She Played the World’s Most Unappreciated Music, but looked Fabulous Doing it

First things first: it’s not like we hate the accordion. We like it on the occasional metro platform, and we love to hear it in a distant summer breeze by the Seine. Few things are as effective at stirring up good ‘ole Parisian nostalgia, even after all these years. It’s just, well, a lot. It…

The Curious Career of Living as a Real-Life Garden Gnome

If you were out of a job in 19th century England and seeking new employment, there was a chance you might find a peculiar advertisement in the newspaper that read something like: “WANTED! Ornamental garden hermit“. The profession would essentially require you to become a human ornamental folly on the grounds of a wealthy family…

So This Is Where Johnny Depp Does His Shopping

If any of Johnny Depp’s characters went clothes shopping, whether it be the sea-faring Jack Sparrow, the cravat-wearing Mad Hatter, the 1930s bank-robbing John Dillinger, or Roux and his band of river gypsies from Chocolat, this would probably be the place you’d find them digging through the rails. And seeing as Johnny Depp’s personal style looks…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CCCLII)

1. Eiffel Tower Spotting on its 130th Birthday As the iron lady turns 130 this week, here is a photography project by Jasper White looking at intimate and unique views of the Eiffel Tower from the homes of Parisian residents. He has a book coming out on the project soon. 2. When the Paris Metro…

The Last Eccentrics of the English Estate

Step inside Three of England’s most Unconventional Grand Homes… Time Capsule of a Taxidermy Hoarder They call Calke Abbey the “un-stately” home– rooms filled with animal heads kept in dusty glass cases, fading furnishings, cobwebs and walls of peeling paintwork. In lieu of restoring the house to its former glory, the English National Trust chose to leave…

René Magritte, Accidental Hipster?

Creative inspiration lives on a carrousel. Meaning, bygone trends and inventions always rear their heads at another point in history, finding relevancy for a new generation — and, yes, usually the generation in question is millennials, who’ve successfully resurrected a love for handlebar moustaches, Bukowski and bespoke taxidermy. Today, we’re making a case for the…

The Vault

A Secret Archive in New York City that Saved Tiffany Lamps from Extinction

Whose job is it to safeguard one of the most hated designs in decorative history? In the case of the Tiffany lamp, it fell to a New York City orthodontist and immigrant from Austria who happened to be furniture shopping in Greenwich Village in 1935 when his wife spotted a “strange, old-fashioned lamp”. Dr. Egon Neustadt and…

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13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CCCL)

1. Anyone like this idea of Notre Dame’s roof as a greenhouse? As you might have heard, France announced an international competition to be held to find a replacement for the Notre Dame spire destroyed in the cathedral fire. Some of the designs making the rounds on the internet so far have been er, interesting,…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CCCLI)

1. Post Modern cakes by a Fashion designer turned Baker Discover the delicious world of Ard Bakery found via Present & Correct. 2. This Home built around a Boulder Desert Modernist AlbertFreyintentionally designed Frey House II around a large boulder to honor + incorporate the natural environment. The house is open for series of tours…

Paris is Removing its Iconic Kiosks. So What Will Become of Them?

I woke up one morning in Paris, headed to the boulangerie, when I noticed a strange new structure had been installed on the sidewalk overnight. It took me a moment to figure out what it was. One of those self-cleaning public toilets? A construction crew’s cabin for yet another roadwork about to begin? And then…