WE'RE SUPPORTING

Norway-based American illustrator Taylor White has been posting pages from her sketchbook on her blog for a couple of years now, documenting her artistic development. Her linework is among the best I’ve ever seen. Read more

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

Disregard the buzz that surrounds those other cupcake shops in New York City. Cheeks Bakery in Williamsburg houses the best cupcakes that I’ve eaten. The clean and understated decor extends to the menu, where being fancy doesn’t rule on the cupcake shelves. Cheeks offers, simply, vanilla and chocolate cupcakes with either vanilla or chocolate cream. But if you do want more, Cheeks has that as well, a limited selection of pies and cakes.

WE'RE WEARING

These scarves designed by Sarah Swash and her boyfriend Toshio Yamanaka always feature their whippet and play on a sense of urban sophistication inspired by the surrounds of their East London studio. Definitely a justified indulgence.

WE'RE THINKING

Preferring to focus on the content of her pictures rather than the style is a refreshingly honest approach to design. It’s worked out brilliantly for Swedish illustrator Alexandra Falagaras, whose works are easy to spot with their sharp graphic style. My favourite piece of hers is a contribution to The Book of Dreams, a project where kids’ dreams are collected then illustrated by artists.

WE'RE READING

Bunnylicious transcends cuteness and takes bunny worship to a another level. Squirrels are so passe. Read more

The Australian film collective behind the sci-fi spoof, The Time That Time Forgot, perfectly capture the look and feel of awkward, low-budget rip-offs from the ’70s — the psychedelic lighting, bad dubbing, and amazing hair. One almost wishes Italian Spiderman was for real. [more about Italian Spiderman]

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Anyone who thinks black metal is too rigid and narrow a genre to have room for innovation would do well to check out Lifelover, a Swedish band that defies every convention of black metal while still remaining miraculously kvlt. The sextet wafts between languid, hallucinatory grooves that channel Iggy Pop and latter-day Cure to unhinged freak-outs that sound as if they’re emanating from the deepest, coldest forests of Norway.