Stop Everything and Discover the World of 3D Cat Portraiture

I‘m not even a cat person and I just watched a 3m 45 second presentation on the mesmerising art form of three-dimensional felt kitty portraits. Mastered by a Japanese artist calling themselves Wakuneco (which actually means “frame cat”), the custom-order service has found a niche market in helping cat-owners cope with the loss of a beloved feline. Take a look…

How to Outdo Every Halloween Costume at the Party

You don’t want to be that person at the costume party. You know, the one who’s scrawled some whiskers across their cheek to be a last minute black cat, or just turned up with a sheet over their head and declared it a costume. But we also aren’t ones for perusing overpriced, polyester outfits in a crowded…

Invasion of the Kitschy Carpets

Don’t worry, you’re not tripping. Give your eyes another rub, and you’ll realise you’re just being momentarily hypnotised by the felted creations of Makoto Egashira, the Japanese artist with a Midas touch. Only, swap the gold for your granny’s gaudy carpeting. From pineapples, to rocking chairs, teacups, even entire bathrooms and groups of people — nothing…

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

1. Kitty Couches Crochet Patterns Enough said. Found here. 2. Giant extinct sea turtle called an Archelon A genus of extinct sea turtles, the largest genus of sea turtles that has ever been documented, and the second-heaviest turtles documented behind Stupendemys. Archelon lived at a time when a shallow sea covered most of central North America. Most of the known remains have…

We Found Dali’s Long Lost Surrealist Soulmate

The truth is, surrealist art was a man’s world. Its founder, André Breton was an unrepentant misogynist who believed women could not hold a central position in art. Dali too, could be patronising of his fellow female surrealists. When asked about our favourite bohemian queen of Paris, Leonor Fini, he said of her work, “Better than most,…

So the Real Hobbits Vacation in Sweden

In a hole in the ground, there lived a seriously pampered Swedish Hobbit. He had a private sauna, and a nearby manor retreat; a charming staff to make him a charcoal-fired pancakes and take him on moose safaris. For the right price, you too live like a glamping Hobbit. Welcome, friends, to the Kolarbyn eco-lodges: the…

Vintage Muse du Jour: The Greatest Diva of them All

It’s 1970, and for once, the world’s greatest soprano is silent. Interviewer David Frost has just asked her, “Who really is Maria Callas?,” la Divina takes a moment to answer. “There are actually two people in me,” she says, “There is ‘Maria’ and there is the ‘Callas’ that I have to live up to.” But which one must…

How an Untrained Architect Made Oklahoma the Capital of Kitsch

Meet the latest maverick of the architecture world to steal our hearts, Bruce Goff. Lesser known amongst design laity, but just as groundbreaking as his fellow Midwesterner and mentor, Frank Lloyd Wright, Goff’s work was quite simply jaw-dropping. Case in point? The domed, technicolour house above. It might look like a groovy LA pad from the 1970s,…

Secrets of Belleville

Paris: The Birthplace of Communism explained Belleville is a neighbourhood in the East of Paris that has a vibrant multicultural community. It’s French, it’s Chinese, it’s Vietnamese, it’s Moroccan, Tunisian, it’s Jewish, it’s Muslim, it’s Christian, it’s even part hipster too. And they all co-exist here peacefully. On the main boulevard, you’ll find a hodgepodge…

Discover a Secret Fashion Time Capsule in Paris

When I think of Paris fashion week, I like to think of the historic couture houses and their army of skilled artisans furiously tailoring together glorious silks and handmade fabrics in the final hours before the show. I like to picture long-standing ateliers in the garment district; life-sized dollhouses; each floor with its own particular…