In the misty highlands of the Andes, Sandra Velasco Jordan first encountered the gentle creatures that would one day become her life’s passion and purpose. From these childhood moments among Peru’s verdant mountains to establishing her acclaimed textile business in California, Jordan’s journey with alpacas weaves a story as rich and textured as the fabrics she creates. Loving Alpaca, with a preface by the acclaimed interior designer Holly Hunt, chronicles a life lived between worlds—from Peru to Chile, India to the Philippines—as Jordan draws upon her multicultural experiences to build a business that honors tradition while embracing innovation. With unwavering dedication, she works alongside Peruvian herdsmen and women weavers, preserving ancient crafts while introducing their exceptional artistry to global markets. More than a memoir, this impressionistic portrait reveals how alpaca fiber became the thread connecting Jordan’s past to her present, her heritage to her home. Through her story, we discover the profound relationship between craft and identity, sustainability and beauty, nature and creative expression. Journey with Jordan as she transforms her love for these remarkable animals into a mission that celebrates cultural heritage, champions ethical practices, and creates spaces of harmony and beauty wherever her path leads.
The footprint of modern-day floristry is considerable, however ideas and techniques from the past can be the solution to help create a sustainable future for the sector. In this fact and inspiration filled book, florists Max van de Sluis and Per Benjamin go as far back as the Stone Age and Ancient Egypt to find out about flower use, techniques and materials throughout the ages. They show us how intricate floral designs were made without single-use, non-compostable or non-reusable materials, and how these often simple, but clever and inventive ways can be adapted and upscaled to create contemporary ‘greener’ floral design.
Fortitude, a 500 piece puzzle featuring the artwork of Kyle Staver.
Engaging with the beautiful and the grisly of canonical Western narratives in equal measure, Kyle Staver finds her inspiration in sources ranging from the Bible to ancient Greek mythopoetic traditions. The artist personifies a series of virtues including Charity, Justice, and Fortitude, among others, developing a tradition of iconography stemming from early Christian manuscript illumination.
First published in 1925, Austrian writer Stefan Zweig’s short story The Invisible Collection still manages to strike the reader with its ability to masterfully sketch the contours of collecting obsession. Deeply fascinated by the innovations that enriched European thought in the 1920s, first and foremost psychoanalysis, which also echoes among these pages, Zweig constructs a story that, despite being deeply anchored in time and space, is still relevant and full of humanity.
In addition to the engravings by Dürer and Rembrandt mentioned in the story, this second book in the Dédale series is illustrated by the paintings that the French painter Honoré Daumier. It is opened by a preface by Brazilian writer Pedro Corrêa do Lago, who shares with Zweig a collecting passion for letters and autograph manuscripts by well-known authors, which is followed by an introduction by Guillaume Glorieux, who focuses on the relationship between collection and wealth, as well as the importance of collecting and the joy of sharing.
The human digestive system, or gut, can be understood like the hole of a doughnut. In other words, it’s not really us at all, but a vast ecosystem of bacteria, yeasts, fungi, viruses and other micro-organisms collectively weighing up to two kilograms. And the gut does a lot more than simply break down our food – it impacts our immunity, stress levels and even our moods. The connection between the brain and the gut is one of the most exciting research areas of biology today, changing the way we manage our mental health. This book traces our understanding of the gut, from ancient medicine to modern day, examining the enormous impact this little-understood organ has on our lives.
Fife is an ancient Scottish county, proudly known as the Kingdom. Its distinctive, self-contained identity is summed up in the old adage ‘Bid farewell to Scotland, and cross to Fife!’ A compact peninsula shaped like the head of a Scottie dog nosing the North Sea, it boasts magnificent approaches from south and north via the celebrated bridges over the Forth and Tay. Tourists flock to the world-famous golf courses in the old university town of St Andrews. But Fife is packed with all manner of much less-visited treasures, places of stunning natural beauty as well as fascinating monuments of every era, from prehistoric to post-industrial, testaments to its long and eventful past and richly diverse cultural heritage. You will discover a land where generations of the illustrious and the powerful, the humble and the hard-working have all left their mark, from kings and queens to miners and fishermen, from bishops, earls and industrialists to scholars, artists and sportsmen – to say nothing of the internationally famed Fifers whose legacies have changed history. This book will introduce visitor and native alike to a whole host of unexpected and contrasting sites and sights that celebrate the delightful otherness of this unique little Kingdom.
Sourdough doesn’t have to be complicated. The Sourdough Baking Book is your ultimate guide to mastering the art of sourdough. Belgian baker Miro Van Vreckem, from the renowned Norwegian bakery Elt Bakeri, takes you on a journey of fermentation and flavor. The story starts at the very roots — with the organic farmer growing the perfect grains and the miller transforming them into fine flour. From there, you’ll follow a clear, step-by-step path to creating your own sourdough starter with just flour and water. Soon, you’ll be baking crusty loaves, heavenly pastries, and both sweet and savory delights straight from your own oven.
An undeniable pall hangs over the future of our world, with prospects looking increasingly uncertain and frightful. The interlocking social, political, and environmental crises exist on a planetary scale. However, from antiquity forward, the idea of an ark gave hope that humanity will, through resourcefulness, compassion, and solidarity, shepherd the world beyond catastrophe.
The Ark, an extraordinary exhibition at The Church in Sag Harbor, brings together sculptures from several generations of artists who have captured humanity’s deepest pleasures and fears through imagination and self-expression. Curated by renowned artist Eric Fischl, this collection resonates with the ancient story of survival against overwhelming odds. Within this contemporary ark, you’ll discover sculptures that embody the inherent beauty of animals while simultaneously exploring the mythic, visual, and cultural with unexpected power.
This book presents works that are not mere representations but embodiments of mysteries in our struggle for survival and protection against a hostile world. From Louise Bourgeois’s monumental spiders to Deborah Butterfield’s reclining horses, from William Kentridge’s bronze pigeons to Jane Rosen’s ethereal glass raptors—each piece invites contemplation of our place in nature.
Calouste Gulbenkian amassed a remarkable collection of Japanese art. This lesser known facet of the collector’s activity was explored in the exhibition Floating world: ‘ukiyo-e’ Japanese prints, which presented a large number of Japanese prints produced between the 17th and 19th centuries that belong entirely to the Museum’s collection. The exhibition focused on the concept of ukiyo, which means ‘floating world’ and refers to the fleeting pleasures of everyday life.
The catalogue is divided into two parts. The first is a set of four essays, including three by the exhibition curators. In the first text, Jorge Rodrigues explores the set of prints acquired by Calouste Gulbenkian for his collection. Francesca Neglia then looks at two of the most popular iconographic themes in ukiyo-e: the figure of the courtesan and landscapes. In the third essay, Hannah Sigur discusses the literary network associated with ukiyo-e. Finally, Rui Xavier, Preventive Conservation Coordinator at the Gulbenkian Museum and curator of the Gulbenkian Collection’s lacquerware, writes about the damage sustained by the collection of Japanese prints after the 1967 Lisbon’s floods and the remarkable restoration process that followed.
The second part of the publication is similar in structure to the accompanying exhibition sections and includes texts on specific works or groups of works. The first chapter, ‘Different views of nature and landscape’, deals with landscape painting as an autonomous genre of ukiyo-e; in ‘Uki-e’: perspective images, the focus is on uki-e, a genre of prints made by adopting Western geometric perspective; Yoshiwara’s ‘floating world’ revolves around the authorized leisure district of Edo (present-day Tokyo) and its influence on the production of prints depicting women; ‘Ukiyo-e’s literary web’ deals with the unique and contradictory relationship between scholarly literature and poetry and the main protagonists in the ‘floating world’, such as kabuki theater actors and the so-called ‘women for play’; finally, ‘The Tōkaidō Stations’ covers the famous print series of the same name, comprising prints on various themes related to the Tōkaidō route, which ran from Edo to the imperial city of Kyoto.
Image Credits: Panorama
In their first monograph, am designs presents 22 private residences in Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, the US, Italy, and France that have defined the past two decades of their work, including two new projects never before published.
Through an unwavering dedication to excellence and a family-oriented approach to business, am designs—founded by Mark Mertens—continues to redefine the design landscape, offering clients transformative experiences that celebrate the art of living. am designs is renowned for its high-quality residential and hotel projects, embodying a philosophy of life that creates timeless spaces perfectly attuned to the lifestyle of their owners.
At am designs, the philosophy centers on creating a unified world where art, design, architecture, and well-being seamlessly converge. Every project reflects a commitment to crafting timeless environments that align with clients’ lifestyles and aspirations.
Drawing inspiration from ancient cultures, contemporary architecture, and Belgium’s rich heritage, am designs curates a diverse collection of rare objects and artworks, infusing each space with distinctive character. Prioritizing the use of pure materials and thoughtfully considered architectural structures, they create environments that evoke tranquility and comfort. Interiors are intentionally kept serene and timeless, providing a harmonious backdrop that allows iconic furniture, lighting, and artworks to take center stage.
The furniture selection is often a carefully balanced mix of in-house designs and timeless design classics. am designs’ home collections, deeply rooted in Belgian craftsmanship, were born from the need to furnish interiors with timeless pieces that seamlessly integrate with existing architecture and its proportions.
Discover the rich history and modern allure of matcha, the vibrant green powder beloved worldwide. From its ancient origins in Japanese tea ceremonies to its rise as a wellness superfood, this book explores matcha’s profound health benefits, cultural significance, and creative uses in food and drink.
Featuring inspiring recipes, tips on the best matcha cafés, and insights into its celebrity appeal, this book is perfect for enthusiasts and newcomers alike. Sip, savor, and embrace the green revolution!
Japan was isolated almost completely from the West for more than two hundred years, from 1641 to 1854. One of the first Westerners to penetrate that barrier and reveal fundamental information about the country – and the Far East in general – was Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796-1866), a doctor from Würzburg in Germany. He spent the period 1823 to 1829 on the small island of Dejima, a Dutch trading post in Nagasaki that was then the only point of contact between Japan and the West. Full of ambition, Siebold was sent from the Dutch East Indies to Japan with the task of gathering as much information as possible about the country, its geography, its people, religion, customs and traditional costumes. The ultimate aim was to use this information to boost Dutch trade. Working with Japanese artists including Kawahara Keiga and Hokusai, Siebold embarked on an unprecedented visual and scientific project, culminating in the book Nippon. In this publication of Nippon, we give Siebold’s work a new lease of life that lets us understand the Japan he saw. This edition includes all the original prints, with a commentary on the most compelling images. The introduction discusses the unique relationship between Japan and the Netherlands, Siebold’s life, his work on Dejima and the historical significance of Nippon. The thematic essays and image keys point out striking details and interesting stories, all with a view to achieving once again what Siebold sought to do all those years ago: let readers marvel at the incredible beauty of Japan.
Discover the captivating story of vermouth—the aromatic, herb-infused spirit that has quietly shaped cocktail culture for centuries. This beautifully crafted book takes you on a journey through the rich history of vermouth, from its medicinal roots in ancient Europe to its golden age in the bars of Turin and Paris.
Explore the legendary houses that defined the category—Martini & Rossi, Carpano, Dolin, Noilly Prat—and learn how their craft turned vermouth into a global icon of sophistication. With vintage labels, classic advertisements, and rare archival photos, the book pays tribute to the brands that bottled elegance and tradition.
Whether sipped solo or mixed into timeless cocktails like the Negroni, Manhattan, or Martini, vermouth is both versatile and enduring. Inside you’ll find a curated selection of recipes, from classic to contemporary, each celebrating vermouth’s complex character and understated charm.
Perfect for spirits connoisseurs, cocktail lovers, and design enthusiasts alike, this book is a deep dive into one of the most essential—and often overlooked—elements of the modern bar. Raise your glass to vermouth: storied, stylish, and forever in good taste.
Discover Hastings and Rye, the heart of 1066 Country, where history, charm, and the sea collide. Hastings, an ancient fishing mecca still home to Europe’s largest beach-launched fleet, has long carved its own path along the Channel coast – from the castle-capped Old Town to the vibrant, artistic streets of St Leonards. Walk where William the Conqueror landed, and explore the nearby town of Battle, where England’s most famous clash reshaped a nation.
Beyond Hastings, this region brims with contrasting delights: the medieval jewel of Rye, one of England’s loveliest towns, quirky Dungeness with its shingle expanse, Bexhill’s understated charm, and timeless back-country villages.
From sunken forests older than the Pyramids to Roman relics, forgotten castles, wartime memories, eccentric locals, and modern creatives, the stories here span millennia. Rich, evocative, and endlessly surprising, this guide invites you to explore the landscapes, history, and culture that make Hastings and Rye utterly unforgettable. Dive in and experience it all.
England’s first capital, largest cathedral, and oldest college: Winchester is a city where ancient walls murmur stories of proud warriors and Wintonian pioneers, of brutal crimes and glorious successes.
Whether you’ve called Winchester home for years, recently moved here, or are just visiting for a short time, these 111 places will captivate, enchant, and amaze you. Try the sparkling wine which rivals champagne or the renowned striped ice cream and visit Europe’s first wasabi grower. Feel a shiver in the Red Room, cross the bridge that predicts the weather and find the garden built by a spy. Amble where Russel Crowe rode and the real Countess of Downton Abbey resides. Defend the city against a Viking invasion and meet the policeman who solved the first-ever train murder.
Amid it all, you’ll be immersed in Winchester’s stunning architecture, lively atmosphere, and warm energy – a city no longer ruling a kingdom, yet still brimming with power, scandal, secrets, and life.
A stroll through a maze of winding streets lined with bright white houses, where you might stumble upon little cafés or art galleries, is often the highlight of a holiday. In Villages in White, travel writer Léa Teuscher highlights some of the most remarkable whitewashed destinations around the world. From classics like Santorini to hidden gems like Loutro, these pages will take you to the most spectacular places washed in the lightest hue. Find out what makes each village unique and catch a glimpse of what it’s like to live there. A must-have for globetrotters who want it all: beauty, history, and creativity.
More than a drink, coffee is a culture — a daily ritual, a craft, and a global story of taste and connection. Coffee unfolds the rich history of the world’s most beloved beverage, tracing its origins from ancient Ethiopia to modern specialty cafés. Through stunning photography and insightful writing, the book explores roasting traditions, brewing methods, and the artisans and farmers who shape the flavors we love. From the elegance of an espresso to the calm precision of a pour-over, each page celebrates coffee as both science and art. A tribute to aroma, ritual, and craftsmanship — the essence of coffee, captured in print.
From humble Edo-era street food to global culinary art, sushi has become a symbol of precision and beauty. Sushi traces its journey through history, exploring ancient techniques, regional traditions, and the philosophy behind every perfect bite. Featuring renowned sushi masters, legendary restaurants from Tokyo to New York, and recipes that reveal the delicate balance of rice, fish, and time, this book celebrates sushi as both heritage and innovation. A visual and cultural exploration of craftsmanship, flavor, and form — the timeless art of sushi, beautifully unfolded.
The debut monograph of Stacey Gillian Abe’s work is created to accompany her first London solo show at Unit London. Featuring works spanning her career to date, the book explores the key themes from Abe’s work and delves deep into her expressive and symbolic indigo portraits. Abe’s book includes insightful written contributions from Flavia Frigeri, art historian, lecturer and the Chanel Curator at the National Portrait Gallery and Serubiri Moses, renowned writer and curator, alongside a conversation between the artist and Catherine McKinley, curator and author of the critically acclaimed Indigo: In Search of the Color That Seduced the World and The Book of Sarahs: A Family in Parts. Abe’s work reflects her past and her memories, highlighting her personal experiences and her relationships to her community. The autobiographical dimension of her work confronts traditional depictions of the Black body, challenging the colonial lens. Abe creates imaginary spaces that induce a surreal mystical feel while probing unsettling past and present narratives of identity, gender, spirituality and cultural mysticism. Renowned for her indigo skin-tone paintings, the color has become crucial in reshaping narratives surrounding the black body. Through the color, she dives into the past to envision an alternative future for the Black race. To Abe, indigo represents a tribe of people that are not limited to social, economic, cultural, political or historic constraints: ‘it is about being unapologetic’.
“With his legendary swag, Norman Anderson, aka Normski, hip-hop ambassador in the United Kingdom since its emergence in the 1980s, is the great archivist of these glory days he captured London to Detroit.” — Rolling Stone France
“The difference between Normski’s photograph of me and any other is that it captures my soul.” — Goldie
“He was a larger-than-life character, full of energy and totally motivating. He really was the hip hop photographer of the day in the UK.” — Stereo MC’s
“This book contains a striking catalogue of images, many of which have been exhibited by establishments such as Tate Britain, the V&A, Somerset House and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.” — Marcus Barnes
“On the heels of Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary, Man with the Golden Shutter is a celebratory record of hip-hop as much as it is a definitive collection of Normski’s incredible photographs.” — GQ Middle East
“What elevates the book is Normski’s voice threading through it all. The stories that accompany the photographs are alive with hustle and charm as he talks his way backstage, makes lighting rigs out of whatever was lying around and persuades a tired MC to pose just one more time.” — Musee Magazine
Normski was a vital witness to the period known as the Golden Age of Rap, when big US artists like Run DMC, LL Cool J and Public Enemy started to play in the UK. At the same time, a British music scene born of Black music and myriad multicultural influence was developing, giving birth to Jungle, Garage and Techno.
The author, who describes himself as having been a “young Black British homeboy photographer”, was in the right place at the right time to document the emergent music, community and social movements of hip hop and rap in the UK. Normski: Man with the Golden Shutter presents Normski’s personal journey through that world from the mid-1980s to early 1990s.
The book includes Normski’s often previously unseen photographs of Public Enemy, N.W.A., Cypress Hill, De La Soul, Goldie, Ice-T, Run DMC, Wu-Tang Clan and many others, alongside the photographer’s stories and anecdotes from the center of what would become a hugely influential cultural movement.
Elizabeth Siddal is remembered as a Pre-Raphaelite supermodel and the muse and wife of Gabriel Rossetti. She is cast as a tragic heroine much like the Ophelia she modelled in the renowned Millais painting. But Elizabeth Siddal: Her Story overturns this myth. ‘Lizzie’ is presented as an aspirational and independent woman who knew what she wanted and was not afraid to let it be known.
With extraordinary stories, including previously undiscovered details of Siddal’s journeys across the UK and to the south of France, Jan Marsh reclaims Siddal’s narrative from the historical record. She brings new perspective to the post-natal, mental trauma Elizabeth suffered after a stillbirth. Furthermore, she casts new light on the renowned story of Siddal’s grave being exhumed for Rossetti’s poems.
Jan Marsh explores the finer, little known details of Siddal’s life, including her four months at art school in Sheffield, which Rossetti’s brother always denied. In addition to this, few will know how Siddal was often regarded as difficult and ungrateful.
Historical record tends to forget or misremember women, but with Elizabeth Siddal: Her Story, Jan Marsh forces us to take a closer look and see a very different picture. Siddal was not passive and lacking in agency, she was a woman with a strong mind, flourishing career and an admirable talent.
Companies face increasingly turbulent times. To what extent are the traditional strategy models still relevant to deal with this new environment? This new book presents how to analyze turbulent environments, how to build new strategies, and how to implement them. Through many case studies managers of large and smaller companies can learn how to successfully react to fundamental change. It covers these topics: 1. What is turbulence: disruption vs. disturbance. 2. Corporate foresight/sensing turbulence (incl. scenario analysis) 3. Choosing the right turbulence strategy 4. Implementing turbulence strategies
Even though they belong to the mineral kingdom, the stones in the collection of the French writer Roger Caillois appear miraculously similar to works of art. Beginning from this mysterious but captivating link between two such apparently distant universes, the book collects a carefully curated selection of the finest stones in the collection and recounts the life of Caillois (sociologist, member of the surrealist movement…), reviewing and presenting his essays on stones. The persona and the personality of this atypical 20th-century intellectual emerge from the essay by Stefano Salis, who introduces us to Caillois’ world and that of Marguerite Yourcenar, who took his place in the Académie de France after his death with a speech reviewing his life and work. The literary critic Carlo Ossola traces the outlines of the cultural climate in which Caillois lived and operated, while François Farges, now in charge of the collection, illustrates it in the final essay.
“Futuristic, shrill, strange? Beyond these clichés, photographer Richard Koek captures everyday life in Tokyo – his pictures tell of life in the metropolis.” — Stern Germany
A unique book by photographer Richard Koek about one of the world’s largest cities, Tokyo. The visitor of this megapolis in Japan will see a lot of neon and plastic, but also traditional kimonos and cherry blossoms. Fashion and advertising are at least as important as etiquette and tidiness. In Tokyo Tokyo Koek reveals the true face of a city where tradition and innovation go hand in hand. Surely the stereotypes are a subject of his photographs, but Koek always gives them his own twist. His colorful images are raw, realistic and extremely striking. Koek knows how to capture the magic of everyday life by putting the ordinary on a pedestal. The beauty of the image and the story behind it always go hand in hand in his works. This is how he shows a different side of the city.