Cool Things Vol I
strange beauty, soft lighting, and a man on a fish.
Last week, I wrote about The Erbario Manuscript. Images I have been obsessed with and return to again and again. They've shown up in team presentations, many mood boards, and just about every corner of my imaginative thinking. They are extraordinarily cool. Noticing what sparks delight has become one of my most important creative tools. So I keep a running list. I call it "cool things." It's not the most inventive name, but it gets the job done. Today, I'm diving into five of those cool things—brands, people, moments—that have caught my eye and won't let go. The ones that quietly stick to the edges of my creative conscience.
Without further ado:
Carly's work feels like a brilliant smile, a fierce hug, the warmth of the sun on your face. She transforms the everyday into visual poetry. Her compositions are made up of simple, lyrical lines, yet they reveal the depth of an artist with an intuitive, almost instinctual understanding of design. There's magic in the way she sees the world, and in every whimsical scene, that vision shines through.
Carly pays attention—to the little things, the in-between moments. The world she draws is the same one we all inhabit, but through her pen, it feels more glamorous, more delightful. It's a world of infinite creative possibility, where even the mundane holds a spark of wonder. It is a world I want to live in.
Carly has a substack, The Cartelier, and her word and a thing exercise has become a favorite weekend activity.
Zoe creates jewelry that can't help but be noticed. Her hammered sterling pieces shimmer with whimsical mysticism as if plucked from the pages of an early medieval tale—that enchanted, half-forgotten realm where Mohm finds inspiration. The textured surfaces draw you in, demanding careful attention, one that asks you to linger and explore. Each piece is handmade, and the imperfections add to the charm.
Mohm's work is the essence of strange beauty, ranging from figural to abstract, with a sprinkle of surrealism. An eye peeking out from a geometric shape, shells of every variety, a man riding a fish, and mythical creatures that may have crawled out of the ocean's depths. It is in her brooches that her full range is felt. Each is a piece of art in its own right, one that will transform any outfit. Zoe's work is effortlessly cool, and wearing it makes me feel like the most creative, inspired version of myself.
Are.na is like Pinterest for the curious mind—a beautifully simple tool for creative exploration. It lets you collect and organize texts, PDFs, and website links into “channels” (think folders, but more intentional). The interface is refreshingly minimal, letting your ideas take center stage.
I first discovered Are.na through Celine Nguyen’s Substack, Personal Canon, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Celine captures the spirit of Are.na perfectly in her story on research as a leisure activity, so I’ll let her do the talking:
“It’s about what software promises us—that it will help us become who we want to be, living the lives we find most meaningful and fulfilling. The idea of research as leisure activity has stayed with me because it seems to describe a kind of intellectual inquiry that comes from idiosyncratic passion and interest. It’s not about the formal credentials. It’s fundamentally about play. It seems to describe a life where it’s just fun to be reading, learning, writing, and collaborating on ideas.”
Henrii's lighting collection is a masterclass in "the mix." It effortlessly blends Art Deco geometry with organic modernism's soft, sculptural curves. Subtle nods to art nouveau sit comfortably beside unadorned metal and glass, creating a conversation between eras and materials. Despite the diverse influences, the collection feels entirely cohesive—each piece perfectly balances simplicity and impact, sophistication, and play.
It's the kind of collection you could use to outfit an entire home without a single moment of monotony. I chose a few pieces for my lake house and cannot wait to see them come to life in the space.
I'm not a horse person—but Dear Cecilia makes me want to be. This brand has a clear point of view that feels incredibly original and fresh. They manage to strip away the stuffiness of traditional riding culture while preserving its elegance and timeless appeal. There's a generous dose of playful whimsy paired with an arts-and-crafts sensibility that softens the formality.
Dear Cecilia just feels fun. It makes me want to gallop through the countryside, long grass brushing my ankles. I even find myself eagerly reading their Substack, which is entirely dedicated to horse culture—and loving it—despite, as mentioned, not being a horse person.
And some more things…
Reading
Just finished Mothers and Other Fictional Characters by Nicole Lipson.
Nicole Lipson gets it. She understands what it means to be a woman, a partner, a daughter, and a mother in all its nuances and contradictions. Mothers and Other Fictional Characters: A Memoir in Essays is a heart-wrenchingly beautiful tale of a woman "home to a million competing impulses and incongruities"—a typical woman. A woman who could be me. Or you.
Her portrayal of motherhood is incredibly intense because being a mother is intense. Nicole sees that. She sees how it breaks and builds you at the same time. She captures that impossible feeling of mourning a childless past while being swallowed whole by a love so enormous, so cellular, it makes you dizzy with gratitude and fear. "Gratitude so huge it verges on panic"—yes. That.
She says the quiet parts out loud, giving shape to the ambivalence: being a mother requires more than just love. She illuminates what it actually looks like, hour by hour, minute by minute. The time that is never enough. The time that is never our own. The longing for solitude, the shame that follows it like a shadow. "I've spent the last eight years wondering why no one told me about this relentless quotidian frenzy," she writes, "this near-perpetual geyser of frenzy that cannot be stanched." Same. I wonder the same.
She writes of the "corrosive burden of second-guessing the decisions we make as parents," that slow, quiet erosion that eats at our confidence. And still, through all the mess and ache, it's obvious: she loves her children with the force of a lioness. She loves being a mother. She reveres the role. The book is full of those sacred, ordinary moments she's noticed and held close—the pink of a newborn's ear, the sweetness of their breath, the warm weight of their bodies melting into hers at bedtime. She doesn't romanticize them. She honors them.
Lipson's prose cracked me open—and somehow managed to mend me, too. Like Kintsugi, she traces the fractures and gilds the damage. She doesn't try to hide the history. The beauty is the history. The brokenness, the repair, the gleam of having made it through.
And I'll leave you with this because, while seemingly mundane, it somehow captures the whole of motherhood:
"How much sunscreen is too little? How much is too much? And is it, in fact, possible, ever, for a mother to get this volume, right?"
What are you reading right now? I know it’s only April but I am working on my summer TBR
Eating
All winter, my go-to spot for lunch has been Agi’s Counter - The Hungarian/Jewish inspired menu takes me back to my childhood. Get the confit tuna melt and the chicken liver mousse. Trust me.
Seeing
Gathered at the Lyle Gallery, presented in collaboration with Erria (open through April 20th)
The new Printemps store in Fidi
Affinities at David Zwirner (through April 19th)
Solid Gold. At The Brooklyn Museum.
And now for some LES news…
We launched made-to-order sculptural pedestals by Richard Baronio this week. I have lived with these pieces for the last year, both in my home and at the showroom, and my love for them has only grown. They sit in that magical place where art and function collide. Each piece exemplifies Richard’s masterful welding techniques and fluid approach to form. Richard's pieces are intricately crafted by hand, with discarded parts finding new life in subsequent works, reflecting Baronio’s philosophy of organic growth and renewal. We also launched a coat rack and a side table.
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