Flamingo, Ma and Gossip: Notes from my desk this month
I’m always on the hunt and looking for perfect gifts to buy, great places to eat, and under-the-radar brands to shop. So when it comes to what’s new or the cool and obscure, I often turn to my friends and colleagues for their advice and brilliant recommendations. Moving forward, each month, I am going to share the top three things I am currently loving, including the books I’m reading, clothes I’m buying, the films I’m watching, and the voices I’m listening to.
Notes From Laura Deane’s Desk
#1: Ma
Los Angeles based artist John Zabawa has a newly released solo exhibition Gateways, a collection of 24 oil paintings on canvas and wood currently on display at Francis Gallery in Bath, United Kingdom. Zabawa conceived the Gateway collection, which showcases canvas painted in bold single colours and rich brush strokes, to reveal a glimpse of the process behind his art making. His painting practice has been heavily influenced by colour theory and the Japanese philosophy of Ma, or negative space.
John Zabawa Gateways at Francis Gallery until 19th June 2021
Image via Francis Gallery
#2: Flamingo Estate
A five-year project of restoring a run down 1940’s home with a colourful history, Richard Christiansen and Paris based Studio KO team, built a home and idyllic estate high in the hills of Los Angeles now known as Flamingo Estate. Curated with the idea to celebrate creativity, cultivate horticulture and creative liberation, the Estate is home to a thriving orchard and garden that plays host to over 150 new species of flowers, plants, birds, bees, and butterflies.
A true ode to Christiansen’s creative ability (as Creative Director of Chandelier, he’s also a beekeeper), his Australian Outback roots serves as a great foundation for growing and harvesting his seven-acre garden. Within their cultivation comes weekly fresh produce, flowers, honey, candles, body products and tinctures with which the estates distinct sights and smells come to life.
The grounds of Flamingo Estate are dreamlike, whimsical and sensorial and with every new product, event or season – comes a perfectly curated playlist to match. Whilst travel is on hold, we can delve deeper into all things Flamingo Estate from afar.
#3: Gossip Girl reboot
In perhaps the most longed-for TV reboot of the decade, the cult show that captured hearts and wardrobes in the noughties is back with a roll call of exciting new names. Jordan Alexander, Emily Alyn and former fashion blogger Tavi Gevinson (indeed, her casting is no accident) join Kristen Bell, who returns as the all-seeing narrator of the high drama (and high fashion) that’s set to go down.
xoxo
Watch Gossip Girl on Binge
