The strangest things often resonate with me for the most unusual reasons. For example, I'm pretty bad at math, save for my Steven Hawking-level brilliance when it comes to anything geometry-based.
Maybe it has something to do with my very visual leanings, or maybe it's because the geometry sessions were the only math classes I can remember paying full attention to the teacher.
At any rate, my singular, geometric leanings have influenced my life to the extent that linear shapes, clean edges and spartan spaces figure greatly in my everyday.
Hence why I probably jumped up most excitedly this morning when I found these planters on Score + Solder's website.
Representing the best of simple form and function, each planter - and those wonderfully sharp terrariums - brings a teeny bit of mathematical order in its lead-free edges and glass panels.
I quite like them, especially that hanging version, which would be perfect for placing at the end of a long, industrial type chain in my living room...
NB Images Courtesy Score + Solder
I'd like to think that the ultimate servant of the good Lord, the Pope, is a man who lives a supremely austere life. You know, very ascetic like that saint from Assisi, surviving on shrubs and communing with a higher power in the wilderness whilst surrounded by fawns and sheep.
But of course, if you've ever googled 'baldacchino' or 'St. Peter's Basilica' you'd quickly realize that the Papacy has been everything but ascetic. Which brings us to the rather fitting question of the moment:
What kind of shoes will the newly installed Pope wear this Easter, and what colour will it be?
According to the Vatican's favourite cobbler, Adriano Stefanelli, it would seem that where past Pontiffs preferred blood red, Prada-like slippers (Pope Benedict's choice) or basic brown (as with Pope John Paul II), the most recently elected Pope Francis may try to emulate his namesake saint by resoling his current pair of shoes, perhaps, "as a gesture of humility..."
In the event that he changes his mind and decides to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors via a fresh pair of indulgent kicks for Sunday's High Mass, I'd suggest evening slippers in an understated, all purpose black leather with a single, oversized tassel on the vamp.
But what say you?
NB Images Courtesy Nowness
Does it matter that these bags are intended for the well-heeled man? I don't think so; in fact I can see many ways to incorporate a little bit of the Danish brand, Mismo, into my everyday life.
Take the brown dopp-kit above. With the right outfit and accessories like my basic black shades and stainless-steel sports watch it could do great service as a simple clutch purse.
And those totes don't need much adornment to work on a daily basis. Although it never hurts to wind a proper wool knit scarf around the straps of any bag, no?
See more minimalist Mismo pieces here...
NB Images Courtesy Mismo
Hanging Ten off the swell of an imposing wave is not my idea of a fun time, but as a beach-loving islander, I get what the Brazilian designer Oskar Metsavaht was going for with Osklen's spring 2013 collection.
The pared-down set struck the right tone between what I imagine is Osklen's take on big city chic - sharp lines on clean separates - and surfside boldness, as represented by those pops of sunny brights.
It's not the aesthetic one would expect, but given the rise of the surfing culture seen in places like Manhattan and evidenced by the launch of many a city surf brand (one of my faves is Saturday Surf NYC), I'd say that Metsavaht is definitely onto something.
GIve me that red ensemble or the somber cape and I can show you at least ten ways to wear them around town - sans a waxed board.
Better yet is the fact that one can finally purchase Osklen online since the label sent word of their launch on Shopbop. The red number isn't on sale for some reason, but the columnar, black-on-white dress, above is a pretty good stand-in for that understated yet beachy look that'll be perfect once the weather begins to cooperate with the concept of surf-ready wear for the city...
NB Images Courtesy Osklen
Like most West Indian literature students, I first encountered Chinua Achebe's writings through Things Fall Apart. As a fourth or fifth form student who was more than a little familiar with all the 'classics' one must read in preparation for Cambridge Examinations, Achebe's first book was a welcome change of pace from the world of Thackeray, Austen, Elliot and Dickens.
Beyond the fact that it was refreshing to read about an Africa written by an African, Achebe's lyrical and oratory approach to writing made for tales that were extremely rich and endearing; how could you not feel for Okonkwo and Ikemefuna when the former is commanded to kill the latter by the village's oracle?
Once you read the rest of the tale in Things Fall Apart, Achebe's style lured you to seek out his other works like Girls at War and one of my personal favourites, Chike and the River - a children's book I plan on reading to my own son.
So of course, the news of his death comes like an unexpected blow to all who loved his works; the New York Times rightfully calls Achebe a 'literary titan' whose novels and "poignant short stories... [made him one of] the continents towering men of letters." I daresay the Nigerian author's legacy has long gone far beyond the continent and towers over the literary world at large.
By way of honouring the writer, I wanted to share the work of Edel Rodriguez, a Cuban artist whose spartan illustrations have covered many an Achebe book with just the right amount of evocative flair.
Rest in peace, Chinua...
NB Images Courtesy Edel Rodriguez
