring images.

You scored a great pair of Eames Molded Chairs for your office. What’s the story behind them? It was definitely a score! The story we heard was that they were being thrown out years ago during some renovation work at Cornell University, and some good design Samaritans salvaged them. We rescued them a second time when we spent a summer in upstate NY and some family friends were getting rid of them. They are such great chairs (and stackable too!) — comfortable, timeless, and they look great in any space. We can’t imagine anybody wanting to let them go.

Photos: Courtesy of Scout Regalia

If you’re anything like us, staying eco is always on your mind. In honor of Earth Day 2012, here are six items that can help you continue to be kind to our environment — and create a better world around you.

1. Eames Molded Plastic Armchair with Wood Dowel Base It’s an iconic chair that needs no introduction, but it’s more than just a design classic. With a 100% recyclable polypropylene seat sit atop maple dowel legs, it’s not only beautiful, but earth-friendly. Get one at Herman Miller.

2. Ink’D Biodegradable Pens They write beautifully. They have a fun and flashy personality. And they achieve 82.3% biodegradation in 101 days, complying with ASTM D6400 standards. Better still, you can be a part of Ink’D Pens’ production through Kickstarter, which is bringing green products and projects to market around the world. Write it up at Kickstarter.

3. Maizy Series Clock, Spalvieri / Del Ciotto for Lexon Like the radio, light, and calculators in the Maizy series, the clock is produced with biodegradable PLA plastic. PLA is derived from renewable resources like corn starch. You get a clean, minimal design that can return to the earth at the end of its time. Maizy knows what time it is. You can, too, at Lexon.

4. Nelson Pedestal Stool The perfect little accent seat, it fits practically anywhere you will. Bright pops of color with the exceedingly elegant lines George Nelson was renowned for. And of course, they’re manufactured with recyclable upholstery and aluminum. It has it all. Part of the new Herman Miller Collection.

5. MacBook Air It might seem unlikely, but an Apple MacBook Air possesses a remarkably eco-friendly pedigree — like an EPEAT Gold rating for environmental effects, Energy Star 5.2 compliance for energy efficiency, and Apple will see to your computer’s recycling at the end of its life. From Apple.

6. Wellrounded Sound Well Rounded Sound produces beautifully bespoke loudspeakers with sustainably harvested wood enclosures, ultra-low VOC content wood finishes, and 100% New Zealand wool felt. They’ll even provide info on recycling your speakers when the time comes. How can you not like the sound of that? Get some here.

Photos: Linked to their sources within text