WE'RE SUPPORTING

Italian illustrator and designer Massimiliano creates vivid, dynamic and richly textured work. We caught up with him recently and asked him what had been keeping him busy of late. Read more

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

There’s a shop on Smith Street in Melbourne where all young designers go to live. In.cube8r supports all things craft and handmade in Melbourne, running like a long-term market, with the gallery divided into different areas that the artists lease for a tiny cost. There are more than 75 of Melbourne’s top crafters on show and the gallery is always looking for new designers.

WE'RE WEARING

These vegan designer bags from Matt & Nat are made out of anywhere between 15 and 55 recycled plastic bottles. It also uses no leather, which is a big plus given that according to the UN, raising cattle generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined.

WE'RE THINKING

Most people think of the countryside and rural life as peaceful to the point of being profoundly boring. Kate Kirkwood’s photographs captures a less idyllic beauty where life and death intersect in a controlled chaos that is agriculture. Each of Kirkwood’s images have a mythic quality to them — cows and sheep blur past her lens like nymphs or lurk on the horizon like demons and gods. 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.

Damn, ten years of playing guitar in loud rock bands, and not once did we have a slamming moshpit like this. Banging heads is so, so fun.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Describing their sound as ‘nihilist suicide pop’, Rome-based quartet Spiritual Front draws immediate comparisons to Nick Cave, but their approach to dark themes have a hint of irreverence — they inject unexpected doo-wop flares and new wave bombast to their atmospheric neofolk. Their latest album, Armageddon Gigalo, is a beautiful and catchy masterpiece for fans of Death In June, Sol Invictus, and even latter-day Duran Duran.