If you’d like to expand your social network, not in front of your computer but over a delicious meal, then try Colunching. After huge success in New York and Paris, the trend is now expanding to Australia. It’s totally free to join and you can become an organiser, choosing your favourite restaurant or just participate at the lunches, dinners, or brunches already planned. Bon appetit.

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The write-up below this breathtaking (and we mean breathtaking) video says it all: ‘I have been filming the Skyliners on an incredible exploration into the world of free flight. Tancrède, Julien, Seb and Antoine are pioneers in highlining: a vertiginous combination of climbing, slackline and tightrope walking. We rigged highlines on the skyscrapers of Paris, and finally came to the spectacular cliffs and fjords of Norway’. Strap yourself in for the ride of your life.

The HEY! art show in Paris has these creepy superhero embryos by Alexandre Nicolas on display. Some of them are amusing with their iconic costumes, while others, like the Invisible Man, are haunting and beautiful.

An email will never replace the pleasure of sending a postcard. Enjoy this series of funny postcards from French illustrator, Genevieve Gauckler. Her works are bright, fun and hectic, combining symmetrical designs with soft-edged computer generated images laid against photographed backgrounds. From Paris with Love.

The idea of taking a product that is no longer in use and turning it into some sort of art is not new. We’ve seen floppy disks used for paintings, vintage textiles becoming soft toy art, among other projects. Here, two French artists — Elise Morin and architect Clémence Eliard — used 65,000 old CDs, hand-sewed them together, then laid them out on inflatable mounds to create a sea of discs. The art exhibit is currently on show in Paris.

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We’re digging this Before and After jogging series by photographer Sacha Goldberger who created an outside studio at a park in Paris called Bois de Boulogne and asked random joggers if they would sprint, pose for a photo, then come back to his professional studio a week alter for a follow-up shot: ‘I wanted to show the difference between our natural and brute side versus how we represent ourselves to society. The difference was very surprising’, he says.

Cosplay never ceases to fascinate me, so I find this video by cosplay enthusiast and cinematographer Angel James de Ocampo (filmed at Japan Expo 2011 in Paris) to be pretty entertaining.

Admittedly, I can’t recognize half the characters, and the Simple Plan song is pretty lame, but I’m glad it celebrates rather than mocks the subculture.

We love Aesop. We love their aesthetic (the stores are literally out of this world), their products, and their name. So we’re buzzed to be able to tell you that they’re seeking applicants to join their retail network. Current vacancy locations include (but are not limited to) Sydney, New York, London and Paris. So if you’re in the market for a new challenge and you have a demonstrated ability to engage and respond to people, a positive attitude, and willingness to understand the world of Aesop, then this could be the new career for you. Oh, and you’ll have clearer skin than all your friends. Bonus!

Like all good Parisians, Poilâne boulangerie and patisserie is passionate about bread – and really stellar bread at that. With two locations in Paris and one in London, this family owned boutique bakery is all about combining old school and contemporary methods, while using the best possible ingredients to turn out handsome breads, tasty tarts and tartines, flaky pastries, and more.

But among all these carbohydrate-filled dreams, their edible forks and spoons are a true standout. Their curry-flavored cracker fork is perfect for dipping into some mint-speckled Indian yogurt and other savory canapés. And forsweets, just use their shortbread spoon to dive into any number of tempting desserts. Leave it to the Parisians to turn even typically inedible objects into tasty, flaky, butter ones.

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Foodies connecting with other foodies. That’s a concept we love here at The Urban Grocer. And that’s why we’re especially thrilled to throw a spotlight on Super-Marmite, a ‘social marketplace for homemade meals’ that has caught fire in Paris, a foodie nirvana if ever there was one.

Here’s how it works: Next time you whip up a tasty meal at home, make a few extra servings then log on to Super-Marmite to sell your genius creations to hungry folks in your neighborhood. Sick of your usual take-out? Check out Super-Marmite to see what’s cooking down the street.

The brainchild of a French techie named Olivier Desmoulin, Super-Marmite is meant to ‘praise the gastronomic richness and eclectism produced daily by individuals’ while offering ‘an alternative choice to the classic take-away businesses’. Um, our thoughts exactly.

So far, the Super-Marmite phenomenon has only really taken off in Paris, where it was launched in May last year, but this inspiring idea is bound to take root overseas. So spread the word to all of your neighborhood peeps — then log on, and get cooking.

Who doesn’t know them? The cracks in the roads that make driving and walking way less comfortable? Juliana Santacruz Herrera has had the funny idea to turn these unwelcome side effects of ‘nature at play’ into something more pleasant by filling the gaps with bright and colorful strands of yarn. Juliana currently fills potholes in Paris. Although her work might not be for eternity, it surely inspires some Parisian passers by to smile.

Lina Scheynius was born 1981 in Vänersborg in Sweden and grew up in Trollhättan. She moved away from home at age 16 and currently lives between London and Paris. She works with natural light and a small automatic camera that allows her to move around a lot.

They live on planet C and B, two kooky and creative 20 year-old twin sisters, who are taking the human world by storm with their fierce brand of sunglasses. Coco and Breezy create studded and bullet-holed over-sized signature shields, but a recent trip to Paris inspired a wearable art, glow in the dark accessory line, and most recently, they rolled out a children’s collection. These kids are alright. And wear their sunglasses at night.

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I love the new work from Antoine Corbineau, a French illustrator now based in Paris, having spent several years in both London and New York — where he notably designed The Electric Company’s new identity at WeArePlus.

Khuong Nguyen is an editorial and commercial photographer and designer based in Paris. Some of his clients include Wallpaper, Christian Louboutin and Virgin Radio. This work is from his Tronified series for Amusement Magazine.

Created by Paris-based architects, Zoevox, for BNP Paribas, this space has been designed in ten zones that dispel the traditional banking set-up where the client and teller are separated by deep counters and screens. With a honeycomb ceiling, 25 square-metre living wall, coffee bar and exhibition area dedicated to kids, you’d happily cop a long queue from a bank like this!

We’ve all seen it happen at museums and may even be guilty of it ourselves. But posing awkwardly with artwork is a crime, and punishment has come in the form of a hilarious blog called Posing At The Louvre: with image upon image of people trying desperately to take a creative photos, instead of enjoying the creative artwork that surrounds them.
Send your photo to site or look and see if they already have you listed. I wouldn’t be surprised if the creators of the blog were really the security guards at The Louvre, who you know must laugh constantly at people trying to mimic the poses of statues.

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For Delphine Diallo, photography is a revolution and a renegade reality. Launching a new collection entitled Great Visions, Diallo attacks the conflicting visions of twentieth century Paris in the late 1970s, confronting the world of her childhood crucial to her formation as both a woman and an artist.

Raw and reflective of the ethos portrayed throughout her work, the collection embodies Diallo herself, penetrating through the lens into the inner-workings of a complex and inspirational artist.

Baudouin’s most improbable dreams saw him as a bassist in a New York jazz band around 1970. However, born in France in 1977 and unable to carry off an afro hairstyle, he decided to become a photographer.

He studied the work of his mentors, immersing himself in their universe and techniques, his bedroom walls lined with compositions by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Martin Parr’s color photography and witty images by Elliott Erwitt. Baudouin honed his style; on returning to Paris, he began specializing in color portraits. This work is from his series, I Am A Parisian Lady.

Olivier Valsecchi is a photographer living and working in Paris. His series, Dust, is a beautiful and touching collection of nudes in movement.