WE'RE SUPPORTING

William Cotton’s almost photorealistic landscapes composed of gingerbread houses, candy canes, and clouds of whipped cream and cotton candy are often populated by retro-looking nudes, commenting on the fetishization of the female form. His most compelling pieces, however, have no figures at all, such as FOG, which depicts a gingerbread house veiled by a haunting, almost terrifying mist.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

71 is the kind of place which is small enough to miss, but once you see it, you realize everyone somehow knows about it. It’s set three steps down from the sidewalk level, and it’s always packed, except for week late nights and mid-mornings. Even though their service is not the friendliest — like any other spot in New York that’s too cool for school — 71 has a noticeably loyal clientele. Lots of writers hang out with their computers, while photographers check out the scene, and artists meet up with their reps. Besides hot and cold drinks, including their own coffee, they also offer a great selection of pastries, sandwiches and my friend Nicolas’ favorite chicken soup ever.

WE'RE WEARING

New York-based illustrator and sometime Lost At E Minor contributor, Fernanda Cohen, has just finished a line of four tees for The Gap as part of the (RED) campaign. The t shirts will be coming out this fall. Read more

WE'RE THINKING

Scott Teplin’s candy-colored paintings and incredibly detailed line drawings of wrecked vehicles as well as his Sims-like images of surreal, fantastical urban structures express both malaise and wonderment at the spaces we have created for ourselves in modern life. Read more

WE'RE READING

This one-stop shop for all things eco-friendly is proof that protecting the environment is becoming a popular pastime. Almost every material category that comprises our society, from design to celebrity to transport, is looked at through a green lens. They’re ranked number twenty-two on Technorati’s list of 75,000,000 blogs, and even Daryl Hannah is singing their praises. Why? Its writers, they claim, ‘have the ability to take topics that most of us snoozed our way through in school, and make them the addictive juicy, green bits that they are’.

Back in the day, when I was a skinny teenager on the great pedestal of life, I had a real obsession for the understated, low-fi, deliciously melodic and somewhat blurry sounds of the New Zealand Flying Nun bands. I would pool my meagre savings and canvas the local record shops, scouring the racks for the latest cassettes from The Bats, The Chills, The Clean, and, later, The Straitjacket Fits. Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Skeletonbreath pound out some pretty raging post-punk anthems with a violin taking the lead rather than a vocalist. The trio can get surprisingly loud, despite frontman Robert Pycior’s classically trained virtuosity.