Daylight Cascades for the Living
Talking about cooking, plant salons, and helping each other figure out our shit
As we head into the final chapter of 2023, I spent last week taking stock of the things I want to focus on, as well as carving a path heading into 2024 and beyond. A good example is spending more time cooking and spending time taking care of my plants. Outside of the day-to-day, I made a hearty squash soup with grilled cheese sandwiches, a miso gochujang salmon with roasted cabbage, a batch of shrimp tacos, a bourbon caramel flan, a Thai-inspired crunchy quinoa salad, and a teensy bit undercooked banana bread (oops!) with date sauce. A delicious week of meals if I do say so myself.
In terms of my dear plant friends, of which there are a dozen scattered around the apartment and terrace, we had some new ladies join the sisterhood. A couple of friends are moving next week so they gifted us a half dozen ferns of all kinds and ages. I can’t say no to free plants! As soon as they were through the door I got to work, giving the ladies a “spa day” (aka busting out my trusty Niwaki Mainichi Snips) and made them look right as rain. Our terrace now looks so much more full and lively with all the plants swaying in the breeze, and when you wake up, it gives the feeling of waking up in a little forest in the city.
The longer term is to figure out what’s next for myself. My plan is to spend December in a sort of planning/hermit mode, looking at the next few years, and perhaps beyond that, to figure out what will make me happy. I realized over the last few years that, however good I am as a creative director and managing large teams of creative folks, I think it’s time to for small projects.
On the agenda is an editorial rethink of The Fox Is Black, figuring out what I’m doing with this platform of mine. I plan on bringing back AGILITY, the creative agency Kyle and I started years ago, as a means of collaborating with like-minded individuals. And the biggest puzzle to solve is starting my coffee shop here in Spain. Being really great at Spanish is kind of an important part of that and I still have a lot to learn there. Personally, I feel totally over the hustle of social media, which I’ve been in the trenches of for nearly 20 years at this point. So…. we’ll see!
If you have any creative needs, or even just want to chat about creative things, feel free to hit me up. I’m sure some of you reading this are going through similar changes, it seems to me like this is a universal feeling we’re all experiencing — thefoxisblack@gmail.com. Now, I’m off to make a fresh pesto for dinner tonight! Hope your week is wonderful 💙
🍿 — John Waters shared his favorite films of 2023 with Vulture and the list makes me want to go and watch them all. Key lines from the piece are “It’s a laugh riot from hell you’ll never forget, even if you want to.” as well as “A refreshingly unironic new look at gay-cowboy memory, lust, family, and guilt that proves blood is thicker than semen.”
♥️ — Ferragamo creative director Maximilian Davis shares his favorite things and inspirations with T Magazine. I love to see how much of his upbringing and life are distilled into the clothes he designs.
🌹 — I discovered that Jaime Hayon had designed an ikebana vase for Fritz Hansen and I think it’s so elegant looking. It’s such a lovely concept that each bud and stem would get it’s own place and space to shine.
🧊 — Sacai has partnered up with outerwear brand Moncler to celebrate their 70th anniversary. Sacai designer Chitose Abe has amazed by creating a series of garments of that look so tailored and comfy at the same time, a hard needle to thread.
🐑 — The folks at Solidwood are doing some really interesting work, creating a material like fiberglass that utilizes sheeps wool as a primary ingredient. The result is a series of Eames-esque chairs and tables with a texture that’s more deep and nuanced. They almost look like marble, so stunning.
☀️ — I revisit this piece from Remodelista every so often where they profiled Flynn McGarry and the ways he revamped his New York restaurant Gem. When I think about the way I want my coffee shop to look and feel, the image above is a pretty good approximation of the vibe I want, an immense sense of warmth and an inviting feeling. This can also be applied to your apartment or home as well.
🍎 — In a random twist of events, Fruit of the Loom has been caught lying, claiming that past logos never contained a cornucopia in it in the past. Way to gaslight us all for your marketing purposes. I’m officially boycotting this brand I have never bought from in the first place.
🥣 — Everyone loves croissants, so how great would it be if there was tiny croissant cereal? The folks at L’Appartament 4F have you covered with their Petite Céréale, a cereal box of hand-rolled baby croissants that will run you about $50. From what I’ve seen on TikTok they’re delicious and worth it!
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I recently read Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman, which really resonated with me and helped me think deeply about what’s most important to me and how to spend my precious weeks here on earth! In case you’re looking for reading material for your planning/hermit time.
Did I miss this in a previous post or is this a soft launch of your coffee shop plan?! – "And the biggest puzzle to solve is starting my coffee shop here in Spain." I'm sure it will be incredible, can't wait to hear more about it.
I remember in college years ago I wrote a blog post about my future coffee shop dream that you linked to (I was hyped). I kinda did it (partnered with a friend who opened one, but was in more of a design support role and eventually sold my stake). Glad to see you doing it, and that that dream can still happen! Have a great rest of the year.