The Bone Room: an ossified store in Berkeley

WE'RE SUPPORTING

Brooklyn-based illustrator — and Lost At E Minor contributor — Ilana Kohn creates vibrantly coloured works which practically glow in their playfulness. A graduate of Pratt Institute, Kohn’s regular clients include the New York Times, The Deal, Utne Reader, and The Advocate. Read more

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

Do the Norwegians know something we don’t? On a remote island near the North Pole they’re going to build a seed vault that is able to survive future cataclysmic events such as asteroid strikes, nuclear war or climate change. Read more

WE'RE WEARING

It’s official, I’m back into jewellery after detoxing from the 2001 chandelier earring craze. Aurélie Bidermann used to work at Sotheby’s New York in their Impressionist and Contemporary Art department but has been slowly raising though the ranks as one of the most innovative jewellery designers around today. Her website doesn’t showcase her fantastic Spring 09 pieces. Check out the accessory report on style.com for a good look at some of her new work.

WE'RE THINKING

I tossed and turned through three chapters of an epic Russian novel last night. Or so it felt as a constant stream of characters made their way past the stringent casting couch and into the deepest reaches of my dreams. Read more

WE'RE READING

I’ve been reading Julia Wertz’s web comic, The Fart Party, which is simply a first person account of her every day life. The artwork is pretty rudimentary, but that works to the comic’s advantage, making it rather accessible and earnest seeming. Updated every few days, it’s not hard to keep up, and you never have to wait long to get your next fix.

There was a time, many moons ago, when I would only listen to bands off New Zealand’s Flying Nun label. Yup, I would strap myself into a comfy chair, put my headphones on and, armed with a chunk of chocolate coated Peanut Slab and a can of L&P, soak up album after album of wonderfully self-indulgent low-fi melancholy. Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Castevet are a promising new experimental black metal band out of New York. They have a much more complex and technical approach than other bands of this ilk, revealing post-hardcore and death metal influences as evidenced by guitarist Andrew Hock’s work in deathgrind outfit Biolich and Boston jazz/death/doom band Ehnahre.