In the Studio with Louie Isaaman-Jones
“My dream workshop would be half indoors, half outdoors,” says Louie Isaaman-Jones, sat outside of a cafe in South East London, somewhere near an industrial estate and Millwall’s football ground. Our conversation mingles with the sounds of a big city in spring: birdsong, the rumbling of car engines, train tracks and workmen joking around on their tea break.
“I’m always bouncing between different mediums, different approaches, different fields,” says the artist, whose work can span furniture-making, interiors, gardens, and sculpture.
A Long Lunch at St. JOHN
We’re here for a rather special lunch. The gastronomic gods have conspired to find a perfect occasion where an assorted cabal of food and wine lovers, with a penchant for beautiful jackets, could descend upon St. JOHN and indulge in something memorable.
As couples and small groups start drifting through to the dining room, our crew huddle together at the bar drinking Blanc de Blancs Champagne, while Trevor recounts tales of getting around French bureaucracy with aplomb. Fergus cuts a dash at the bar, in a bespoke moleskin Drake’s suit and superb pastel pink braces. Michael Drake arrives late in a Solito linen jacket, a re-styled 1980s Drake’s tie, and deep tan, looking like he’s arrived straight off a sea plane from Havana. The inimitable Michael Hill, has indeed just stepped off a plane from Sicily, and helps my colleague, Charlotte Sère, accessorize beautifully with a Drake’s bandana.
Seoul Music
According to The Korea Herald, vinyl sales amongst a younger generation of Koreans have risen by more than 100 percent year-on-year since 2021. The first ‘LP Bars’ opened in the 90s, mostly inspired by Japan’s listening bars, where aficionados would gather to enjoy rare imported records played on professional audio exquipment, drink whisky and smoke 100 cigarettes in a row.
“There’s not much space in Seoul,” says our friend JP. “The apartments are small,” adds Jay. “It can be like your living room here.”
Editors Picks
Radio
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author and The New Yorker staff writer lists some of his favourite tracks to walk around to as winter turns to spring in NYC. author and The New Yorker staff writer lists some of his favourite tracks to walk around to as winter turns to spring in NYC.
