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INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ARTIST BRAD KENNY SPECIALISES IN PORTRAITURE + FIGURATIVE REPRESENTATION OF THE HUMAN CONDITION, EXPLORING EMOTIONS, IDENTITY, CHARACTER + NARRATIVE THROUGH HIS WORK./ BRAD NOTES THAT HIS WORK IS CHARACTERISED BY A BALANCE BETWEEN REPRESENTATION + ABSTRACTION, THE ABSTRACT ELEMENT OF HIS PAINTINGS ALLOWING HIM HIS OWN FORM OF EXPRESSION./ WE WERE INSPIRED NOT ONLY BY BRAD'S STRIKING WORKS OF ART, BUT ALSO BY THE FACT THAT, AS A DYSLEXIC ARTIST, HE VIEWS PAINTING AS A UNIQUE FORM OF COMMUNICATION - A LANGUAGE OF ITS OWN./ HAVING ALREADY EXHIBITED IN LONDON + NEW YORK, + HAVING BEEN FEATURED ON CHANNEL 4, BRAD IS DEFINITELY ONE TO WATCH!/ WE ASKED BRAD TO SHARE ONE OF HIS FAVOURITE PLACES IN LONDON... //
MATVEÏ'S UNIQUE MIX OF HOUSE + RnB, FUSED WITH TOUCHES OF BRAZILIAN + LATIN MUSIC, HAS BEEN CREATING A STIR ON THE ELECTRONIC MUSIC SCENE FOR A WHILE./ AND, SINCE SIGNING WITH ICONIC LABEL KITSUNÉ, THE ARTIST HAS BEEN RELEASING A CONSISTENT STREAM OF SOLID, ACCOMPLISHED TRACKS, EACH BRINGING SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO THE TABLE./ THE FRENCH PRODUCER + DJ HAS ACTUALLY BEEN CRAFTING MUSIC FROM A VERY YOUNG AGE./ HE FIRST SAT DOWN AT A PIANO AT THE TENDER AGE OF 4, STARTED EXPERIMENTING WITH GARAGEBAND AT JUST 11 - AND HAS BEEN PLAYING AROUND WITH SAMPLES + SOFTWARE EVER SINCE./ CITING INFLUENCES AS VARIED AS PHARELL, KAYTRANADA, + SPANISH SINGER ROSALÍA, MATVEÏ REVEALS SOMETHING OF THE NATURE OF HIS SOUND./ HE'S ALSO A BIG BELIEVER IN IMPROVISING, JUMPING ON AN IDEA AS SOON AS IT LANDS + NOT OVERTHINKING IT./ THE RESULT? FRESH, CREATIVE + TASTY HOUSE./ IF YOU'RE NOT SURE WHERE TO START, CHECK 'GET LOST' FOR A TASTE OF WHAT THIS GUY IS ALL ABOUT, THEN HIT 'RIO' FOR THOSE BRAZILIAN FEELS + 'OFF DAT' FOR A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT VIBE./ ALTHOUGH ORIGINALLY FROM LYON, MATVEÏ HAS LIVED IN VARIOUS PLACES + IS NOW BASED IN PARIS./ WE ASKED HIM TO SHARE ONE OF HIS FAVOURITE PLACES IN THE FRENCH CAPITAL. //
SINCE 2017, CUSTOM FURNITURE MAKER D'ANDRE WOODARD HAS BEEN HELPING HIS CLIENTS BRING THEIR VISIONS TO LIFE, THROUGH HIS BRAND 'D'ANDRE FURNITURE'./ IN TODAY'S FAST-MOVING WORLD, WHEN PEOPLE CAN GET ALMOST ANYTHING SHIPPED TO THEIR DOOR IN A MATTER OF DAYS, IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO GET PEOPLE TO COMMIT TO CUSTOM./ BUT, AS A ONE-MAN SHOP, D'ANDRE FURNITURE IS UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO TURN A CLIENT'S ABSTRACT IDEAS INTO TANGIBLE DREAMS, OFFERING A LEVEL OF INDIVIDUALISATION THAT LARGER SHOPS + STORES ARE UNABLE TO./ D'ANDRE'S SPECIALTY IS MID-CENTURY MODERN, BUT HE'S CAREFUL TO POINT OUT THAT HE DOES NOT LIMIT HIMSELF TO ONE PARTICULAR STYLE./ HAVING EXPERIENCE IN A WIDE RANGE OF AESTHETICS, HE LETS HIS CLIENT'S VISION BE THE GUIDE./ D'ANDRE IS BASED IN AUSTIN, TEXAS - A CITY HE VALUES FOR ITS CREATIVITY + ITS SUPPORT FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES./ WE ASKED D'ANDRE TO SHARE ONE OF HIS FAVOURITE PLACES IN THE CITY... // //
ROMAIN LAURENT DOESN'T WASTE ANY TIME./ HAVING RECENTLY MOVED TO AMSTERDAM, IN ADDITION TO STUDYING PHOTOGRAPHY + WORKING AS A BARISTA, HE ALSO RECENTLY SET UP AN EXCITING NEW VENTURE WITH HIS PARTNER./ THEIR COMPANY, 'HANGING PETALS', PROVIDES UPCYCLED DRIED FLOWERS ACROSS THE CITY_, SAVING BLOOMS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE DISCARDED_, + INSTEAD CREATING BEAUT1FUL ARRANGEMENTS THAT EVOLVE INTO UNIQUE 1TEMS OF ART./ THEY'RE ALREADY MAKING_ A MARK ON AMSTERDAM - YOU'LL SEE THEIR INCREDiBLE ARRANGEMENTS IN SHOPS, SPACES + HOMES ALL OVER THE PLACE./ BUT, HAVING MOVED AT THE TIME OF THE PANDEMIC, THEY HAVEN'T YET HAD T1ME TO GET TO KNOW THE BEST OF THE DUTCH CITY./ PRIOR TO HIS MOVE TO AMSTERDAM, ROMAIN HAD LIVED IN THE SCOTTISH CITY OF EDINBURGH FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS - A PLACE FOR WHICH HE HARBOURS A DEEP LOVE./ WE ASKED HIM TO SHARE ONE OF HIS FAVOURITE PLACES_ THERE... //
EYIWAA AGYEKUMHENE IS THE FOUNDER OF GHANAIAN FASHION BRAND 'KAYADUA', WHOSE EYE-CATCHING BAGS + STATEMENT NECKPIECES HAVE RECENTLY BEEN CAPTURING THE ATTENTION OF THE FASHION WORLD./ IT'S A LABOUR OF LOVE FOR EYIWAA, WHO CREATED THE BRAND IN 2018, AFTER GRADUATING FROM KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF GHANA JUST A YEAR BEFORE./ THE BRAND TAKES A SLOW FASHION APPROACH, WITH KAYADUA PIECES OFTEN BEING MADE BY HAND + TAKING ANYWHERE FROM ONE DAY TO ENTIRE WEEKS OF PRODUCTION TIME./ BUT THE BRAND IS ABOUT MUCH MORE THAN INTRICATELY-CRAFTED PIECES./ EYIWAA WANTS TO USE THE BRAND AS A FORCE FOR CHANGE, HONOURING THE LEGACY OF THE ELDERS IN GHANA, WHILE ALSO INSPIRING YOUNGER GENERATIONS TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES CREATIVELY./ "I SEEK TO ENCOURAGE CONFIDENCE, WHILST TELLING STORIES THROUGH THE PIECES WE MAKE," SHE SAYS, UNDERLINING HER DESIRE FOR THE PIECES THEMSELVES TO BECOME STORYTELLERS./ BASED IN ACCRA, THE CAPITAL OF GHANA, WE ASKED EYIWAA TO SHARE ONE OF HER FAVOURITE PLACES IN + AROUND THE CITY... //
MEET BRITISH-NIGERIAN ARTIST, PRODUCER + SINGER SONGWRITER, TONY NJOKU./ BEST KNOWN FOR HIS MUSIC, TONY EXPERTLY FUSES ELEMENTS OF SOUL + ELECTRONIC MUSIC TO CRAFT HIS DISTINCT SOUND, OFTEN LOADED WITH SYNTHESIZERS + PUNCTUATED BY SPARSE PIANO./ MUSIC THAT CHALLENGES + INSPIRES, EACH SONG IS A UNIQUE SOUNDSCAPE TAKING THE LISTENER ON THEIR OWN JOURNEY./ TONY'S WORK DRAWS FROM A WIDE RANGE OF INFLUENCES, FROM MUSICIANS SUCH AS BJÖRK ("I THINK HER WORK IS PHENOMENAL") + THOM YORKE, TO VISUAL ARTISTS LIKE JAMES TURRELL + OLAFUR ELIASSON (WHOSE WORK WAS A HUGE INSPIRATION BEHIND TONY'S ALBUM, 'YOUR PSYCHE'S RAINBOW PANORAMA')./ ALTHOUGH BORN IN LAGOS, TONY HAS LIVED IN LONDON SINCE HE WAS A TEEN - A CITY HE LOVES FOR ITS CREATIVITY, ALLOWING HIM TO EXPLORE + EXPRESS HIMSELF IN A WAY THAT OTHER CITIES CAN'T./ AS SUCH A CREATIVE FORCE, WE WERE KEEN TO FIND OUT ONE OF TONY'S FAVOURITE PLACES IN LONDON... //
GIAN POWER IS ON A MISSION TO MAKE WORKPLACES MORE EMOTIONALLY INVITING./ AS THE FOUNDER OF TLC LIONS - A STARTUP THAT PUTS WELLNESS + MENTAL HEALTH FRONT + CENTRE - GIAN IS HAVING A BIG IMPACT ON THE CORPORATE WORLD./ GIAN'S JOURNEY ALL STARTED AFTER A TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE UPENDED HIS OWN LIFE IN 2015./ IT WAS DURING THAT HUGELY DIFFICULT PERIOD, WHEN HE FINALLY OPENED UP TO COLLEAGUES IN THE CORPORATE WORLD, THAT GIAN REALISED THAT HE WASN'T THE ONLY ONE WITH A STORY - A REALISATION THAT GAVE HIM THE CONFIDENCE TO LAUNCH TLC LIONS./ THROUGH SPEAKER EVENTS + ONLINE LEARNING, TLC LIONS NOW SUPPORTS OVER 150 ORGANISATIONS IN 57+ COUNTRIES, INSPIRING + ENCOURAGING EMPLOYEES TO SPEAK UP + CREATE MEANINGFUL EMOTIONAL CONNECTIONS./ WE ASKED GIAN TO SHARE ONE OF HIS FAVOURITE PLACES TO UNWIND IN LONDON... //
WMD IS THE SOLO MUSIC PROJECT OF SEATTLE-BASED MUSICIAN, MICHAEL ERICKSON./ OFTEN DESCRIBED AS A UNIQUE BLEND OF CHILLWAVE + AMBIENT, WMD'S MUSIC INCORPORATES LUSH SYNTH + MINIMALISTIC ELECTRIC GUITAR, WITH THE RESULTING LAYERS OF SOUND STIRRING FEELINGS OF NOSTALGIA, CONTEMPLATION + MELANCHOLY (FROM EARLY MORNING SUNRISES, TO NEVER-ENDING LAZY SUMMER AFTERNOONS, TO THOSE DARKER MOMENTS WHERE WE TURN INWARDS)./ HAVING GROWN UP IN A SMALL TOWN IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST, ERICKSON BEGAN PRODUCING MUSIC AT A YOUNG AGE./ INSPIRED BY THE INTERNET CHIPTUNE MUSIC SCENE + ARTISTS LIKE BIT SHIFTER + ANAMANAGUCHI, HE RELEASED THE ALBUM 'SOPHROSYNE' AGED JUST 16, GOING ON TO RELEASE NUMEROUS ALBUMS + EPs SINCE./ NOW BASED IN SEATTLE, WMD HAS BEEN PLAYING SHOWS IN + AROUND THE CITY FOR SEVERAL YEARS, + HIS LOVE FOR THE PLACE IS EVIDENT: "I DON'T THINK THERE IS ANYTHING THAT WOULD MAKE ME WANT TO LEAVE SEATTLE'S VIBRANT MUSIC + ARTS SCENE."/ WITH SUCH A LOVE FOR THE CITY, WE ASKED WMD TO SHARE ONE OF HIS FAVOURITE PLACES... //
DOMINICAN-LEBANESE FASHION DESIGNER JUSEF SÁNCHEZ HAS BEEN MAKING WAVES IN HIS HOME COUNTRY FOR SOME TIME - EVEN WINNING CELEBRITY MASTERCHEF IN 2021!/ KNOWN FOR SOPHISTICATED, FEMININE PIECES WITH CLEAN LINES + A REFINED SILHOUETTE, IT'S PERHAPS NO SURPRISE THAT THE YOUNG DESIGNER WAS CHOSEN TO DRESS TWO OF PRESIDENT ABINADER'S DAUGHTERS AT HIS INAUGURATION IN AUGUST 2020./ BUT IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT THE RED CARPET GLAMOUR - THE DESIGNER'S SS20-21 COLLECTION MARKED A NEW STREET-SAVVY DIRECTION FOR THE BRAND, UNVEILING A SERIES OF OVERSIZED UNISEX T-SHIRTS, SHORTS + SNEAKERS - ALL LAUNCHED DURING THE COUNTRY'S FIRST ONLINE FASHION CATWALK!/ AS ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S MOST FAMOUS DESIGNERS, WE FIGURED JUSEF WOULD KNOW SOME PRETTY AMAZING PLACES ON THE ISLAND./ WE ASKED HIM TO SHARE JUST ONE OF HIS FAVOURITES... //
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