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The Eritrean coffee ceremony is a beautiful tradition that embodies community, culture, and hospitality. It's a ritual that brings people together to share in the preparation, serving, and enjoyment of coffee. The ceremony involves roasting the coffee beans, grinding them, and brewing the coffee in a traditional clay pot called a "jebena." The aroma fills the air, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. This ceremony is not just about coffee; it's a symbol of unity and friendship, where conversations flow as freely as the coffee itself. In Eritrea, it's common to serve freshly brewed coffee with a side of popcorn and traditional bread. The popcorn adds a crunchy contrast to the rich coffee, and the bread, often a type called "hembesha", complements the flavors and textures, making the whole experience even more delightful. The Eritrean wedding coffee ceremony is also a reflection of the country's rich cultural heritage. Beyond being a symbolic start to the couple's union, it serves as a conduit for familial bonds and community ties.The process is deliberate and unhurried, emphasizing the importance of taking time to appreciate life's moments. The ceremony's ambiance is enhanced by traditional Eritrean music, vibrant attire, and often includes incense to add a fragrant touch to the setting.It is often conducted by a woman chosen for her knowledge and experience in performing this ritual.The process itself is steeped in tradition and symbolism: it often begins with the spreading of fresh, aromatic grasses and flowers on the ground where the ceremony will take place. This act symbolizes fertility, growth, and the beauty of nature, enhancing the atmosphere and aesthetics of the event. As the coffee beans are roasted, their aroma fills the air, signifying the purity and richness of the moment. Each step of the ceremony carries its own symbolism, offering blessings for the couple's life journey together: during the brewing, the first round (awel) represents life, the second (kale'i) symbolizes happiness, and the third (bereka) signifies prosperity. Each round involves a specific brewing technique and serves as a moment for the couple to receive blessings from elders. Moreover, the coffee ceremony is a platform for sharing stories, advice, and well wishes for the newlyweds. Elders play a central role, offering blessings and wisdom to the newlyweds, ensuring the continuity of cultural values and familial guidance. This intimate gathering fosters a sense of closeness, allowing guests to connect and share in the joy of the couple's union. This beautiful ceremony is a cornerstone of Eritrean culture, carrying forward the essence of tradition and community. Words and photo credits: Menal Kidane Read more about coffee, craft, art, design, and much more in our issue 10. FESTIVITY

It’s not gelato, it’s not slushy. Its taste? The one of a summer in Sicily, sitting in a front-beach bar. The Sicilian Granita is a delightful frozen treat that has captivated taste buds for centuries. Born from a fusion of Arab and Italian culinary traditions, it has become an iconic symbol, if not the protagonist, of Sicilian summer. ​ The roots of Sicilian Granita can be traced back to the Arab influence on the island during the 9th century. The Arabs brought with them the recipe for sherbet, an iced drink flavoured with fruit juices or rose water. The local nobles used the snow that was gathered in the mountains in winter, also on Etna volcano, and stored during the year. In summer, in fact, the snow was scraped off and used for the preparation of sorbets and ice creams to be enjoyed in times of heat. To make it tastier, they poured squeezed lemon  juice or fruit or flower syrups on top. Granita evolved then from this cultural exchange to create a luscious, semi-frozen delicacy. ​ ​Traditional recipes of Sicilian Granita call for fresh, ripe fruits such as lemons, oranges, almonds, or berries. The chosen fruit is juiced or pureed, and the resulting liquid is combined with sugar to create a sweet base. The mixture is then poured into shallow pans and placed in a freezer. What sets it apart is the meticulous process of periodically scraping the mixture with a fork as it freezes, creating a grainy, crystalline texture. ​ Sicilian Granita comes in a multitude of flavors, each capturing the essence of the island's abundant harvest. Lemon Granita, arguably the most iconic, showcases the vibrant citrus groves of Sicily. Other popular choices include almond, coffee, chocolate, pistachio, and mulberry. It has become a symbol of the dolce far niente, enjoyed by locals and visitors alike during the hot summer months. It's common to find Sicilians savoring this frozen delight, relishing the cool relief it provides under the Mediterranean sun. Granita is in fact generally enjoyed at breakfast or as a snack, not as dessert at the end of a meal. And above all, it must be rigorously paired with a brioche col tuppo, a soft and fragrant pastry which you must dip into it, starting right from the tuppo (the bulge). For Sicilians, granita isn’t just a refreshing treat – it’s a ritual, as coffee is for many. It stands as a testament to the rich tapestry of Sicilian cuisine, blending history, tradition, and flavor in every spoonful, and it transports you to the sun-drenched shores of this picturesque island. ​ Words by Asia Pedron​ Photo credits: @bartrentocatania, @belmondgrandhoteltimeo Read more about water, craft, art, design, and much more in our issue 02. WATER

Until relatively recently, young Western women would get married in white to proclaim their purity, a sort of reward for arriving at marriage a virgin, or to safeguard their social image. Disengaged from the ideals of purity and chastity, Vague Atelier's dresses tell a different story, in which marriage need not be the only protagonist. Mother and daughter, Paola Grappasonni and Margherita Cafagna, are the founders of Vague, an online atelier of vintage wedding dresses that has the aim to subvert the traditional rules of the wedding dress. Its mission is in fact much more than reselling wedding dresses — they want to allow these dresses not only to live one more time before being restored in a wardrobe, but also to be shown from another point of view, revolutionising their meaning, and normalising their use outside of the 'big day,' like any other evening dress. Originally from Rome but now living in the countryside, they use part of their cottage, which has a large window and a hallway, to store the clothes they sell in their Etsy shop. At the same time, however, they offer the possibility of measuring the garments in-house, welcoming people from all over the world. While Paola takes care of research and restoration, Margherita works on brand communication — she takes the photos on their website and social pages. Analogue photographs, imperfect but at the same time familiar, which contrast with the idea of a preset design, of an ideal, perfect place. Although the brand is only at the beginning of its life, Paola and Margherita have already succeeded in communicating their vision. This is evinced by the fact that their clientele consists of 'brides-to-be' as much as people who choose one of their dresses for other occasions... or both. ​ Words by Asia Pedron Read the full article about Vague Atelier and more in our last issue: 10 FESTIVITY. Also available in its digital version.

Today, with more distractions than ever, it's no wonder that some people are pushing back, especially given the last few years, which have forced us to re-evaluate what's important. The book Living Wild, with beautiful pictures by Joanna Maclennan and words by Oliver Maclennan, share stories about some of these people who are withdrawing - fully or partially - from the miraculous technologies we've all come to depend on. The interplay between home, work and the landscape lies at the very heart of every story, offering a range of alternatives which provoke and inspire, as you can see from these previews of two of them. A wooded retreat (Norway) In a house in Norway, on a peninsula southwest of Oslo, Ingvild Flesland - the owner - reflects about the beauty of the changes of seasons, which she missed living in San Francisco, where she met her husband Olaf. The house, with a timber frame from the 1780s, shows a mix of new and old styles, also thanks to the changes made by the couple. With the aim of ‘bringing the nature inside’, Ingvild has grown most of the several plants that inhabit the house from seeds or cuttings. In a largely improvised garden, she grows instead a variety of plants with the dream of making it more self-renewing. While the number of properties around them has gradually risen, their house and its land remain striking and unique. In the garden and interior alike, there is a tangible sense of freedom, of spontaneity, and of watching something evolve. 'We are non perfectionists,' she says, revealing, if only briefly, a secret of their success. Into the wilderness (Finland) In a cabin in the woods near Helsinki, Hilja Isotalo immerses herself in forest guide training, anticipating the rigours of Lapland, minus the wolves and bears. Her father instilled in her a deep love of nature, as well as an appreciation for the little things in life, and her boyfriend Markku introduced her to camping. Now, she claims that being outside keeps her alive, and that she could sit for many hours just watching the birds feeding. To prepare for the challenges of Lapland, a sauna and ice-dip have become essential to her routine to boost the immune system, improve circulation, and aid sleep, along with other, more practical, solutions. The longest Hilja has spent alone in Lapland is ten days. ‘When I turn forty, I want to celebrate by spending a month there,' she says. 'I'm very comfortable with silence. I prefer not to talk unless I have something to say. When you meet someone who is hiking alone in the middle of nowhere, and hasn't spoken in days, you tend to have deeper conversations.' ​ Words by Oliver Maclennan | edited by Asia Pedron Photos Joanna Maclennan

Felix Gonzales-Torres (1957-1996) was a Cuban artist, and despite his short career, he was prolific, conceiving world-famous artworks that can be categorised as 'relational art.' In fact, the artist very often invited viewers to be part of his work through the use of various objects, leading him to the practice of the ready-made. Gonzales Torres' works are minimalist but charged with deep meaning that shifts in this way from an intimate and personal dimension to a public and collective one. The main source of inspiration for his art was certainly his partner Ross, who died five years before the artist himself. The just described characteristics of Felix Gonzales Torres' poetic art can also be found in this piece: 'Untitled' (Perfect Lovers). An installation proposed several times with minimal variations, it consists of two perfectly identical and synchronised commercial wall clocks, which are placed side by side, touching each other.  They may inevitably fall out of sync during the course of the exhibition, due to dead batteries, and then be replaced, becoming set to the same time again, potentially endlessly. What differentiates Perfect Lovers from two ordinary wall clocks is not something material, but it concerns the meaning assigned to them. They then become a metaphor for a bond that transcends the objects themselves — Ross is dead, but the love that was and is between them remains: 'We are synchronised, now and forever'. ​ Words by Asia Pedron TITLES 1. Felix Gonzalez-Torres, 'Untitled' (Perfect Lovers), 1987-1990. Wall clocks. Owned by: Dallas Museum of Art; Glenstone, Potomac; Wandsworth Atheneum, Connecticut; private collection. © Felix Gonzalez-Torres. The Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation (Edition of three, plus one artist's proof). 2. Felix Gonzalez-Torres, 'Untitled' (Perfect Lovers), 1991. Wall clocks and paint on wall. Owned by Museum of Modern Art, New York | http://www.moma.org © Felix Gonzalez-Torres. The Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation (Unique edition). Most recent version, following Laycock's death. It includes light-blue paint that can be used to paint the wall where the installation is displayed. Read more about time, craft, art, design, and much more in our issue 09. TIME. Also available in its digital version.

They named you Baby, and you were a tough girl. A bit cheeky, naughty, and better than the neighbourhood boys at every game. When I returned to the Indian city of Varanasi more than a year later, you laughed loudly at the crazy child you now saw in the photo. Free, cheerful, uninhibited. That disappeared six years later. You were willing to pose to please me but were ashamed of your younger self. When I met you again relatively soon afterwards, you had suddenly become a young woman. Still a girl in my eyes, but already promised to your future husband whom you had never seen. Your families had come to an agreement, and you looked forward to your arranged marriage with joy and fear. Will your husband be kind? And your mother-in-law? What will the next photo be like, Baby? Will you have a family of your own? With a naughty daughter, maybe? Will you be smiling? Not for me, the photographer, but because you are happy at heart. Photo project in progress and words Mirjam Letsch | mirjamletsch.com Read more about ceramics, craft, art, design, and much more in our issue 09. TIME

When an object with which you have an emotional connection falls to the ground, destroying itself, you have several possible scenarios. When it happened to American artist Robert Strati in 2020, he simply chose to shelve it in his kitchen island. In a limbo between tossing his wife’s late mother’s plate, an object with sentimental value, and repairing it by roughly gluing the pieces together, it lay there for several months. Later, Strati began to think of a way by which he could give it a second life, bringing the fragments to his studio, where they waited several more weeks on a blank sheet of paper. ​ One day, he picked up a pen and began working on them, 'exploring the possibilities of things broken and the stories that can evolve from them' as the artist himself states. From this episode was borned the ongoing series called Fragmented, in which Strati tells, through fragments of old dishes, the stories contained within them; the spirit of the object itself is thus preserved, as if it explodes to reveal its content. Placed on a clear surface, the fragments are rearranged or scattered, as if the plate had just fallen. Then, he draws intricate patterns in ink, the same monochromatic color as the plate, that originate from the original drawing. Illustrations with surreal scenarios made up of lines, animals, and landscapes expand into vast panoramas with decorative characters, allowing us to peek beyond the boundaries of the plate and get a broader view of what was originally depicted. It was just after making several pieces that Strati noticed the affinity with Kintsugi, a Japanese restoration technique that involves highlighting the broken lines of a ceramic by joining them with a mixture of lacquer and gold. In this way, as in Robert’s works, the objects become true pieces of art, making their fragility a point of strength and perfection that accentuates their beauty, as in accordance with the traditional Japanese aesthetic of wabi sabi. ​ Words by Asia Pedron Photos Robert Strati TITLES “Fragmented in Blue with Windmills and Ships″,broken plate (Delft Blue ceramics) & ink on paper, 2023 “Fragmented #1″, broken plate & ink on paper, 2021 / 2022 “Fragmented in red spiral″, broken plate & ink on paper, 2021 / 2022 “Fragmented in Black”, broken plate & ink on paper, 2023 ​ Read more about ceramics, craft, art, design, and much more in our issue 04. CERAMICS

Inspired by the pastel and perfectly symmetrical world of the American filmmaker, Accidentally Wes Anderson (AWA) is an Instagram page that now counts 1.8 million fans, or rather, 'Adventurers.' AWA was born in the summer of 2017, in a Brooklyn flat where Wally and Amanda, husband and wife, decided to open an Instagram profile and share the image of the abandoned Hotel Belvédère on the Furka Pass road in Switzerland. Initially born as a personal exercise, like a bucket list of places to visit together with their dog Dexter, this project soon spread, becoming a truly global community. From New York to Amsterdam to Mumbai, every day hundreds of curious and observant travellers capture details of immaculately composed architecture, landscapes, and more, which accidentally seem as if they were conceived by the perfectionist mind of Wes Anderson. And although AWA has grown bigger than they could have imagined, Wally and Amanda's goal remains the same: to share "the most beautiful, idiosyncratic, and interesting places on earth" and provide their cyber-travel-mates with a daily dose of inspiration, hopefully sparking in them the desire and curiosity to venture out there to see things with their own eyes. ​ In 2020, three years after the start of this adventure and at a time when travelling was just a fading memory, they published 'Accidentally Wes Anderson, The Book'. This New York Times Best Seller collects the best pictures sent to them by Adventurers from all over the world. Pictures that seem to be frames extrapolated from the films of the director himself, who not only authorised the publication but even wrote the foreword: “Now I understand what it means to be accidentally myself. Thank you”. The book is conceived as a travel guide, a collection of beautiful places to encourage people to explore new places and the stories behind them. And if that's not enough, you can buy AWA, The Book & Postcard Set, which also contains a set of 26 removable postcards in a hardbound book, perfect for avid travelers and aspiring adventurers. AWA, The Book & Postcard Set by Wally Koval To stay on topic, here are some of our favourite images from the Snail Mail section: “The Last Post Office”, North Hobard Post Office, Post office at the End of the World, and Ochopee Post Office . ​ Words Asia Pedron Photos © Accidentally Wes Anderson Waiheke Island, Auckland | c.2022, Photo credit: Jim Huylebroek Tasmania, Australia | c.1913, Photo credit: Madeleine Ryan The Book  & Postcard Set Ushuaia, Argentina | c.1977, Photo credit: Accidentally Wes Anderson Read more about correspondence, craft, art, design, and much more in our issue 05. CORRESPONDENCE

Together with other techniques such as pickling or smoking, drying is one of the oldest methods of extending the shelf life of food. It is a process that removes water, dehydrating food so that its properties are not altered. If stored properly, dried foods can last several months, which is why they have been part of Asian culture for centuries, especially during the cold winter period. Chinese cuisine is certainly rich in flavour, colour, taste, and health benefits.  That’s not all — Chinese people also pay special attention to the texture of food. Besides being practical, dried ingredients add texture to the dish, as well as an incredible flavour that creates the umami, or 'savoury' taste for which they are famous. Among the typically dried ingredients, the red chilli pepper,  with its strong and extremely spicy flavour, certainly stands out. It’s used in almost all Chinese cuisines, including Sichuan, Hunan, Beijing, Hubei, and Shaanxi, and is also particularly popular because it is believed that its spiciness helps to dissipate bodily humidity. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, China produces over half of all chilli peppers in the world. Today, the most advanced agricultural technologies ensure more choice during the winter season. Why, then, continue to use the ancient technique of drying?First of all, drying is an ecological method: it reduces the environmental impact, allowing fruit and vegetables to be ready for use in every season without having to import them from the other side of the world. It’s also an economical method, allowing stocks to be managed, and surplus fresh fruit or vegetables to be transformed into food that can be used throughout the year for the preparation of innovative dishes. In fact, drying, as already mentioned, increases the potential of food, creating textures that can make cooking different and creative. Moreover, it’s healthy: it does not require the addition of preservatives to maintain food over time. The age-old method of drying means seasonal fruit and vegetables are always available, with unchanged nutritional qualities and safety. They save time and money and have a low environmental impact. And the practice transcends cultures, leaving an indelible mark on diverse culinary landscapes worldwide. ​ Words by Asia Pedron Photos Linda Loenen - dried vegetables in Huangshan, China ​ Read more about harvest, craft, art, design, and much more in our issue 03. HARVEST

O My Bag is an Amsterdam-based brand that designs sustainably and ethically produced leather bags and accessories. The leather is in fact naturally tanned without the use of harmful substances. Moreover, the founders are committed to connecting artisans in small communities to the global market — creating fair employment opportunities, providing training programmes on skills development and gender equality, and investing in local communities through various social projects. ​ For FW21, they debuted a new collection made entirely from a non-animal alternative to leather. They chose Apple Leather, a durable and low-impact material based on apple waste from the Italian fruit and juice industry. This time, it's not Cinderella's Fairy Godmother who turns the apple into a bag: Apple Leather, whose official name is AppleSkin™, is produced by Mabel Synthetic, a manufacturer of vegan leather since 1978. In 2010, the company launched AppleSkin™, a brand new material developed and patented by the Bolzano-based company Frumat. ​ O My Bag is an Amsterdam-based brand that designs sustainably and ethically produced leather bags and accessories. The leather is in fact naturally tanned without the use of harmful substances. Moreover, the founders are committed to connecting artisans in small communities to the global market — creating fair employment opportunities, providing training programmes on skills development and gender equality, and investing in local communities through various social projects. ​ For FW21, they debuted a new collection made entirely from a non-animal alternative to leather. They chose Apple Leather, a durable and low-impact material based on apple waste from the Italian fruit and juice industry. Once the juice has been extracted from the apples, Frumat recovers the residues, such as peels, stems, and fibers, and grinds them into a fine powder. This powder, which accounts for up to 40% of the final product, is mixed with a powder blend of polyester, PU, cotton and viscose, which is essential to give the material strength and durability. The powder is then delivered to Mabel Synthetic, where it is transformed into a liquid state and then pumped into large containers where it is turned back into a solid. The solid material is pressed to give the appearance of fabric, colored and then placed in a large oven to dry. In the final stage of the production process, the interior lining is applied and the material is ready to be pressed, for example with a crocodile print to create their Croco effect leather. Small scraps of material are melted down and reused to make new batches. Since the material is created as a by-product of the food industry and utilises waste to create something new, it has large environmental savings in resource consumption, land use, and energy. Moreover, the repurposing of the peels keeps them from de-composting and producing methane that affects the climate. The result is a 100% vegan and environmentally friendly material, ready for use in the new O My Bag collection, which has nothing to envy from natural leathers. And not only does it have a beautiful look and feel, but it also becomes slightly darker and develops a light patina over time, just like real leather. No need to give up looking good, and besides, everyone knows: an apple a day keeps the doctor away! ​ Words by Asia Pedron Photo credits: © O My Bag Read more about fabrics, craft, art, design, and much more in our issue 07. FABRICS

Amélie Joos is a contemporary Franco-German female artist. Her work includes paintings, drawings, and also sculptures. She has held several exhibitions in France, where she now lives, but also in cities such as in Tokyo, Florence, and Berlin. Amélie describes her style as 'Figuration of the unconscious,' with influences from Joseph Beuys, Louise Bourgeois, and German Expressionism, but also Egon Schiele, because of the line of the drawing. The line is a fundamental part of her work: she uses a thick, immediate, and expressive stroke, which ‘Has to convey the emotion of the story.’ ​ Usually, her creative process starts from a feeling, an emotion that she tries to visualise on paper. Other times, Amélie starts with a precise subject in mind, or she simply lets her pencil go to free herself from a certain anxiety at the beginning of the work. This is a process that leads her to discard a lot of drawings, in fact her floor is full of them, which she sometimes recovers as a starting point for a new one. Her representations include people, animals, and sometimes a combination of the two — half-wolf, half-bird species and more. They have gradually become a symbol of friendship: the loyal friend, the protector, freedom, but also purity, in contrast to human beings. ​ The aim of Amélie Joos’ work is to question people’s emotions and their relationship with each other: many of her drawings depict also romantic relationships between women and men, in which the men are represented in an animal form, creating a oneiric world that can be both deeply intimate and universal at the same time. ​ ​She chooses the animals she depicts mainly for their symbolism, and now that they’ve become recurring icons in her art, they’re also part of her aesthetic vocabulary. The tiny and fragile rabbit, for example, is a sign of fear, but when it’s oversized, she reverses the roles: the rabbit has mastered his fears. The bird can represent both freedom and fragility, while the wolf symbolises energy, strength, and both protection and danger. Most of her drawings use very few colours, mainly just black and white, with sometimes a touch of red. At the beginning of her career, Amelie didn’t paint at all to distinguish herself from her mother, a painter and true colourist. But later she came to love black and white, which, although essential, can express a lot. Now she plays with shades of paper, pencil, and linseed oil, while a touch of red expresses rupture and contrast, both emotionally and visually. ​ Very often Amélie Joos’ illustrations are paired with writing, which also has a particular immediacy and spontaneity. The quotations are sometimes in German, the artist's mother tongue, and sometimes in French or English. The choice of the language depends on what she wants to express, because some terms change their meaning when translated, but also on the sound of the words. Words by Asia Pedron Photos Amélie Joos TITLES Atelier of Amélie Joos 'You can't tell me everything,'  mixed media on paper, 2021 'Love me tender' oil on paper, 2017 Untitled, mixed media on paper, 2018 'Le Chemin,' mixed media on paper, 2022 'Me, you', mixed media on paper Read more about fauna, craft, art, design, and much more in our issue 08. FAUNA Also available in its digital version.

'Dornröschenschlaf beendet,' Sleeping Beauty's sleep has ended, announced a local newspaper in 2014. The beauty in question, Schloss Schönow, had been asleep for over twenty years. This neogothic castle, in the district of Schönow in Uckermark, Brandenburg, had fallen into a deep slumber just over a hundred kilometres from Berlin. In the two hundred years since its completion, it experienced an array of uses — a witness to German history. From a historical landmark to events venue, Sleeping Beauty has now awoken and is ready to celebrate. ​ In 2014, Brendan Flynt, a cinematographer and cameraman, found Schloss Schönow for sale online. Although it was a ruin, devastated by fire in 1991, Brendan could see its potential. Initially he intended to use it as a film location, but it also became an event space where people gather to commemorate special occasions. He and his partner, Milena, handle the castle’s artistic direction and oversee the seemingly endless renovations. Originally built in 1846, the Schönow estate dates back to the thirteenth century. After changing hands several times, it was expropriated in 1945 during the land reform after World War II. For a while, the castle stood empty. However, according to Brendan, the building became a supermarket and apartments when the area was part of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). Following the 1991 fire, it was once again empty. The couple have found many examples of the rooms’ former wallpaper, whose patterns they share online. These details make Schloss Schönow more than just a place for celebrations. The interior is a joyous combination of old and new, which gives it an undeniable charm. Many remnants of the original building are still visible, such as the tiled floors, paneled doors and decorative window frames. Schloss Schönow is a place where multiple families and friends get together, often for weddings and birthday parties. And it’s still used for its original purpose: film and photoshoots. Brendan and Milena still find ways to honor the castle's former glory while maintaining its rugged appeal. Despite the challenges of time constraints and whether, the pair keep going, improving where they can and discovering new features. ​ Words by Sarah Fairman Video Milena Villalon Read the full article about Schloss Schönow and more in our last issue: 10 FESTIVITY. Also available in its digital version.