Vol. 26 — August 28, 2020
WHAT’S NEW
This week we’re sharing artists we discovered this week, highlighting our favorite NYC restaurants with socially distanced outdoor gardens, and introducing you to a cool new friend: Annika Hansteen-Izora.
CULTURE CORNER
READ
We are beyond excited that our beloved Brooklyn apartment got featured in Domino Mag this week!! Read the interview with coolstuff.nyc co-founder, Anna B. to hear more about the space where we eat, work, & sleep HERE :)
LOOK
Here are 5 artists we discovered this week that we think you should know about. We could all use a visual break these days.
For sculptural collage
Allie Kushnir
For new compositions with familiar materials
Sean Noonan
For furniture made waste and hand-dyed resin
Charlotte Kidger
For large-scale oil pastel drawings
Matt Kleberg
For carved and painted poplar chairs
Ryan Belli
SHOP
Two of our favorites, Sad Girls Club & Yowie BOTH have apparel collaborations dropping this week! Here are the deets you need to know:
- Sad Girls Club x Jalil Peraza
Limited collection launches Friday, August 28 (TODAY) at 10am ET (ONE HOUR FROM NOW) and benefits Sad Girls Club’s Soul Sessions — a free group counseling initiative which prioritizes people of color. Shop here - Yowie x Lisa Says Gah
This 3-piece collection already looks amazing and will be available next Wednesday, September 2!
BEST OF
We’ve rounded up a list of restaurants in NYC offering outdoor dining that is NOT on the streetside. We’re still a little wary of being in large groups so we’ve only dined outdoors at a few of these gardens, but LOVE the food at all of them. Head to the website to read our 10 favorite outdoor gardens to eat in, and don’t forget to tip servers super well when you visit these spots!
COOL FRIENDS
Annika Hansteen-Izora
Meet Annika, an NYC based art director, designer, artist & poet, who in their own words, “explores the intersections of culture, design, art & technology”.
How did your career as a designer begin?
In stacks of American Girl magazines as a kid. I’ve loved storytelling, art, and tech for as long as I can remember, and was always getting my hands into any medium I could find it in, whether drawing zines for friends, making jewelry, or playing video games. I never set out to be a designer, but as I look back, it’s always been a part of me. I ended up taking the career route as a UX researcher and strategist, and worked on digital experiences for big companies like Intel, HP, and Samsung. But on the side, I was always designing posters and websites for local artists across the country. I eventually took a good look at my path and realized, “What am I doing here?” I made the full switch into creative, and haven’t looked back since.
What's your favorite part about the New York creative community?
How wide and expansive the Black and POC queer creative community is. It’s incredible to see how collaborative folks are, how people are always building and co-creating with one another, and investing in each other’s creativity.
What's inspiring you right now?
During COVID, I’ve watched how so many Black and POC creative collectives have pivoted in such beautiful and extraordinary ways. There’s endless examples, from Papi Juice’s virtual parties benefiting queer funds, to Black Trans Femmes in the Arts creating an artist and resource directory for Black trans femme artists, to Press Press creating toolkits for collaborative and cultural work. It inspires me to think about how my role as an artist and designer can always be used in service of the community, as a point from which we can decolonize our understandings of self and each other, and space from which we can dream up new collective futures.
Follow along:
www.annikaizora.com
@annika.izora on Instagram
DINER REVIEW
MeMe’s Diner
Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Our Rating: 4.5 of 5
When to Go: Any time after midnight.
What to order: A biscuit, (extremely fresh) buffalo chicken salad, and a patty melt — then split it all with a friend :)
What to know: This Prospect Heights restaurant is so much more than a diner, but it’s in the name so we’ll take the opportunity to talk about it!
PALETTE
Farmer’s Market Finds in Park Slope, Brooklyn
