WE'RE SUPPORTING

Beautiful, delicate, fragile, a little bit collage, a little bit sketchfull. This is the work of Kelly Smith. Combining several mediums in a collaborative expose between pencil, paint and print to create timeless works of elegant splendour, it is easy to compare Smith’s works to the last snowflake of winter, fleeting but real, avoiding the brash bright mercantile world for the prettier climes of illustrative pleasure. Smith has a twelve-day exhibition on at the 696 Space in Brunswick, Melbourne, opening November 14.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

I interviewed the mysterious Suitman some time ago for the Australian magazine, Riot. Even then it was clear that, with his immaculately pressed suit and crisp white shirts, he was an icon – both stylistically and conceptually. So it’s no surprise to hear about his latest adventure, The New Grand Tour, ‘an episodic art project featuring revolving guest artists with hyphenated cultural and geographical backgrounds. Read more

WE'RE WEARING

Australian designer Mic Eaton has created an innovative line called Material Boy which specializes in over-sized shirts and funky trackpants. Read more

WE'RE THINKING

Winnipeg Illustrator Kenneth Lavalee makes some lovely work. His delicate linework, muted colors and twisted tongue in cheek, drama-esque themes (all blood, obesity and creepy little lump people) are certainly worth a good look.

WE'RE READING

Those old issues of Popular Mechanics that forecasted the wondrous technological developments of tomorrow now seem dated and more representative of the times in which they were published than the times they tried to predict. Read more

Sufjan Stevens creates autistic music for introverts — soft, shy, naive, full of shadows, windows, and insecurities. Yet it all sounds slightly forced, his enigmatic songwriting as comforting as it is unsettling.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

If you ever happen to find yourself riding across the mid-west on horseback with an iPod jangling about in your holster, be sure to let Calexico soundtrack the experience. They’re cleverly fusing a range of genres, mixing some good old country with US indie, a bit of jazz and even, in 2003’s Feast of Wire, some smatterings of electronica. Lead singer Joey Burns gives a healthy amount of cowboy twang and the soaring orchestral background and sweet country guitar licks add a real atmosphere to the music.

Listen to the Calexico song, Convict Pool.