13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 698)

1. Painter of bugs, Jan van Kessel the Elder Found on Gods and Foolish Grandeur. 2. Someone’s 94-year-old grandmother has kept a list of every book she ever read since she was 14 years old An archive of one person’s mind over nearly a century. Find more pages from the list on this amazing Twitter…

20 People Not Giving a Damn About the Red Carpet at Cannes

My favourite kind of people are one the ones who don’t give a damn. So while the rest of the media fusses over the red carpet posers at the Cannes film festival, getting their seasonal fix of celebrity circusry, let’s take a look back at the ones who were just in it for the booze, the beach, and the…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 697)

1. Not one, but two Victorian maritime forts going up for auction next month To be auctioned at Savills on 18 June, they have been under the same ownership for the last 12 years and were restored by businessman Mike Clare as unusual boutique stays. Lot 499, No Man’s Fort, between the Isle of Wight…

Hayfever Got you Down? Blame it on Botanical Sexism

If you’ve ever found yourself sneezing your way through spring or breaking out in hives after hugging a tree, you might be the victim of botanical sexism. Yes, you heard that right. ‘Botanical sexism’ refers to the practice of preferentially planting cloned male plants in urban areas to avoid the litter of fruits and flowers.…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 696)

1. A workshop in NYC where you can make your own matchbox shadowboxes Book your workshop with Behind the Matches. 2. Mysterious scrapbooks full of artist obituaries found in the met archives The two scrapbooks held thousands of obituaries of painters, sculptors, and photographers of the early twentieth century. Organized in chronological order by publication…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 695)

1. Paris traffic jams Found from a series on Live Journal. 2. Night at the Museum in Paris Airbnb has launched its latest competition for the Olympics at the Musée d’Orsay. A perfect opportunity for Thomas Crown, surely. Find out more on Airbnb. 3. Aphrodite, Stuck in the mud Found on Arkeonews and ART news.…

The Vault

Exotic Dancing on the Colonial Bandwagon

When I first saw a black and white photograph of Ruth St. Denis, I was instantly seduced by her, just as many audiences of the early 20th century were too. Who was this female chameleon from another era dressed as an Egyptian Goddess, a Hindu deity, a gypsy princess, a geisha or even as an Indian peacock? Ruth St. Denis in the…

Pssst! You've stumbled across content that is exclusive to Nessy's Keyholders.

There’s a new way to access the really special stuff from Messy Nessy Chic …

Hidden beneath the surface layers of the internet, there’s a place where we keep our most secret addresses, untapped archives, creator’s inspiration, collector’s guides, explorer’s manuals, obscure research and much more… And it’s made for our keyholders only!

Apply now to unlock the Vault

Keyholder Login

The Art of the 1960s Paris Riots

Over half a century ago, change was brewing in Paris. Right outside my window in the Latin Quarter, from where I write this post to you, violent street battles were turning the city upside down and bringing the country to a standstill. They joke about how the French love to protest and go on strike as if it were…

Never thought of it like that: Versailles, a Giant Nightmarish Hotel

The Palace of Versailles, famously opulent and vast, is often celebrated for its architectural grandeur and the lavish ceremonies that took place within its walls. But at its core, it was essentially a giant overcrowded hotel of horrors for the entire French nobility, who were given their own room and key that symbolised both privilege…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 694)

1. This Parisian illustrator Lovely work by Yukiko Noritake. 2. Who Ate Where: The Restaurants (and clientele) that defined New York I just finished watching Ryan Murphy’s Feud: Capote vs The Swans and found this compendium of NYC’s social history told through its restaurants, quite interesting: It’s only in New York that we have the…