About fantastic tiles! White Lotus! And a good book.
Hello my dear Internet Friends,
this week I don’t have much to report, I was basically just working a lot…Trying to stay fit for my last work travel with lots of pilates and barre at Becycle and another fantastic massage at the wonderful MDC cosmetics which saved my day. In the works are also lots of travel, fashion and interior features with some really interesting people for the next months which I am very much looking forward to share with you.
My two new projects I am working on right now, are partly very research-based which I love. One is within the field of art and luxury and one in the outdoor industry (love a good stretch of topics), so on the way I did come across a ton of interesting things, a small selection for you in this newsletter :)
As a note, I will pause all subscriptions from the end of May, due to my maternity leave from June. But: I will not stop writing content, as I am preparing everything now. If you do want to support my work, I would really appreciate it! You can do this below with an annual subscription which equals 50 Euro per year, which again equals 4 Euro per month and 1 Euro per newsletter which I think is super fair. But no pressure :)
I am looking for a car expert. I had a car when I was in the beginning of my twenties - a Lupo which I loved but sold when I moved to Milan. Now that our family is growing, I am trying to find the right car for us which I want to be a baby SUV, but it’s really uninspiring to go through this process. We visited a Volkswagen car dealer, he was sitting in a grey room. He had a very old laptop, was bored by his own voice and for every car model he slowly showed us on his grey microsoft computer, and for which I asked if we could test drive it, he almost fell asleep while saying: “no”. If someone is knowledgable in this process and can recommend something, please let me know :) Still in love with the Jimny, always will!
Things I read, listened to & watched:
Early Thirties: A Novel by Josh Duboff
I was craving a good book again and my bestie L. recommended me this one from her reading list. On Goodreads it says: “A hilarious and painfully relatable debut novel about two thirtysomething best friends’ messy search for connection and love in New York, perfect for fans of Rebecca Serle, Gabrielle Zevin, and Dolly Alderton.” Very fitting.
I listened to a Jay Shetty podcast this week again: I don’t always like his podcasts because they can sometimes be a bit - I don’t know - clichee? But sometimes they can be helpful and offer some good life advice. I felt quite stressed this week, and this was good to listen to!
Another one which is however still on my list to listen to, is the one below about H&M, the fast-fashion brand which has recently revealed plans to use AI-generated “digital twins” of real-life models in its marketing campaigns. The company argues that it is taking proactive steps to address inevitable industry shifts—such as compensating models for the use of their AI counterparts, but the move has caused strong backlash - for all the right reasons in my view. Social media comments and statements from industry professionals reflect widespread and very valuable concerns about job security, creative authenticity, and the importance of human presence in the fashion world. H&M also acknowledged that they have no plan or idea about the longterm effects this could have. Cool!
One of my favorite brand strategy newsletters on the industry, Dot Dot Dot (previously Sota) also published their take on the topic - AI In Fashion Isn’t Innovation, It’s Exploitation. Australian photographer Lachlan Bailey posted on his Instagram Stories: “So one model gets paid and 50 crew get nothing… Time for everyone to boycott H&M? Start a photographer’s union? If no one acts now the industry will collapse and we will all lose — especially the younger generation.”
On to lighter topics:
White Lotus, episode 7
We are still watching White Lotus and it got better. I read interesting theories on who the White Lotus shooter will be this season, as well as a statement on the closed loop of elite masculinity in the person of Patrick Schwarzenegger whose presence creates an echo chamber of meaning: Interesting thoughts!
Dying For Sex, Disney
Today a new series is starting which is called Dying For Sex - it looks GREAT and we will start watching it tonight. Fantastic cast with Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate (I LOVE HER), on Disney.
The Studio, Apple TV
Another good new series centred around Matt Remick (Seth Rogen), the new guy at Continental Studio who wants to create arthouse films with Marvel sales volumes - featuring legends like Martin Scorsese. We started with the first two episodes, it’s a light and fun series!
Loved this video for Rimowa x Mykita, featuring the German actor Udo Kier, who embodies three new personas while waiting to have his passport photo taken, wearing the glasses of the collection. Feels like a very fresh creative!
Home Inspiration I came across:
Golem, Sieversdorf
I discovered this small company which is crafting the most beautiful floor and wall tiles on the Instagram of
- I am in love. Now I just need to have my own place…Don’t feel like it’d be worth to put these in a rented property. I am definitely the most unskilled person when it comes to DIY stuff, I really don’t even know how to start. The likelihood that I will ever have nice tiles like these - if nobody installs them for me - is at 0%. This company has also worked with the Diptyque store in Mitte, Berlin’s Neues Museum, a UNESCO world heritage site, Haus des Rundfunk, and many iconic places. They seem to have a store in Sophienstraße, I will definitely go there soon! Maybe I can just buy three tiles, and lean them on the wall or something like that. Just look at this - I would probably have an incredible difficult time to decide anything…
Brands which caught my eye:
I love this Aletta dress! I don’t know how comfortable it is, but it does look great (while being kind of stiff haha). It is available via Ginza Dover Street Market. The brand launched just this year, and they are looking to create a brand universe which “marries their surrealist flare with contemporary wearability whilst celebrating their British route”. Looking forward to follow their journey.
Martignano, Buenos Aires
I found this beautiful brand which is producing artisanal shoes, handmade in Buenos Aires, through an invite-only newsletter I am subscribed to (which feels like a hot new thing). I love the visual identity, they have their product interpreted by different and really amazing photographers such as Vanessa Beecroft. Love it.