Eat. Drink. Design.
Founded in 2007
Few musicians out there today who do it quite like Sampha. His newest single is titled “Spirit 2.0” and yet again shows just how special his music is. It’s a joyful sounding track “about the importance of connection to both myself and others, and the beauty and harsh realities of just existing.” From what I’ve read Owen Pallet lended some help on the production side and the ending has a special appearance from Yaeji. It’s a song that’s easy to keep on repeat.
T Magazine started a conversation with six writers to discuss the 25 Most Influential Works of Postwar Queer Literature. The list is extensive, my goodness do I have so much reading to catch up on, and the commentary is delightful and insightful.
I’m always finding interesting typefaces in my day-to-day so it made sense to start sharing these gems regularly. Buying typefaces is a lot like hoarding except they don’t take up as much space, thank god, otherwise I’d be buried in fonts.
First up we have Tomato Grotesk from The Designers Foundry, a sans-serif with some lovely little details. Love the sharpness of the “m” and the “a” and “e” both seem happy, like they have their own little facial expressions. This a great typeface for that project that’s bit more straightforward yet needs a touch of personality.
Next, we have Bayard, designed by Tré Seals, which is a typeface inspired by signage from the 1963 March on Washington For Jobs and Freedom, and named after civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. I love what Tré has done here because of the fact that you get these differing type widths, which enables you to create and reduce emphasis where needed. And with the popularity of mixing type styles, this would fit nicely in a number of different projects.
Speaking of mixing type styles, Dark Paradise by Tropical Type is modern serif that features an ornate italic with lots of fun alternates. I’m very into these playful, basically display typefaces that have a lot of personality. Combining the edgy serif with the swashy italic offers up a lot of potential and possibilities for a project that needs a little pizzaz.
Finally, we go full personality with Goji by Typeverything, a typeface inspired by the iconic Art Nouveau style. It’s a whole lot of personality, with those super sharp curves, the adorable little baby counters, and how the weight of each letter sits toward the bottom of the letters. If you want your project to get noticed this is the perfect typeface for you.
I’m incredibly excited for Róisín Murphy’s upcoming album Hit Parade as it’s co-produced with one of my other absolute faves, DJ Koze. So I was thrilled to see Philip Sherburne’s epic profile on the singer for Pitchfork, titled Life, Death, and Disco in Ibiza With Róisín Murphy. It goes in depth on her long rise to stardom, and the lengthy and wild production of the album, which gets me even more hyped than I already was:
“Hit Parade has Murphy showcasing the range of her voice not just stylistically, flipping from ballads to bangers, but in the way she explores every aspect of it: sandy, breathy, severe, gentle; caterwauling, cooing, hissing, belting, pleading, celebrating; leaping for joy, scowling with dejection, slipping wantonly between notes. Aided by Koze’s liquid blend of vintage soul and digital mischief, she locates entirely new pockets of marbled texture and elastic timbre in every drawn-out syllable.”
Spotted this photo series “(爱) think of me” featuring model Kiko Mizuhara and instantly fell in love. They were taken by Poyenchen for Sicky Mag CHN, who themselves have a stunning, editorial style that feels like some over-the-top 80’s realness. Those long braids are so great, the styling is amazing, and I love the playfulness of everything.
In a quaint neighborhood just outside Milan’s city center is Pan, a bakery, kitchen and wine bar, a place born from the collaboration between the Japanese chef Yoji Tokuyoshi and Alice Yamada, with the goal of democratizing Japanese culture.
The space was designed by Studio Wok, a Milan-based studio founded in 2012. Their goal was to create a connection to the neighborhood through the use of large windows on the outside, and strong pieces on the inside like the fiberglass countertops and ephemeral ceiling drapes.
For me, the almost jade color of the countertops, set amongst the whites and neutral wood tones, is a stunning approach. The space overall gives me the impression of a cloudy seascape, with varying sizes of sea glass washed on to the shore. The brushed stainless steel helps add to this effect (it’s a trend I’m very much loving lately, and seeing a lot) lending reflection and bouncing light around even more.
The folks at A24 are always releasing the coolest stuff. One of their newest ideas is Scrounging: A Cookbook, which takes the foods from 54 films and turns them into recipes you can make at home. Included are The Breakfast Club‘s Pixy Stix sandwich, The Apartment‘s tennis racket spaghetti, The Martian‘s baked potato with Vicodin, Home Alone‘s 12-scoop ice cream sundae, Kramer vs. Kramer‘s divorced dad french toast, and many more.
There’s also a foreword from Matty Matheson, a man who knows a few things about cooking amazing meals, and the photos in the cookbook are from the ever-amazing duo of Wade & Leta, which turned out so great.
After the train wreck of banality that was the Louis Vuitton menswear show (please read Amy Odell’s piece on the event, accurately titled Pharrell for Louis Vuitton Is the Marvel Movie of Fashion Shows) it was palette cleansing to watch the new LEMAIRE collection.
Amy Verne’s take over on Vogue sums up the collection succinctly:
The current (increasingly tiresome) infatuation with quiet luxury would seem to make Lemaire more relevant than ever. But only Lemaire has built so much versatility into its luxury. And the brand will continue to exist this way—well beyond the latest sneakers and store designs—no matter the trend.
That’s exactly what makes this collection feel so special. These are clothes which, if you saw someone wearing them on the street, you may do a double take. There a chic, effortlessness to the pieces, an extra ordinary quality. It’s so rad to see Christophe Lemaire and Sarah-Linh Tran continue to raise the bar on easy essentials. If I could dress like this every day I would, especially as I get older.
I talk a lot about starting my own café one day. I know it’s a logical step for me, and my interests, combining my loves of design, food, and people under one roof. For now though, I’ll continue to find inspiration in places like Bambino, a place for great food, good drinks, and fun music. Located in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, founder Fabien Lombardi has combined his passions for the traditional Japanese jazz kissa with his travels through Tel Aviv. It features a large collection of records and a great sound system, a beautiful concrete bar, and small cafe tables for intimate gatherings.
The kitchen is helmed by Kenta Tomoda, who’s serving up delicious looking katsu sandwiches, and a recent creation, the pigeon frit (third photo) served with tomato, harissa, and radicchio. The fact that he left the claw on is such a great detail, in my opinion. This space looks like it’s been around forever, though only opening about three-ish years ago. Bambino will be high on my list of places to visit the next time I’m in Paris.
Nicolás Jaar is a great example of a musician who continues to push forward into new territories. His seminal album Space Is Only Noise is a timeless record, and his work under Against All Logic has so many gems. It’s the music that he creates under DARKSIDE, alongside Dave Harrington and newly joined member drummer Tlacael Esparza, that seems to be his current passion.
The now trio have a new record out titled Live at Spiral House, featuring material recorded during sessions at the band’s Los Angeles rehearsal space, Spiral House. The record does a great job of capturing that feeling you get hearing a band play live. The added depth that Esparza’s drumming brings is immediately noticeable. They sound like super rad jam band who plays electronic music, guitar solos replacing glitches and noise, a din of noise laying underneath the sounds, bringing a unified warmth to the record.
My desire for new plates and serving ware is insatiable. I’m one of those people who love a mismatched, hodgepodge arrangement of dishes and glasses, picking up random pieces to add to my eclectic collection. A uniform match-y match-y set of dishes seems so bland to me, bordering on anal-retentive. Thus, when I was introduced to the ceramics and homeware of Henry Holland Studio, immediately I knew I had found someone with a similar view on how-to stock a kitchen.
The studio, obviously, led by Henry Holland, came about during the pandemic:
“Intended as a creative outlet, as he took a break from fashion, he stumbled across his interpretation of the nerikomi technique, while sat at his kitchen table during lockdown, when government restrictions meant he was no longer able to attend lessons at his local Hackney pottery studio.”
What’s interesting to me his the use of nerikomi, which in this case is a contemporary version of the practice. The bold color combinations are interesting, and I love how they feel like they’re derived from elements of nature. They also create a fun check pattern that’s warped and wobbly. It’s like many of the check patterns I see here in Spain, though perhaps seen through a distorted lens.
I bumped into the work of Zack Rosebrugh and was pleasantly surprised when I dug further into his work. A self-taught artist based in Los Angeles, he creates these pleasing compositions that feel very graphic at their core. Lots of flat planes given life through tasteful color combinations that bring depth and movement to the pieces. I would highly recommend following his Twitter, you’ll get a charming look at his process and sketches. Always nice to see how such graceful art is made.
