Trace’s edits
Is this your next underwear purchase?
My partner and I both need more underwear. CDLP is our next purchase. The Swedish design house consciously manufactures garments in Europe with future-oriented materials, including Lyocell, derived from renewable wood sources, and Econyl®, an Italian-sourced premium nylon fibre regenerated from ocean and landfill waste and FSC® and PEFC-certified wood. Notations on carbon mitigation and fossil fuels avoided when purchasing CDLP are available on their About page, providing food for thought. For those needing to restock, select styles are discounted at SSENSE.
Better After Eights
For your upcoming post-dinner moments, Bennetts of Mangawhai has released Mint Sticks. When I was younger, during the festive season, my parents would buy After Eight, a lot of people did. These Sticks are traceable, sans the palm oil. These would also make a wonderful host gift.
Francie socks
A new favourite in my sock drawer. Francie. socks are a beautiful merino and possum blend, sustainably knitted in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Bodha
Bodha incense has been on my list for some time; however, I only recently discovered the brand now offers international shipping. Their latest offering, Moon Vibration Perfume Oil—described as smoke and wood, reflective and meditative is calling me.
Underlena Bruxta Body Warmth Kit
Thoughtful and intentional, the Bruxta Body Warmth Kit is a loving gift pairing the Body Oil of Summer, Scents of Wild Jasmine and Lubrication of Water with the Underlena knicker bag, a seasonal exclusive made in Wellington, Pōneke by ethical manufacturer Nisa. Consider gifting yourself.
Moro Darbon
A partnership between London-based designers Austin Moro and Eliza Dabron, Moro Dabron blurs interiors and gardens, and their waxed fragrances are now available as a discovery set. Simon James is retailing the brand here in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
SUTRAM
In many ways, this was a suggestion from Instagram. SUTRAM bedding could be the gift of a good rest. Their bedding is GOTS-certified, Fair Trade certified cotton with a 300 thread count—a modern colour palette, breathable and crisp.
The latest offering from Curionoir
A serious gift. And one I would love to receive. The latest offering from Curionoir, Moon Moss.
Future heirlooms
Sarah Espeute’s brand Œuvres Sensibles, is the artists' form of visual communication. Independent Marseille artists are tasked with creating minimalist embroidery works on antique and ecological fabrics that are human and Mother Earth respecting—a future purchase. I’ll start with the napkins.
Amandine’s edits
A climate scientist on how to recognize the new climate change denial, by Avishay Artsy
An article published in September this year but so apt to share now, given the current Dubai COP28 atmosphere, taken over by the petrol and oil industry and lobbyists.
The future of cultivated meat, now, by Leyu Li
I subscribed to the MOLD magazine newsletter, and they recently shared this piece on alternative meats and the future of food. An artist intervention and project analysis, the text tells the story of the idea, public reactions and what to conclude from there. Will fake and lab-made meat have a legitimate space in the future food landscape?
Why Virgin’s ‘vegetable oil’ flight is leading the way in green mirages, by Katherine Fidler
To add more to our October’s Kitchen Conversations on travelling, this article from Metro UK (loaded with ads, though) reflects on a concept of alternative, plant-based fuel for planes and its reliability. Spoiler: it’s not looking good, and researchers are explaining why.
The night train revolution has been hailed as an alternative to airplanes. Here’s how that’s going, by Ben Jones
Furthermore, on the topic of travelling, a low-carbon lifestyle might not be compatible with regular flying around the world, but other ways of mobility exist and continue to develop. The latest example is the night train! This article shares the resurgence of train travelling by night in Europe, which sounds exciting and adventurous!
Seven Catalan houses, by Apartamento Magazine
A goal of mine is to share high-quality architectural images so that people can expect more from their built environment. And watching beautiful images also feeds the soul and nurtures creativity. So here are seven unique houses built in Cataluña, Spain, curated by Apartamento magazine, to daydream and get inspired.
The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart, by Astra Taylor
I can’t remember where I came across this book, but I had it saved in my wishlist. Author Astra Taylor is a multifaceted talent, including activist and author. She got profiled by The New Yorker magazine in September for the release of her book. The Age of Insecurity is a cultural diagnosis from the author about the general sense of insecurity felt by most of the people around, including us. What is happening in society for everyone to be so insecure? The book lays a path to answer this question, a guide for meaningful change towards accepting vulnerability and reaching confidence. Apt at a time of profound global change.
An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong
We need to learn more about the magic of our natural world. Ed Young, a Pulitzer Prize science journalist and author, gifted us just that through An Immense World. His latest book is an immersion into the other facets of our environment, as seen through the eyes, ears and noises of the other beings that populate planet Earth. An exceptional read, let these pages transport you to different dimensions, understand better, and love our beautiful world.
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Published in 2018 and a 2019 Pulitzer prize, The Overstory tells the fictional account of twelve U.S. Americans sharing unique life experiences with trees, which will unite them across times to fight against the destruction of forests. Yet what Richard Powers’ story also relates is the real-life tragedy behind the forest’s slaughter happening around the world and highlights the tireless work of the activists who can see the world differently and defend our nature. It is an epic story to render another homage to that silent, magnificent, yet essential ‘monde’ alongside ours.
It Take A Village, To Raise An Entrepreneur, by Delina Medhin
I discovered It Takes A Village when Violette Serrat shared about her guest episode a few months ago. It was fantastic to listen, going in-depth on her creative process and building her brand, entrepreneurship journey, and more. From there, I went through other equally interesting episodes. Host Delina Medhin is a makeup artist and beauty creator. She started her It Takes A Village podcast to share her business evolution and inspire others to take the lip to more passionate professional lives. The guests are brilliant, the questions thoughtful, and there is always something to learn. Available on all the leading podcast platforms and also YouTube.
Stop deep-sea mining in its tracks. Support a global ban now, by Greenpeace
The new campaign by Greenpeace that started a few months ago is to pressure governments for an international ban on deep-sea mining, motivated by the latest bullshit idea coming from the extraction industry, which is exploiting the deep-sea floor of the most pristine places, including the Pacific islands. Because yes, the world is already running out of rare-Earth materials, essentials in the so-called green transition sold to us as the solution to the rising carbon emissions, with its plethora of electric lithium cars and other solar panels, cravers of rare-Earth materials to function. A strange mindset, if you'd ask me, to consume to produce less.
The consequences of deep-sea mining are much more daunting than taking the bus to town instead of an electric car, so we must support the activists and scientists and stop the madness that motivates the mining companies. Pretty much only governments can act, by publishing laws banning crazy practices such as deep-sea mining and protecting the natural wonders of our world, a world that we barely know yet. Together, let's put a stop before it is too late!
And if you think that signing petitions brings no result, here is a successful campaign in Panama that resulted in the Panama Supreme Court repealing a mining contract at a constitutional level to protect the Bosque Donoso rainforest and its inhabitants, including the indigenous communities that depend on it. People unite, and it works.
Thoughts, questions, you can always direct reply to these emails.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Tracey Creed & Amandine Paniagua