"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Here's how to make a difference.
Truth / Love.
"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Here's how to make a difference.
Seeing Double.
I last wrote about French curator Sandrine Kerfante—whose blog, Twin-Niwt, explores themes of symmetry and twinned identities—three years ago. Last week, I received an email from her announcing the release of a book of images based on her finds. (Chronicle Books says that it's just right for friends "who feel as close as sisters, actual sisters who feel as close as twins, and actual twins who will see their duality reflected in...new ways.")
"I hope you'll like it," Sandrine wrote in her email. I do.
"I hope you'll like it," Sandrine wrote in her email. I do.
POV: Waves.
POV ("point of view") is a series that addresses many of the same themes covered in my Equals Record column: growing up, saying yes to adventure, learning to embrace a quarter-life crisis. While my previous column focused largely on ideas, POV focuses on moments - glimpses, glances, tiny stories.
Recommended Reading / 62.
Words to start the week.
This week, from The Atlantic: reflections on the resonance of Arnold Lobel's 1970s children's book series Frog and Toad—a mainstay at my house growing up, and a current favorite of my three-year-old nephew's.
Writes Bert Clere on another of Lobel's masterpieces, Owl at Home: "Probably the most unique story in Owl at Home is 'Tear-Water Tea,' in which Owl makes a special tea brewed from his tears. To produce the tears, he thinks of sad things like 'songs that cannot be sung because the words have been forgotten' and 'pencils that are too short to use'...Owl’s tears come from those broken and disjointed parts of existence that make no sense, so all that is to be done with them is to accept them, and drink them with a pot of tea."
Read more at The Atlantic. Illustration by Arnold Lobel.
Three more, just because:
-Violent rabbits.
-"Brief raptures in deserted places."
-Loved doing this interview with industrial designer Todd Bracher: "A tree is the result of an ecosystem. And the way I design is to consider what something’s ecosystem is. There are loads of things that define any given project: the market, financial constraints, client needs, et cetera. But tie all those things together with a singular solution—the way a tree does in its ecosystem—and you have, in my opinion, something that’s truly timeless and universal."
This week, from The Atlantic: reflections on the resonance of Arnold Lobel's 1970s children's book series Frog and Toad—a mainstay at my house growing up, and a current favorite of my three-year-old nephew's.
Writes Bert Clere on another of Lobel's masterpieces, Owl at Home: "Probably the most unique story in Owl at Home is 'Tear-Water Tea,' in which Owl makes a special tea brewed from his tears. To produce the tears, he thinks of sad things like 'songs that cannot be sung because the words have been forgotten' and 'pencils that are too short to use'...Owl’s tears come from those broken and disjointed parts of existence that make no sense, so all that is to be done with them is to accept them, and drink them with a pot of tea."
Read more at The Atlantic. Illustration by Arnold Lobel.
Three more, just because:
-Violent rabbits.
-"Brief raptures in deserted places."
-Loved doing this interview with industrial designer Todd Bracher: "A tree is the result of an ecosystem. And the way I design is to consider what something’s ecosystem is. There are loads of things that define any given project: the market, financial constraints, client needs, et cetera. But tie all those things together with a singular solution—the way a tree does in its ecosystem—and you have, in my opinion, something that’s truly timeless and universal."
More recommended reads, here. Wishing you a very happy Monday—and more to come!
Douglas & Bec on Sight Unseen.
Thrilled to have been able to interview Bec Dowie of Douglas + Bec, a New Zealand-based furniture and lighting design studio, a few weeks ago for Sight Unseen. Bec, who founded the company alongside her father, Douglas, lives 45 minutes outside of Auckland in a converted barn designed to serve as both home and studio.
With bedrooms on movable pods, the space transforms in minutes flat. Not surprisingly, it's furnished almost entirely with family-made pieces—but only just as many as the trio need. During the renovation, Bec says, “We lived with very little for a long time, and [that experience] really ended up informing the design of our home. We had a lovely education that we didn’t need a lot. So when we built the house, everything was very simple. The design shows a lot of restraint.”
Find the full interview on Sight Unseen. Beautiful photos by Pippa Drummond.
More from my Sight Unseen archive: Group Partner / Todd St. John / Material Lust. Thanks so much, as always, for reading.
Recommended Reading / 61.
Words to start the week.
This week, from T: words from seven modern feminists, including Tavi Gevinson, Emily Gould, and Beth Ditto. Says Hari Nef of Transparent: "Who gets to decide what a woman is? If one woman is different from another woman, then what unites them as women?"
Find the slideshow, here. Photos by Scott Trindle.
Three more, just because:
-Daily letters to the ocean.
-The contents of Prince's fridge: microgreens, Dunkaroos, 18 types of mustard.
-Says Georgia O'Keeffe: "I get out my work and have a show for myself before I have it publicly. I make up my own mind about it—how good or bad or indifferent it is. After that the critics can write what they please. I have already settled it for myself, so flattery and criticism go down the same drain and I am quite free."
This week, from T: words from seven modern feminists, including Tavi Gevinson, Emily Gould, and Beth Ditto. Says Hari Nef of Transparent: "Who gets to decide what a woman is? If one woman is different from another woman, then what unites them as women?"
Find the slideshow, here. Photos by Scott Trindle.
Three more, just because:
-Daily letters to the ocean.
-The contents of Prince's fridge: microgreens, Dunkaroos, 18 types of mustard.
-Says Georgia O'Keeffe: "I get out my work and have a show for myself before I have it publicly. I make up my own mind about it—how good or bad or indifferent it is. After that the critics can write what they please. I have already settled it for myself, so flattery and criticism go down the same drain and I am quite free."
More recommended reads, here. Wishing you a very happy Monday.
Pocket Watch.
Melissa Kaseman photographs the contents of her three-year-old son's pockets as part of what she calls "a taxonomy report of a child's imagination." Among the spoils: pipe cleaners, paper clips, and a crumpled plate that, on first glance, looks like crystal.
More on Melissa's website, here. Have a wonderful Monday.
More on Melissa's website, here. Have a wonderful Monday.
Live In Yourself.
Words for Monday, courtesy of Mina Loy: "Forget that you live in houses, that you may live in yourself."
A few recommended reads for the week:
-Exquisite dirt.
-My most recent interview for Sight Unseen, with Ladies & Gentlemen Studio.
-Beautiful words from Ai Bihr, via Apiece Apart: "In Japanese we say, ‘ashita wa asu no kaze ga huku’—tomorrow a new wind blows. Tomorrow is a new day."
Photos via my Instagram.
-Exquisite dirt.
-My most recent interview for Sight Unseen, with Ladies & Gentlemen Studio.
-Beautiful words from Ai Bihr, via Apiece Apart: "In Japanese we say, ‘ashita wa asu no kaze ga huku’—tomorrow a new wind blows. Tomorrow is a new day."
Photos via my Instagram.
POV: Protection.
POV ("point of view") is a series that addresses many of the same themes covered in my Equals Record column: growing up, saying yes to adventure, learning to embrace a quarter-life crisis. While my previous column focused largely on ideas, POV focuses on moments - glimpses, glances, tiny stories.
Under Repair.
Please excuse the lack of posts this week as I figure out the best way to fix quite a big photo issue on the site—thank you for your understanding as I sort things out. I'll be back next week with an update; until then, wishing you a wonderful week!
A few (picture-less) POVs in the meantime:
-On rotations.
-On being heard.
-On settling (in the best possible way).
Thank you so much for reading. Photo by Max Wanger.
A few (picture-less) POVs in the meantime:
-On rotations.
-On being heard.
-On settling (in the best possible way).
Thank you so much for reading. Photo by Max Wanger.
Material Lust on Sight Unseen.
Although I'd met Material Lust designers Christian Swafford and Lauren Larson before, it wasn't until I visited their studio on assignment for Sight Unseen that I learned the story behind their brand, which produces furniture and home goods with decidedly dark flair. It was lovely to spend a fall morning in their space—to see their latest work, pore over their beautiful (and non-digital!) inspiration boards, and learn more about what inspires their cutting-edge aesthetic.
As it turns out, that aesthetic is one that's routinely confused for demonic. Says Christian: “We posted a photo on Instagram recently of a pentagram and a few of our chairs, and someone commented, ‘Unfollow these Satanists.’ Our design was based off of DaVinci’s Vitruvian Man. It was historical, but it had nothing to do with devil worship. Everyone feels the need to categorize.”
Find the full interview on Sight Unseen. Photos by Emily Johnston.
More from my Sight Unseen archive: Group Partner / Todd St. John / Ladies & Gentlmen Studio. Thanks so much for reading.
As it turns out, that aesthetic is one that's routinely confused for demonic. Says Christian: “We posted a photo on Instagram recently of a pentagram and a few of our chairs, and someone commented, ‘Unfollow these Satanists.’ Our design was based off of DaVinci’s Vitruvian Man. It was historical, but it had nothing to do with devil worship. Everyone feels the need to categorize.”
Find the full interview on Sight Unseen. Photos by Emily Johnston.
More from my Sight Unseen archive: Group Partner / Todd St. John / Ladies & Gentlmen Studio. Thanks so much for reading.
Recommended Reading / 60.
Every Monday, words to start the week.
This week, from Studiocanoe: a short film called "Sum" that offers up an enormous dose of perspective in just four minutes. According to the film, we may spend 30 years of our life asleep, 200 days showering, six weeks waiting for green lights, and 18 days gazing into refrigerators—but spread over decades, these moments are just tiny, magnificent pieces of a much bigger picture. See it all, above.
Thanks to Freunde von Freunden for the link. More from Studiocanoe, here.
Three more, just because:
-"Speed Dating for Rabbits."
-Louise Ma makes art of hard-to-describe emotions.
-Preschool pastimes: "We're playing sunset. We just travel around, like how the sun sets."
This week, from Studiocanoe: a short film called "Sum" that offers up an enormous dose of perspective in just four minutes. According to the film, we may spend 30 years of our life asleep, 200 days showering, six weeks waiting for green lights, and 18 days gazing into refrigerators—but spread over decades, these moments are just tiny, magnificent pieces of a much bigger picture. See it all, above.
Thanks to Freunde von Freunden for the link. More from Studiocanoe, here.
Three more, just because:
-"Speed Dating for Rabbits."
-Louise Ma makes art of hard-to-describe emotions.
-Preschool pastimes: "We're playing sunset. We just travel around, like how the sun sets."
More recommended reads, here. Wishing you a happy Monday.
Recommended Reading / 59.
Every Monday, words to start the week.
This week, via Apiece Apart: an interview with photographer Emily Johnston (whose beautiful work and words appear on this site often—including in my latest POV). The Q+A is part of the fashion label's excellent ongoing series, Apiece Apart Woman, and though I loved all of this particular post, what stuck out to me most was Emily's response to a question about mantras:
"I don’t know that I have one, but lately I’ve been turning back to the words by Wendell Berry that my partner David left in my studio on one particularly challenging day this summer, 'The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.'"
This week, via Apiece Apart: an interview with photographer Emily Johnston (whose beautiful work and words appear on this site often—including in my latest POV). The Q+A is part of the fashion label's excellent ongoing series, Apiece Apart Woman, and though I loved all of this particular post, what stuck out to me most was Emily's response to a question about mantras:
"I don’t know that I have one, but lately I’ve been turning back to the words by Wendell Berry that my partner David left in my studio on one particularly challenging day this summer, 'The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.'"
I'm dazzled. Read the interview on Apiece Apart. Photos by Brian W. Ferry.
Three more, just because:
-Conceptual time machines.
-Fellow Resident, a collection of interviews that gives readers a glimpse into "the homes and heads" of inspiring gay men around the world.
-"Normality is a paved road: It's comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow."
Three more, just because:
-Conceptual time machines.
-Fellow Resident, a collection of interviews that gives readers a glimpse into "the homes and heads" of inspiring gay men around the world.
-"Normality is a paved road: It's comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow."
More recommended reads, here. Wishing you a wonderful Monday.
Melancholia.
Found via Swissmiss: the Melancholia clock, a numberless, colorless timepiece born of a very deliberate and thoughtful design. Writes creator Vadim Kibardin:
Read more, here.
POV: Roads.
Recommended Reading / 58.
Every Monday, words to start the week.
This week: an interesting take on social media from Polish sociologist Zygmunt Bauman.
"The difference between a community and a network is that you belong to a community, but a network belongs to you. You feel in control. You can add friends if you wish, you can delete them if you wish. You are in control of the important people to whom you relate. People feel a little better as a result, because loneliness, abandonment, is the great fear in our individualist age...But most people use social media not to unite, not to open their horizons wider, but on the contrary, to cut themselves a comfort zone where the only sounds they hear are the echoes of their own voice, where the only things they see are the reflections of their own face."
Read more from Ricardo de Querol's interview, here. Photograph by Grzegorz Lepiarz.
Three more, just because:
-You had me at "cotton soft."
-A sommelier samples bottled water.
-From poet Eileen Myles (whom I've quoted before on this site): "That horrible line of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, 'There are no second acts in American lives,' was the notion of somebody who died of alcoholism quite young. Yes, there are second acts, and there are third acts. I live in New York, where there are fifth acts and sixth acts, even."
This week: an interesting take on social media from Polish sociologist Zygmunt Bauman.
"The difference between a community and a network is that you belong to a community, but a network belongs to you. You feel in control. You can add friends if you wish, you can delete them if you wish. You are in control of the important people to whom you relate. People feel a little better as a result, because loneliness, abandonment, is the great fear in our individualist age...But most people use social media not to unite, not to open their horizons wider, but on the contrary, to cut themselves a comfort zone where the only sounds they hear are the echoes of their own voice, where the only things they see are the reflections of their own face."
Read more from Ricardo de Querol's interview, here. Photograph by Grzegorz Lepiarz.
Three more, just because:
-You had me at "cotton soft."
-A sommelier samples bottled water.
-From poet Eileen Myles (whom I've quoted before on this site): "That horrible line of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, 'There are no second acts in American lives,' was the notion of somebody who died of alcoholism quite young. Yes, there are second acts, and there are third acts. I live in New York, where there are fifth acts and sixth acts, even."
More recommended reads, here. Wishing you a very happy Monday. (Also: I was derailed by the excitement of snow, but the POV mentioned last week is still to come!)
Brutalist Beauty on FVF.
Sculptor Pedro Reyes and clothing designer Carla Fernández make their home in a beautiful Brutalist structure in Mexico City, surrounding themselves with color, plant life, and an ever-growing collection of books. I was lucky enough to interview the couple for Freunde von Freunden last month, for a feature that went live this week. My favorite moment in our conversation? Pedro's comparison of the home to both a factory and a playground—and his description of the contents of his library.
"Our collection is very diverse," he says. "Just last week, I came back from Japan with two suitcases full of books, including an atlas of sand and a book about caterpillars. It all seems random—but it's not."
Read more on Freunde von Freunden. Photos by Ana Hop.
More work on FvF: Linda Derschang / Chelsea Miller / Mick Johan.
"Our collection is very diverse," he says. "Just last week, I came back from Japan with two suitcases full of books, including an atlas of sand and a book about caterpillars. It all seems random—but it's not."
Read more on Freunde von Freunden. Photos by Ana Hop.
More work on FvF: Linda Derschang / Chelsea Miller / Mick Johan.
Recommended Reading / 57.
Every Monday (or in this case, Tuesday), words to start the week.
This week, from The Atlantic (again): a powerful piece by Ta-nehisi Coates called "Bill Cosby and His Enablers." A small snippet:
"There is no real difference in claiming that a woman in a married man’s hotel room forgoes the right to her body, and asserting that a black boy wearing a hoodie forgoes the right to his. Brutality is brutality, and it always rests on a bed of lies."
Read the article in its entirety, here. Photo by Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times.
A few more, just because:
This week, from The Atlantic (again): a powerful piece by Ta-nehisi Coates called "Bill Cosby and His Enablers." A small snippet:
"There is no real difference in claiming that a woman in a married man’s hotel room forgoes the right to her body, and asserting that a black boy wearing a hoodie forgoes the right to his. Brutality is brutality, and it always rests on a bed of lies."
Read the article in its entirety, here. Photo by Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times.
A few more, just because:
-A stockpile of beautiful sentences.
-Chef Angela Dimayuga of Mission Chinese Food shares a mesmerizing account of everything she ate the week of January 7th.
-One more from David Bowie: "'It's not hip to be cool,' he said one day, sipping a beer. 'It really isn't. I had a heyday with the whole iceman-cometh bit. I'm cooled out, man. I've seen so much cool, it's just left me cold.'"
Wishing you a wonderful Tuesday. More reads, here—and new POV to come.
-Chef Angela Dimayuga of Mission Chinese Food shares a mesmerizing account of everything she ate the week of January 7th.
-One more from David Bowie: "'It's not hip to be cool,' he said one day, sipping a beer. 'It really isn't. I had a heyday with the whole iceman-cometh bit. I'm cooled out, man. I've seen so much cool, it's just left me cold.'"
Wishing you a wonderful Tuesday. More reads, here—and new POV to come.
Arriving / Departing.
"The truth is of course is that there is no journey. We are arriving and departing all at the same time." David Bowie
See also: Bowie's 100 Favorite Books / "'What' is my motto."
Photo by Lynn Goldsmith.
Recommended Reading / 56.
Every Monday, words to start the week.
This week, from The Atlantic: an article by Julie Beck on what exactly constitutes adulthood. Are we adults when we've reached a certain age? When we've accomplished specific goals? When we're married, or mothers, or making it financially on our own? As Beck says, "Society can only define a life stage so far; individuals still have to do a lot of the defining themselves."
Says an OB/GYN featured in the piece: "I think the answer to 'when do you become an adult' has to do with when you finally have acceptance of yourself. My patients who are trying to stop time through menopause don't seem like adults even though they are in their mid-40s, mid-50s. My patients who seem secure through any of life struggles, those are the women who seem like adults. They still have a young soul but roll with all the changes, accepting the undesirable changes in their bodies, accepting the lack of sleep with their children, accepting the things they cannot change."
Fascinating. Read the story, here. Photo via my Instagram.
A few more, just because:
This week, from The Atlantic: an article by Julie Beck on what exactly constitutes adulthood. Are we adults when we've reached a certain age? When we've accomplished specific goals? When we're married, or mothers, or making it financially on our own? As Beck says, "Society can only define a life stage so far; individuals still have to do a lot of the defining themselves."
Says an OB/GYN featured in the piece: "I think the answer to 'when do you become an adult' has to do with when you finally have acceptance of yourself. My patients who are trying to stop time through menopause don't seem like adults even though they are in their mid-40s, mid-50s. My patients who seem secure through any of life struggles, those are the women who seem like adults. They still have a young soul but roll with all the changes, accepting the undesirable changes in their bodies, accepting the lack of sleep with their children, accepting the things they cannot change."
Fascinating. Read the story, here. Photo via my Instagram.
A few more, just because:
-A library of pigments.
-Artists in their beds (including a teenaged Elizabeth Taylor and her pet chipmunk, Nibbles).
-10 Objects Around Your House That Are Actually Just Tilda Swinton Getting Lost in a Role.
-From Gillian Flynn: "The point is, women have spent so many years girl-powering ourselves—to the point of almost parodic encouragement—we've left no room to acknowledge our dark side. Dark sides are important. They should be nurtured like nasty black orchids."
Wishing you a very happy Monday. More recommended reading, here.
-Artists in their beds (including a teenaged Elizabeth Taylor and her pet chipmunk, Nibbles).
-10 Objects Around Your House That Are Actually Just Tilda Swinton Getting Lost in a Role.
-From Gillian Flynn: "The point is, women have spent so many years girl-powering ourselves—to the point of almost parodic encouragement—we've left no room to acknowledge our dark side. Dark sides are important. They should be nurtured like nasty black orchids."
Wishing you a very happy Monday. More recommended reading, here.
Author Unknown.
I recently stumbled across Artist Unknown, an online archive of found photographs—little did I know I'd spend the next hour sifting through its posts. What I love about the site is that its images are sorted into categories, so that each entry is a collage of eras and locations, linked by a common theme. Below: Mirrors, Jumping, Long Roads, Happy and Glow.
Visit Artist Unknown for much more, including Headgear, Couch People, Dancing, and TV. Thanks to MessyNessyChic for the introduction.
2016.
Back in Brooklyn after ten days on the road—seven in LA and another three in Austin (where, ironically, it was colder than it was at the time in New York). Though the Monday after the holidays is always a little rough, I'm happy to be here, where I look forward to sharing more as the year unfolds. To start, here are a few photos from a recent shoot and Q+A I did with Urban Outfitters at my apartment, just prior to the holidays. During the interview, I was asked for my thoughts on resolutions—as I shared then, I've never been one to make any. My only wish for this year, and every year, is to be surprised at where it takes me.
Four days in, I'm not disappointed.
Find the Q+A, here. (Also featured: the amazing artist Elise Peterson, who I had the pleasure of interviewing this fall, and photographer Emma Jane Kepley.)
Photos by Anna Ottum. Have a wonderful Monday—and happy new year.
Four days in, I'm not disappointed.
Find the Q+A, here. (Also featured: the amazing artist Elise Peterson, who I had the pleasure of interviewing this fall, and photographer Emma Jane Kepley.)
Photos by Anna Ottum. Have a wonderful Monday—and happy new year.