Matsu’s photographic wine series

Esule wine labels by Mash Design

From the cool cats at Mash Design, comes yet another stellar set of creative, fun wine labels. This time around, Mash’s imaginative energy was put towards a series of designs for Red Heads Studio — an inspired collection of fifteen Southern Australian wines that garner impressive reviews worth boasting about. Though Mash is responsible for a number of the Red Heads Studio labels, the comic book like imagery for Esule stands out from the lot. Here, through imaginative illustrations that reflect ‘falling from grace’, the black and white labels convey the story of how two former kings of the wine grape world — Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc — were cast aside as other varieties came into vogue. But whatever the history, for sure Mash’s stylish design coupled with Esule’s strong wine ratings will help this deep, velvety red climb its way back up in the ranks.

Armed America portraits by Kyle Cassidy

The Armed America website compiles portraits of the owners of weapons in America. Photographer and writer Kyle Cassidy traveled more than 12,000 miles for more than two years taking pictures of armed Americans in their houses, all the while looking for the answer to the complex question: ‘Why do you own a gun?’ Cassidy’s work has become an item of incalculable value, not only because of its conceptual strength, but also because of the description of the way of living, feeling and thinking of many inhabitants of America. Read more

Rafal Milach’s Black Sea Of Concrete series

Of his series, Black Sea Of Concrete, Polish photographer, Rafal Milach says: ‘Eight photographers from Sputnik Photos collective were asked to cover contemporary Ukraine. Some got particular assignments, but I was free to choose the topic. As I knew I would be working in winter, I decided to go to the Black Sea. I wanted to have raw landscapes and real people. It was the only time of the year when I was able to avoid the tourist facade. The other reason why I picked the Black Sea coast was the fact that, for many years, it was a place where the entire Soviet Union went for summer holidays. Since the Orange Revolution in 2004, Ukraine has been an independent country, but still, very often, people are not able to detach it from its Soviet past. You can feel that strange mixture by the Black Sea coast’. Read more

Sooshi

Not a fan of sushi? Then check out Sooshi — a new sushi-style treat from New Zealand Natural ice cream. Though it may look a lot like your neighborhood rainbow roll, these sweet snacks are made purely of real fruit and ice cream. Instead of the outside ‘nori’ sheet, Sooshi sports a green apple flavored strip. Rice is replaced with vanilla or fruit ice cream, and rather than vegetables, the center’s filled with lemon, apricot, raspberry, or blackcurrant fruit puree. Though word on the street is that it’s already super sugary, those with a real sweet tooth can top it off with a squirt of chocolate ‘soy sauce’. So next time you’re out for a sushi dinner, consider skipping the California roll and heading straight to dessert.

Forest Milk

So here’s the theory: happy cows produce better milk. And from this concept comes Japanese-based dairy company, Forest Milk. Rather than locking their cows down, Forest Milk’s lot are free to roam the woods 365 days a year. The freer, happier cows then produce tastier, fattier milk. At the same, they maintain the forest by noshing on unwanted grass and weeds. The sweet packaging with its simple green trees, charming typeface, and old-school tissue paper cap make for an overall delightful creamy treat. So mOOOve over factory farming, Forest Milk is here.

New York’s Stuffed Artisan Cannolis

Having been raised a proper Italian-American girl in New York, I was taught from a young age how to spot a good cannoli: those tasty desserts made of hollowed fried dough stuffed lovingly with creamy, sweet ricotta and topped with a marvelous dash of powder sugar. Yum. These tiny Southern Italian treats are not the stuff of nouvelle cuisine. Or are they? Enter Stuffed Artisan Cannolis. Read more