Camping offers our smartphone-tethered society not only one of the few opportunities to unplug but also one of the rare settings in which relative silence can be found. Hence, the persistent naturalist movement that’s driving even the most cosmopolitan urbanites out of the skyline and under the stars is also propelling a market for the gear that it necessitates, including a fresh crop of design-minded sleeping bags.

Hammock Compatible Sleeping Bag: Hammock camping products like the Kammock are providing outdoors enthusiasts with a mode of slumbering in nature that’s arguably easier than wrestling with a tangle of tent poles. The only problem with the human banana set-up is that the suspension positioning crushes the underside of a sleeping bag, leaving one’s back with little insulation or protection against the elements. The design of Grand Trunk’s forthcoming hammock compatible sleeping bag solves the conundrum by wrapping the bedding around the hammock. The result is a swinging cocoon in which the cloud-like Thinsulate fill remains evenly distributed, ensuring a comfortable night’s sleep minus any shivering.

Organic produce bound for the dinner table isn’t the only aim of those planting gardens lately. With the hand-dyed trend inspiring fashion designers to seek out colors found in nature, as opposed to the Rit section of the drugstore, the planting and cultivation of dye gardens is becoming a modish practice. Below are three dye garden projects delivering brilliant hues straight from the source.

Natural Dye CSA: Community-supported agriculture programs provide locavores with access to a variety of goods ranging from honey to oysters. Now, a new project from Sewing Seeds, a Textile Arts Center initiative conceived to promote the use of natural dyes, is raising funds to transform an abandoned lot in Brooklyn into a vibrant dye garden. Part of the 596 Acres land resource program, the garden will have its inaugural run between June and November 2012. In addition to receiving the plants intended for natural dye extractions, members will receive instructions and workshops focused on how best to utilize them. Expect to see some pretty sophisticated tie-dye wares paraded through the borough this summer.

Every traveler knows that packing light is a talent worth perfecting. Meeting TSA weight regulations requires patience, versatility and an exceptional display of restraint—which means items like wooden-heeled platform shoes and War and Peace are best left home. Innovative new luggage designs, however, are making packing less stressful by provoking a minimalist, utilitarian aesthetic that seems intended to send packrats scurrying.

Tumi Tegra-Lite: To create its new Tegra-Lite line of ultra-lightweight, sleekly contoured luggage, Tumi enlisted Milliken, a producer of plastics that counts race car builders and football gear designers among its clients. This high-tech collaboration required Tumi to overhaul its design process. Milliken’s super-strong Tegris composite isn’t pressed and stretched like the luggage brand’s traditional method of shaping; rather, it’s cut into sheets and folded to maintain the bonds that make up a lattice of highly durable plastic.  The result is a 65-percent lighter rolling bag that’s built to withstand the battery of frequent travel. This is one suitcase that’s ready to get down to business.

The storm of blogs and websites offering approachable recipes for home cooks has sparked a more mindful approach to eating. And while these informal digital sources are often on par with those found on the newsstand, there’s still something to be said for the satisfaction of poring through the “pages” of a magazine, whether it be on paper or on an iPad. Hence, a mounting army of new food titles are preserving the spirit of the periodical while celebrating the DIY spirit of the Web.

Kinfolk: Kinfolk is proof that one need not display the homemaking swagger of, say, Martha Stewart in order to be the kind of entertainer from whom friends covet an invitation. The quarterly pub, available in both digital and print formats, revels in the elegance of simple, intimate gatherings rather than fussy banquets only achievable by a catering company. Kinfolk is more than just a piece of reading material, however. It’s also a community of artists dedicated to promoting casual, yet still creative, assemblies of friends over a thoughtful meal. The Kinfolk dinner series is bringing artisan feasts to different cities, including Brooklyn, Austin and San Francisco, every month.