WE'RE SUPPORTING

Wayne Pate — aka Good Shape Design — is pretty inspirational. He worked his way up from a freelance designer, to having his own label, and starting Good Shape Design, to selling both his own work and the work of others; the most notable being Cody Hudson. He sells prints, homewares and artwork which are beautifully framed and presented.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

As a non-coffee drinker, I’m not going to rant about the coffee. I’ve heard, though, that the coffee is damn good. But I am going to talk about something else: food. Oh. My. God. Sydney’s Single Origin cafe have this awesome meatloaf sandwich and a raft of sourdoughs and prosciutto and roast lamb and chevre and chunky steak pies and yogurt with compote and four-cheese toasties and baked beans and … oh! Don’t forget Karlie’s special homemade lemonade! Karlie is always in the house so you know that it doesn’t come from a can and arrives at your table with that sour tang that reminds you of the annual Royal Easter Show. Everything they serve is created ethically and organically. Add the constant grinding aroma of coffee beans wafting through the air and, well, is there any other place to be? [photo by Daniel Boud]

WE'RE WEARING

Derrick R. Cruz has channeled his talent for creating densely detailed works into the creation of the brand Black Sheep and Prodigal Sons. Fuelled by the New York city art and fashion scene, Cruz’s pieces are timeless but relevant, and beautifully detailed in their imperfections. They combine gold, silver, resin and bronze to create dark but wearable art.

WE'RE THINKING

Pasadena, California artist, Jason Redwood, creates luminous, thickly textured artwork and illustrations that practically leap off the page with their bright colours and three dimensional layering. Read more

WE'RE READING

We got the inside word from Josh Diamond of New York experimental group, Gang Gang Dance, on the music that is moving him right now and he started off by propping the beautiful Ryuichi Sakamoto track, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence: ‘It’s just an amazing piece of music — serene, austere (in a heavy, beautiful way), emotional, a great mix of electronic sounds, patient, and a wonderful melody, with a quality of yearning for a better place. Every time I listen to this song, it puts me in a trance’. Read the rest of Gang Gang Dance’s Secret Playlist.

Rarely is a film politically poignant as well as wonderfully written, acted and shot. The second feature from director Kimberly Peirce of Boys Don’t Cry was inspired by her brother, who joined the army, and was only possible after months of meticulous research. Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Stylistically The Asteroids Galaxy Tour is hard to pin down, except to say that they throw one hell of a party – which may be why those music-loving folks at Apple chose them to help sell what’s being touted as ‘the funnest iPod ever’. Sun-drenched pop melodies collide with Technicolor dreams, anchored by the band’s shared love of the classic soul stylings of Marvin, Stevie and Sly that can be heard in the horns snaking through Around The Bend, as well as the slinky The Sun Ain’t Shining No More [below], the Thomas Gold remix of which we have available for free download in the Music Download section of Lost At E Minor [psst, it's in the third column], along with a stack of other cool tunes. Get those iPods ‘a thumpin’!