Epara (which means “to cocoon oneself” in the Nigerian dialect Ebira) crafts high-quality skincare products using natural ingredients ethically sourced from co-ops and small farms in Africa. Their Balancing Face Oil combines moringa, marula and ylang ylang III oils. Gentle yet potent, this formula helps to brighten and soften skin, while also reducing hyperpigmentation. Price is in Pounds.
This product is sold by Epara
Jaunty and rounded, the Splat Side Table successfully plays with conventional furniture design. It’s made by Brooklyn-based designer Sophie Collé, whose practice encompasses her love of queerness, toys and the dramatic. Available in different heights and a range of colorful and classic hues, the side table stuns on its own or can be stacked alongside others for whimsical combinations.
This product is sold by Sophie Collé
In honor of Sacred Bones Records’ 15th anniversary, the Brooklyn-based label is repressing the cult classic Mother Earth’s Plantasia by Mort Garson on limited caladium pink and green vinyl. First released in 1976, the album, suffused with Moog synthesizers, was composed specifically for plants and only available to those who purchased a plant from Mother Earth on Melrose Avenue in LA or a Simmons mattress from Sears. Almost 50 years later, the album’s legacy continues to grow with a remastered vinyl that also comes with a fully restored original booklet and seed paper.
This product is sold by Sacred Bones Records
Designed to be paired with Snow Peak’s Takibi Tarp Octa or the HD Tarp Hexa Evo Pro Ivory, the limited edition Tarp Extension Tent creates a designated sleeping area that fits up to four people and enhances the tented outdoor space with an inner room and ground sheet.
This product is sold by Snow Peak
Skateboarding is a culture traditionally rife with homophobia and exclusivity, but artist and activist Jeffrey Cheung and his partner Gabriel Ramirez are working to change that through their radical, queer skate collective UNITY and brand THERE Skateboards. From the store comes “Ice Cream,” a standard 8.25-inch board that fittingly features Cheung’s charming portraits stacked like scoops of ice cream.
This product is sold by THERE Skateboards
David Owen’s new book, June Newton Best Seller, is the story of a floor manager at a regional department store. While it may seem her life is dull, it’s anything but. Filled with quirky diary confessionals and imaginary conversations with Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder and Nicholas Cage, the book turns from an off-kilter journal to a rollercoaster of a story. It’s the publisher’s first foray into literary fiction, and has been illustrated and designed by Karla Jarvinen and Dominik Pollin.
This product is sold by IDEA
From the beloved queer-run Hudson Valley restaurant Lil’ Deb’s Oasis comes merch made in collaboration with artist Nico Fontana. The “Tasting Gay” shirt, a long-sleeve garment that’s available in black or amethyst, is a whimsical celebration of the equally enchanting establishment. In wriggly font, the words “Tasting Good” adorn one sleeve while “Tasting Gay” runs across the other. The back of the shirt features a mountain range, peppered with flying butterflies along with Fontana and the eatery’s name.
This product is sold by Lil' Deb's Oasis
Intimate storytelling merges with club bangers on Rina Sawayama’s second album, Hold The Girl. Traversing a multitude of genres—from country to disco, rock, dance and grunge—the album attests to the British Japanese artist’s ingenuity. Within, Sawayama comes to terms with her past, deftly transforming the deepest of emotions into soaring anthems. This version of the album, released by Rough Trade, is on red marbled vinyl.
This product is sold by Dirty Hit
Smiley faces, fruits, yin-yangs, hearts and pearls fill this glass bead necklace from Copenhagen-based Pura Utz. Handmade by a team of artisans in Guatemala, the playful piece promises to be eye-catching on its own, but pairs beautifully with other jewelry. The colorful necklace is available in two sizes: 42cm or 50cm. Price is in kroner.
This product is sold by Pura Utz
Across 76 pages, this volume from collaborative publishing project Colpa Press acts as a mesmerizing archive of Detroit’s rave culture from 1993 to 1999. From sci-fi aesthetics to kawaii imagery, the collection’s varied and bold designs document an equally vibrant, thriving party scene in the birthplace of techno. Price is in Pounds.
This product is sold by Colpa Press
More than a serene getaway, Bali abounds with nightlife, surf culture, innovative bamboo architecture and more. It was this lush amalgamation that inspired Elora Hardy to found her sustainable design and architecture firm, IBUKU, after growing up on the island. In Bali Mystique, published by Assouline, Hardy traverses multifaceted destinations within the tropical locale through 200+ images and personal anecdotes that serve as an ode to the island’s kind community.
This product is sold by Assouline
The Spirulina Botanical Bar is a thoughtfully fragrant and nourishing product from scent and skincare line Redoux NYC. Weaving lavender, ylang ylang, palmarosa and eucalyptus essential oils, the aroma evokes bathhouses and their cleansing properties. Meanwhile, spirulina helps diminish acne and support collagen production, and rice milk, a centuries-old Chinese and Korean ingredient for skincare, fights inflammation.
This product is sold by Redoux NYC
Brandi Carlile’s memoir, Broken Horses, charts the singer-songwriter and producer’s upbringing in the impoverished outskirts of Seattle, as well as her experience being openly gay within a homophobic faith. As the book describes, these difficult moments shaped Carlile as well as her art, from her early days singing in local competitions to opening for Dave Matthews Band. Honest and insightful, the memoir is an unflinching look at identity, rejection and Carlile’s well-deserved and earned success.
This product is sold by Penguin Random House
Pieter “Parra” Janssen’s colorful curves and post-pop imagery translate to multicolored apparel and, even more fittingly, swim shorts from the Dutch artist’s own clothing brand, By Parra. These 100% nylon trunks feature a soft mesh inner, rear pockets with closures, patch panels and, of course, Parra’s signature waves.
This product is sold by By Parra
Laura K Zimmermann’s magical children’s book Mushroom Rain glows with dazzling fungi illustrations by Jamie Green. The fascinating, informative work includes insight on the mysterious power of mushrooms, from helping to create rain to smelling like bubblegum. With lyrical descriptions as well as additional facts and activities in the back matter, the book is an enchanting and educational tour of ecology.
This product is sold by Sleeping Bear Press
Made from GOTS-certified organic cotton, this pale pink shirt rightly and defiantly proclaims “Abortion is Healthcare” across the front, while the back features a uterus giving the finger. CHNGE will donate 50% of the proceeds from the cheeky top to three organizations: SisterSong, which advocates for the reproductive justice of Indigenous women and people of color; The National Network of Abortion Funds, which removes financial and logistical barriers to abortion access; and National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, which builds equal abortion access for those in the Latinx diaspora.
This product is sold by CHNGE
These Interlocking Sandals combine District Vision’s dedication to performance-oriented athletic apparel with cult Japanese brand Suicoke’s minimal design. The sandals feature Suicoke’s signature antibacterial and supportive EVA cushioned footbed, a supple strap system that molds to the wearer and a custom-developed Vibram Wurstel outsole that allows the shoes to interlock for easy storage and transport.
This product is sold by District Vision + Suicoke
Manchester, UK-based clothing brand Private White VC’s collaborative weatherproof tote bag with American leatherworker Frank Clegg is sleek and functional. Handmade in Massachusetts, the tote pairs vegetable tanned leather patches, buffed and polished edges and a bevy of zippered and internal pockets with Ventile, an absorbent cotton material that’s often used in tech-forward outerwear.
This product is sold by Private White VC
Copenhagen-based design studio ferm LIVING utilizes a two-tone mix of clay to create this cup and saucer set’s marbled pattern, which is unique to each piece and enhanced by an elegant high-gloss glazed finish. The oversized shape of the saucer contributes to an aesthetic that’s simultaneously bold and minimal.
This product is sold by ferm LIVING
Tested to endure the outdoors, this waterproof sticker proudly supports abortion rights, reading “Keep Your Rosaries Off My Ovaries!” Made ethically in-house by Chicago-based Societal Stickers, the vinyl sticker leaves no residue after removal, and 100% of proceeds go to the National Network of Abortion Funds.
This product is sold by Societal Stickers
From Melbourne, Australia-based, alien-themed incense brand Agaric Fly comes the Arzach set of 15 hand-dipped incense sticks with a fragrance that blends clary sage, white tea and labdanum. Agaric Fly’s in-house scents incorporate natural oils and aroma molecules to create relaxing moments that feel almost otherworldly.
This product is sold by YOWIE
The Winding Road is a platform founded by Marla Showfer, who traverses the globe to partner with and present small fair trade artisans. For the Magic Mushroom Playhouse, Showfer worked with a family-owned workshop in Kathmandu, Nepal to create a pastoral felt world, replete with a mushroom-shaped cottage and mouse finger puppet. With a design evoking fairytale art, the playhouse inspires whimsy and imagination.
This product is sold by The Winding Road
Paris-based running apparel brand Satisfy collaborated with Canadian brand norda to design a dynamic version of their 001, the world’s first trail-running shoes made with durable, bio-based Dyneema—one of lightest sustainable materials in existence. Their collaborative sneakers feature a Dyneema upper that is 15 times stronger than steel of the same weight, a Vibram SLE midsole that is 30% lighter than the standard and a Vibram MegaGrip outsole to tackle dry and wet terrain. Reflective details and a minty colorway express Satisfy’s punk-meets-optimistic ethos. Responsive enough for high-intensity sessions and breathable for comfort, these shoes were made for trail-running—and the environment.
This product is sold by Satisfy + norda
Aamina Ahmad pays exacting attention to her characters’ psychological nuances in her debut novel, The Return of Faraz Ali. The neo-noir novel tells the tale of a Faraz Ali who was taken from his birthplace in Lahore (Pakistan’s second largest city) as a child only to be sent back years later by his powerful politician father, now as a police officer tasked with covering up a young girl’s murder. More than a gripping mystery, the novel is a deft reckoning with caste and gender in Pakistan.
This product is sold by Penguin Random House
Jenny Tinghui Zhang’s debut novel Four Treasures of the Sky is a surreal epic underpinned by Chinese folklore and American history. It follows the journey of heroine Daiyu who is kidnapped and smuggled from China to the US, where the Chinese Exclusion Act is taking hold. From a brothel in San Francisco to the mountains of Idaho, the story traces Daiyu’s journey to survive an unimaginably violent country, weaving a gripping tale of historical fiction into a prescient look at contemporary America.
This product is sold by Macmillan Publishers
Jan Andreu had been a fan of Laia Aguilar’s work at Bobo Choses, and was thrilled when the two collaborated on The Animal Observatory—a children’s apparel brand centered on play and curiosity. Their yellow bucket hat features a minimalist flower print and pink interior and evokes cheerful and bright days under the sun. Floral and endearing, the 100% cotton hat is available in sizes medium and large. Price is in Euros.
This product is sold by The Animal Observatory
