WE'RE SUPPORTING

We thought we’d check in with our favorite HB Jedi, Jenny Mortsell. Is pencil the only medium you feel comfortable working in? ‘It is what I use most now, but I also like doing printmaking, screen-printing and etchings’. Read more

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

Who says the Swedes have got a monopoly on seasonal ice hotels? This one in Kemi, northern Finland, is the world’s largest snow castle, standing seventeen metres high and with walls that are 1,100 metres long. It has restaurants, an art gallery, a hotel and a chapel. In fact, since opening in the early 1990s, it’s been quite a hit for tourists to get married at the snow chapel. Hmmm, now that would be a frosty start to any marriage. Read more

WE'RE WEARING

With her collection of Skinover gloves, Rotterdam-based artist and sculptor Silvia B has taken a somewhat natural approach to the task of keeping hands warm — warts and all.

WE'RE THINKING

Argentinean artist Benito Laren’s illustrations roll through the mind like a restless childhood memory. They remind me of building blocks — solid, inviting and always full of potential.

WE'RE READING

DM Stith recently signed to Asthmatic Kitty, the same label as Sufjan Stevens, and has a new EP out this week titled Curtain Speech, featuring contributions from Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond), Rafter, Sebastian Krueger and the string quartet Osso. Think Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear meets Arthur Russell. We got the rundown from him on his eight favourite songs right now and he kicked off with The Shangri-Las’ Out In The Streets [listen below]: ‘1:22 – 1:43 is a miracle. I’ve never been so obsessed with twenty seconds of high-hat and high school girl shrieks: it’s a raging teenage fantasy that all the composition notebooks in all the lockers of 1965 couldn’t write better. That the singers have managed to preserve their naivety perfectly in this three minute song may be the reason I feel recording pop music is worthwhile’. Read the rest of DM Stith’s Secret Playlist.

In my next life, I want to sing like Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison. Oh, and grow a lush beard, so I can play in their band. Better start cracking.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Where to start with Z-Trip? Shepard Fairey propped him on this site a few weeks back, but let’s face it: the guy is worth a double post. He’s the king of the mash-up, a dance floor master, and the humblest guy you’ll meet. If you haven’t heard of him (unlikely), then go to his website right now and download his free mixes. He deejayed a show for us in 2000, right when his breakout CD, Uneasy Listening, dropped and I was floored. Who has the audacity to mix a Pat Benatar beat with Public Enemy vocals? This guy.