New In - Oct 23
Autumn is in full swing, and our newest batch of recommendations is here. For October, a multi-functional historic building, a nostalgic sporting memoir, and ceramics to honour a landmark that is, unfortunately, no more.
Established in 2006, The Row by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen is a luxury label centred on timeless design and ready-to-wear clothing. It’s the source of our styling inspiration, but we’ve recently been trawling their monthly curated Spotify playlists. It’s been useful for discovering some old classics, and some of these will inevitably seep into our New_Playlist series.
If you’re in North-West London (Ladbroke Grove, specifically), grab a coffee and a sweet treat from Klear Labs. Their food is gluten-free and organic, and they specialise in sourcing ingredients that are good for the gut. On our thoroughly enjoyable half marathon training, it’s becoming a habit to stop off on route, although we're not complaining about it.
It seems that any TEKLA or Birkenstock collaboration makes the cut for us. We’ve previously recommended the TEKLA / Jacquemus and Jil Sander x BIRKENSTOCK collections. Now, the two have joined forces to create a limited range of footwear and sleepwear. Like all crossovers, they can easily design unisex, timeless, classic designs that feel modern.
We re-read Leanne Shapton’s memoir this month. It was one of the inspirations behind our New Angles series due to Shapton’s varied career, from swimming through childhood to trialling for the Canadian Olympic team to writing and drawing as an adult. The book explores how she still gravitates towards water even to this day, the crossover between an act that was once a form of discipline and the transition to being now purely recreational. Alongside how relentless training has been instilled/impacted her life post-competing.
We know. We're hooked, just like you. Who isn’t watching the new Beckham documentary on Netflix? It’s an insight I don’t think many of us have seen before, and it has opened the door for many non-football fans. Not only have you got football nostalgia, but you’ve also got 90s and 00s style inspiration and some Spice Girls cameos.
After our recent trip to Edinburgh, our Snowpeak grinder purchase, and our new-found obsession with coffee, we’ve been drinking Obadiah’s Los Nubarrones, and are already eyeing up their other offerings. Based in Scotland, they’re stocked in their home city, the wider UK, and abroad – Singapore and Australia, to name a few. Honouring South American and African taste, their beans are produced in Argentina, Kenya, Brazil, and more.
Shiva Baby is a sharp, anxiety-soaked comedy that traps its protagonist, a college student named Danielle (played by Rachel Sennott), in a millennial’s nightmare: a shiva where her overbearing family, ex-girlfriend, sugar daddy, and his wife collide. Canadian screenwriter and director Emma Seligman makes her long-form debut, and it was named on AnOther’s The Best Independent and Arthouse Films, The Guardian’s 50 Best Films in the UK and i-D’s 30 of the year's best movies and shows, all in 2021. It shines a light on pressures in early adulthood, grappling with tradition, societal expectations, family gatherings, and thus, identity in a relatable pressure cooker. Channel 4 to view in the UK.
In response to the unprecedented cutting down of the Sycamore Gap Tree on Hadrian’s Wall, Northumberland-based ceramicist Becky Mackenzie has produced a range of white porcelain beakers and bowls inspired by and to celebrate what was a much-loved landmark with blue illustrated details. As an independent maker, order soon to allow Becky time to get orders out before Christmas.
We’re reminiscing about a recent trip to Salts Mill, Saltaire, and can’t stop thinking about the architecture and the bookshop, which spans two floors. The UNESCO World Heritage Site and ex-cloth production mill (1853 - 1986), the space now is home to galleries, dining and shopping from antiques, furniture and design. In their own words, after its closure as a working mill, it was developed into a space where ‘culture and commerce could thrive together.’
Photographer Simon Phipps was born in Leeds, is based in London, and graduated from the Royal College of Art. He specialises in post-war Brutalist architecture, and we’ve become big admirers of his work. He has captured some of our northern, local (more rural) spots, such as Sunderland Civic Centre and Apollo Pavillion. We’ve added a few books, including Brutal North, to our festive wishlist.
