Have you heard of Pavlov’s Dog? Well here, it’s Pavlov’s Frog: As soon as someone joins the company, they automatically start collecting everything frog. One look around the office and you’d think we lived in a toy terrarium—frog stickers, frog toys, stuffed frogs, frog posters—one of us even has a real dried frog on a mini motorcycle (it’s from Mexico… don’t ask)!  We didn’t think anyone could be more passionate about collecting than us – that is, until we met Robert Wilson and Elizabeth Crowell, owners of the Brooklyn-based emporium, Sterling Place (352 7^th Avenue, Between 10^th & 11^th St., Brooklyn, NY 11215, 718-499-4800).

Robert’s collecting fever began at a young age, watching his father bring home a little of this and a lot of that!  As he got older, Robert found his very own collection obsession: antique typewriters. From typewriters, he got into collecting all sorts of there objets. And fortunately for him, he was lucky enough to find a woman who shared his passion for antiques and was willing to share space with all his typewriters! Thus, Sterling Place was born – the first opened in Boerum Hill in May 2005; the second in Park Slope in 2007. With the eclectic mix of objects, Robert and Elizabeth offer both budding and veteran collectors a selection of unusual and unexpected items to bring home or give as gifts

Of course, Robert and Elizabeth aren’t the only collectors in the Bullfrog family; here are some others:

v      Dori and Daniel Rootenberg, founders of JacarandaStyle.com: South African Tribal Art

v      Jean-Georges Vongerichten: an array of toaster ovens to go along with his love of food

v      David Burke: Jack in the Boxes (he even decorated a portion of David Burke at Bloomingdales with a part of his collection)

v      Penny Glazier, owner of Monkey Bar: old prints of Bull Mastiffs that are displayed on the wall of their den.  These pictures are in honor of their Bull Mastiff, Truman.

v      Marcy Blum: vintage and eccentric wedding figurines

v      Amanda Bullfrog: first-edition novels and kaleidoscopes

v      Becca Bullfrog: recipes

v      Chris Bullfrog: baseball cards

v      Jennifer Bullfrog:  books, books and more books. Specifically first editions of illustrated children’s books; culinary and cocktail books; and books on photography and photographers.

In case you haven’t noticed, we have a thing for the color green. After all, one of our signature frogs is a nice shade of jade.

We’ve been thinking a lot about “green” lately, but more than just the color—as Bullfrogs, we’ve always been concerned about the environment and the impact that all of our hopping has on our earth and future tadpoles.  

So in the spirit of Live Earth this past weekend, we thought we’d share a few ways the Bullfrog family goes green—call us “treefrogs,” if you will. Or, shall we say, Eco-Amphibians?

• Chef Eric Baldridge, Executive Chef at Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse and 23.sportscafe at The Mohegan Sun and self-proclaimed environmentalist, uses leftover vegetable oil from casino fryers to run his vehicles and heat his home.

• Wine Consultant Michael Green (his name, a minor-or major-coincidence) shares his knowledge of organic wines and how to be green when drinking red or white on the new eco-chic website, Sprig.com which is produced by Washington Post.Newsweek Interactive. Check him out.

• Patricia Bazan Garrubbo and Gina Garrubbo, owners of Terralina beauty products, “underpackage,” meaning they ship products packed directly in the shipping box, do not add extraneous wrappers or layers of unnecessary plastic, and use 100% biodegradable packing foam made from corn starch. They also encourage customers to reuse packaging: For example, the facial moisturizer comes with a soy tealight candle that can be used in the emptied jar.

• At Cookshop, Chef/Owner Mark Meyer uses poultry and dairy raised with the least amount of fertilizers and that do not include growth hormones or antibiotics; the meats are also locally raised, grass fed and certified humane. Even the design is “green”: local artisans from Long Island to the Hudson Valley worked painlessly to design fixtures using only sustainable material, such as bamboo and white oak.

• Donatella Arpaia always uses cloth towels in the bathrooms of her restaurants Anthos and davidburke & donatella. She also uses scrap paper for her reports to save paper, and tries to email and scan as many documents as possible as opposed to mailing and faxing.

And being an office of green frogs, we try and do our part:

• Queen Frog Jennifer Baum buys organic whenever possible, recycles religiously, and supports local growers on a regular basis. Staffer Jacqueline eats practically every meal out of Tupperware—creating less garbage from take-out containers and bags in the office. Kate walks to work, turns off the water when brushing her teeth, and tries to unplug appliances when not in use, while Marissa is serious about supporting local purveyors, purchases organic food and products, and is involved in various environmental action organizations. Helen belongs to her local CSA, where each week she receives a supply of locally grown, fresh vegetables from an organic farm upstate. She does not buy bottled water, and makes coffee at home, using an insulated mug in winter and in summertime when only ice coffee will do, she buys one iced coffee from a shop and then re-uses the plastic cup and straws as many times as possible.

Now the real question is, are puns good or bad for the enviornment…?