Plus, why everyoneâs talking about shadow work 13 October 2023
[View online]( / [Sign up]( Whoever said you canât reinvent the wheel wasnât thinking hard enough. Today weâre inspired by founders giving old industries a necessary refresh, from promoting diverse models to finding a better way to pop popcorn. Plus, the power couples to know. *Special thanks to our sponsor [Anytime Mailbox](. 01. How much would you pay to make a new friend? The cost of a workout class? A meal out? At the higher end of the scale, membership to a social club? Increasingly businesses are thinking about this question and selling friendships as part of their offering â targeting young adults in particular. Spend five minutes browsing the topic online and lots of new brands show up. Take [RecCreate Collective]( which just opened in Brooklyn and advertises itself as a âspace to make arts, crafts and friendsâ. 02. [La MontgolfieÌre]( in Paris would also be a nice place to make new friends. In the daytime itâs a gym offering unusual classes from handstands to pole fitness; at night, itâs transformed into a wine bar, restaurant and music venue. If that wasnât unusual enough: itâs set in an old hot air balloon factory. 03. Another smart use of space: Estonian pizza restaurant Ãu Osteria has [made the most]( of a small triangular courtyard in Tallinâs old town. Bookmark for next summer. BRAND PARTNERSHIP Simplify Your Life with Anytime Mailbox With a virtual mailbox, you can access and manage all of your postal mail and packages right from your phone. No more rushing to the post office or worrying about missed deliveries and focus. Try Anytime Mailbox today and discover the simplicity of hassle-free mail management. [Make your life easier today](. 04. Romany Francesca started diversity-focused casting agency [Rare Select Models]( while studying photography at university in London. âEspecially as a black British Nigerian, I didn't see an identifiable community of people like me and my friends on screen,â she says. Six years later, sheâs landed models in campaigns for Burberry and Valentino. Here, she tells us whatâs next: What's the reception been like from the fashion industry?
'We felt an open reception from the big casting directors in London who predominantly worked with the big established agencies only, as well as a better reception from international casting agencies. We didn't feel like we had to prove ourselves to be recognised or to be "allowed" to work with them.' âWe did two campaigns with Burberry last year where they used our queer model who is 5'7 for an accessories campaign and e-commerce shoot. [There was] another campaign with two of our black skater boys [who have] head-to-toe tattoos and dreadlocks on the front page of their landing site with Naomi Campbell. [Itâs] not typical to see Burberry using talent from marginalized groups at the forefront of their British heritage brand. That's when I felt like our vision for our models and what the industry could evolve into was recognized.' Where do you want to push the fashion industry next?
'As an agency, we'd like to push the industry as a whole to take it back to basics and look at what true identity through fashion and beauty means. Less of using influencers to sell, sell, sell. More working with broader talent to inspire audiences of what it means to feel like a person in the things you buy rather than just part of the commodification of self.â âThat means clients working with broader talent for campaigns â not just conventionally good looking talent with thousands of followers but content creators/models who can be super relatable to various groups of people in our society.â 05. Meanwhile: the Australian non-alcoholic spritz company [Grupetto]( went to a bocce club in Melbourne to source the stars of its recent campaign. 06. Letâs talk power couples: [Frederik Bille Brahe]( is the founder of some of the best spots in Copenhagen â including Atelier September and Apollo Bar â and recently hosted a fashion week residency at Hotel Amour in Paris. Heâs married to [Caroline Brasch Nielsen]( the founder of womenswear label [Caro Editions](. 07. Another duo to watch: Arthur Groeneveld and Bamboo van Kampen are partners in work and life. Their [photography]( has been used in campaigns by Our Legacy and theyâve featured in magazines such as i-D and AnOther, plus they make photobooks and sell prints on request. Theyâre based between Paris and Amsterdam, but spend time in the Mediterranean and European mountain villages working on projects. A dream life. 08. Jordy and Julia Kay are the husband and wife co-founders of [Great Wrap]( â a compostable cling film made out of potato waste. The couple weren't materials scientists by trade â Julia was an architect and Jordy was a winemaker â but shared a mutual frustration over the tons of plastic wrap used to cover pallets of building materials and product shipments. Their [redesigned dispenser]( is also an aesthetic improvement on cling filmâs usual cardboard containers. BRAND PARTNERSHIP Your best sleep yet You know that happy, warm, blissful feeling thatâs perfect for crawling into your cozy blankets and wrapping up the day? Mood is a tasty, vegan, and US federally-legal blend of Delta-9 THC, CBD, CBN, and a bit of melatonin to help you fall and stay asleep, without nextâday drowsiness. Use code FIRST20 for 20% off your first order. [Get the Mood.]( 09. Skate videographers for the likes of Palace and Supreme are becoming increasingly influential. Take [Austin Bristow]( â he started filming in his early teens and by 16 was approached by Nike to shoot across the UK. Now 25, heâs filmed all over and has carved out a signature style of ambient recklessness and uninhibited fun. But heâd still be filming even if he didnât earn money. âIf you take it too seriously,â he says, âit starts to feel like a job. And you donât want it to feel like a job because, if you started skateboarding in the first place, then youâre just doing it for fun.â Check out the full interview [here](. 10. The Shadow Work Journal â a self-published workbook based on Jungian principles by 24-year-old [Keila Shaheen]( â has been blowing up over the past two years. Keila is a brand strategist with a background in psychology and [frequently posts]( on TikTok. A lot has been written about how bad TikTok is for your mental health; less about how popular the app is becoming with a huge community of people sharing and discussing mental health challenges. Green shoots for the platform. 11. Long hours, variable pay, thankless tasks: the personal assistant industry has had a bad rep for a very long time. But one former celebrity assistant is giving the industry a refresh. Having previously worked for the likes of Jennifer Lawrence and Madonna, Meghan Grimm launched [Clyde Staffing]( âan elevated staffing agency for the entertainment industry,â aka a first-of-its-kind personal assistant matchmaking service for celebrity clients. 12. Reagan Yorke and Jillian Nicole Smith gained a following for their cinematic TikToks â so much so that they decided to actually produce a short film. It turns out they were on to something: their first film went on to win four awards at a festival and now theyâve started their own [production company](. 13. Another way into movies, without actually producing one â build a community of film lovers instead. [The Cinema Sorority]( is a fast-growing digital film club, focused on women and nonbinary film fans. It also hosts in-person themed viewing events. 14. A trend that seems to be sticking around major global cities: mini cocktails. A few examples: Londonâs Tayer + Elementary has a signature âone sipâ martini for £4, North Charleston Chinese American restaurant [Jackrabbit Filly]( offers a $6 soju-boba cocktail, San Franciscoâs For the Record has several âcheekiesâ (drinks small enough to fit in a cheek). Why? Mini versions of the classics speak to consumers drinking and spending less. 15. Another brand thatâs playing with form: Iowa-based [Cheerie Lane]( popcorn pods are made with non-GMO corn and healthier cacao butter, shaped into a pod engineered for ideal popping. And we thought it was impossible to improve on perfection. 16. Finally, weâve got a new email launching very soon, all about dream businesses around the world. First up, a burger chain that wouldnât look out of place in Architectural Digest. Stay tuned⦠More from us (and elsewhere)
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