WE'RE SUPPORTING

I’d been trying to figure out who the illustrator was who had done a few of the beautiful pieces for this year’s Kiehl’s holiday display for a while until I was serrendipitously pointed toward a certain rep’s website to check out some of their illustrators and I discovered it was Justin Gabbard. Score! Since finally coming upon Gabbard’s site, I’ve been back more than a few times to ogle his colorful, chiseled paintings, as well as his fantastic assortment of drawings and experiments. What I find most wonderful is the way in which Gabbard appears to continually tweak his techniques, painting one time, trying it digitally the next, throwing in a little of this and a little of that from one project to the next. Next time I’m out and about in the city and manage to happily stumble across Gabbard’s work, I won’t have the least bit of trouble placing it. Read more

WE'RE THINKING

I love the bold colours and childlike themes in the illustrations of Atlanta, Georgia-based artist, Jessica Gonacha. It’s like Spring time all year round. Read more

The Australian film collective behind the sci-fi spoof, The Time That Time Forgot, perfectly capture the look and feel of awkward, low-budget rip-offs from the ’70s — the psychedelic lighting, bad dubbing, and amazing hair. One almost wishes Italian Spiderman was for real. [more about Italian Spiderman]

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

With its countless abandoned buildings and neglected public space, Baltimore is the perfect city for wheat-paste artists. Gaia has set up shop here, and now pieces by Nanook have been popping up around town. Read more

WE'RE READING

As his nation engages in a perpetual military stand-off with South Korea, Kim Jong-Il always takes time out to look at stuff. Just to make sure. Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Anyone who thinks black metal is too rigid and narrow a genre to have room for innovation would do well to check out Lifelover, a Swedish band that defies every convention of black metal while still remaining miraculously kvlt. The sextet wafts between languid, hallucinatory grooves that channel Iggy Pop and latter-day Cure to unhinged freak-outs that sound as if they’re emanating from the deepest, coldest forests of Norway.

WE'RE WEARING

Quiksilver, the surfing apparel company, has just released what is being considered the world’s first eco-friendly watch. Made of sustainable ebony wood and running on automatic movement instead of batteries, this limited-edition watch is green down to the shipping of the raw materials. Every raw material used in making this watch is recyclable (the aluminum, the steel, and the mineral crystal are all 100% recyclable), and it also includes solvent free links and is shipped by sea rather than by air. The Ray has a five-year warranty, meaning that it has a longer life than normal watches.