Holiday Dresses, Cannabis-ness, And Shawarma-Spiced Fries
Welcome to A Few Good Mentions, a weekly (or so) toss-up of five random, share-worthy things I might come across, see, read, do, or taste in a given week. You can find me on Instagram, and my website, which I try my best to update with latest published works. Ok, let’s go!
1.
Yesterday I stopped over for a quick circuit through the Luxury Meets Cannabis Conference, which has been going on for five or six years, and features more than 50 cannabis brands. From an innovation and design standpoint, I think this expanding and steadily-legalizing industry is fertile ground for so much potential. From a press standpoint, it’s fascinating and especially fun to meet new brands showcasing their offerings, typically with the founders right there to tell you the story behind things. A few notable standouts from this year’s visit: Leune, which recently scored two CLIO awards for it’s fluently-designed product lineup, which includes gummies, pre-rolls, and all-in-one vape pens; SASS, a Brooklyn-based “seed to table” confectionary, producing stunning, hand-painted, small-batch bonbons; and OhHo, which launched with a trim line of ingestible CBD oils in 2020, and has since expanded to include topical oils, chocolates and gummies, and even dog biscuits. I love the packaging of these too.
2.
I really, really love this recent collaboration between ceramicist Fernando Aciar’s fefo studio and the floral design studio, Fox Fodder Farm. Entitled, He, She, and They, the 20-piece collection takes inspiration from nature (especially in the organic, often bulbous shapes), and the often surprising exquisiteness in imperfection. The pieces, each one of a kind, are available for purchase at Fox Fodder Farm’s Williamsburg-based studio in Brooklyn, but I’m warning you now: Picking a favorite one is no easy task.
3.
This is NOT the same yuzu sake that my sister and I raved over during one most recent bi-annual “sister date” in Amsterdam. But so far, it’s the closest thing I’ve been able to track down to approximate the salty-citrus balance of the delicious stunner they poured us at Nazka, in the city’s De Pijp quarter. Trust me, based on the half-empty bottle in my fridge, it’s also very tasty.
4.
Speaking of memorable dinners… SHUKETTTTTTTE!!! I write it like that because this is not a meal that goes quietly into the night after the check comes, and everyone’s said ‘goodye.’ Chef Ayeshah Nurdjaja’s menu is so amped up with flavor, it would be impossible to forget dishes like schawarma-spiced fries, or a livened-up take on taramasalata with the addition of smoky bluefish. I had a reunion dinner there this week with two close friends, and the three of us are already hoping we can ‘reunite’ with Chef Ayesha’s tahini soft serve sometime soon.
5.
Pink City Prints is a contemporary fashion label consisting of handmade dresses from Jaipur (aka India’s “Pink City”), which employs heritage artisanal craftwork techniques such as block-printing, hand-looming, and hand-embroidery. I’ve been a big fan of their easy and chic, slip-on-and-go dresses for the past few years, but I’m quite honestly smitten with the new winter collection—their best yet, in my opinion.