WE'RE SUPPORTING

Riikka Sormunen’s paintings are stylised depictions of fantasy worlds. She also paints novelty figurines to immerse in these beautiful environments, where darkness seeps in, lending them unusual and thought-provoking qualities.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

The Danes are renowned for their considered and subtle design. However, in these times of change, they must feel they need something with this selection of a bridge building as the winner of a recent architectural competition in Denmark. The American architect Steven Holl designed this building with a pedestrian bridge that links two sides of the harbour in the distinctly low-rise Copenhagen. Read more

WE'RE WEARING

With the recent financial qualms, a moment of reflection takes over as we begin to wonder how we all became so out of touch with reality. Somehow Luxury lost its way and mistook itself for decadence, joining the Bling-Bling parade and gravitating towards the streets of self-indulgence. Yet, the true essence of Luxury, as the divine Coco Chanel states ‘is not in the richness and ornateness, but in the absence of vulgarity’. Bravo, I say! Read more

WE'RE THINKING

Presented as a tableau of vignettes, the work of UK illustrator Jody Barton is executed in a variety of techniques and mediums, yet manages to run the gamut from delicately bold watercolors, to thoroughly noir black and white ink drawings, to child-like, and endearing, colored pencil scribbles.

WE'RE READING

A Chicken Growing Up! is a great blog on which science illustrator Mieke Roth posts one ink drawing a week of a chicken as it matures. Read more

Andrew Fagan, lead singer of The Mockers, the poppiest New Zealand band of the 80s, came around to my place once when I was an impressionable 10-year old with stars in my eyes and a head full of shiny, shiny melodies. Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

I haven’t been this excited by a band in a long time. Florida’s Black Kids have crept under — and now over — the radar through a demo and some serious internet buzz from NME and Pitchfork. Not only are they ridiculously good, they’ve also offered their four-song demo — Wizard of Ahhh’s — for free on their MySpace page. Sweet.