WE'RE SUPPORTING

Maria Kazvan is 21-years-old portraiture photographer based in Lviv, Ukraine. She started shooting just two years ago, inspired by good music, photography (especially fashion photography of 90s), classic literature and art.

WE'RE THINKING

Artist Julia Tepasse lives in Hamburg, Germany, and studies graphic-design at Kunstschule ALSTERDAMM. She is interested in abstract, post-modern and minimalist art, with a particular interest in street art. She is also the founder of the A is for ART blog. Read more

In Japan, when one makes squeezing gestures with both hands at chest level, one is gesturing that one wants candy — soft, round, bouncy candy. At least, that’s what this commercial would have us believe.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

On the roof of Bangkok’s Banyan Tree Hotel is a dining experience like no other. The Vertigo Bar sits sixty one floors up, and serves delicious gourmet meals and cocktails. These are expensive by Thai standards, but cheap enough for shoestring travellers to indulge in now and then (a cocktail costs around AUD$12). I’ve spent hour after hour in the bar, drinking and smoking and taking in the amazing view. Most nights at Vertigo end the same, with fast-moving storm clouds rolling in without fail at about eleven pm. While wait staff scurry to move tables, and drunken diners navigate the steep stairs down to the safety of the hotel, the more hardy can sit and watch the clouds race closer and closer towards the building, soaking in both the atmosphere and the rainwater until the lightning gets too close for comfort.

WE'RE READING

Google recently demonstrated their ability to predict flu outbreaks across America weeks in advance of the outbreaks themselves. It would seem that they are more than just a pretty search engine. And as if that wasn’t enough, they’ve now teamed up with Life Magazine, what was the cornerstone of photojournalism for the Twentieth Century, to digitize 95 per cent of their image bank that never saw the light of day. Now millions of photos stretching from the 1750s to the present day are available on Google Images at the click of a button. Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

My roommate Adam and I have been playing Mark McGuire’s album, Pocket Full of Rain, all summer and some other tapes our other roommate has showed us that he did. I really like everything this guy has done. I sit and watch him play guitar on YouTube when I’m bored.

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WE'RE WEARING

It’s official, I’m back into jewellery after detoxing from the 2001 chandelier earring craze. Aurélie Bidermann used to work at Sotheby’s New York in their Impressionist and Contemporary Art department but has been slowly raising though the ranks as one of the most innovative jewellery designers around today. Her website doesn’t showcase her fantastic Spring 09 pieces. Check out the accessory report on style.com for a good look at some of her new work.