1. The Ideal City: Exploring Urban Futures

With the pandemic putting a halt to international travel, I’ve dedicated more than a few daydreams over the last several months to mull over which cities I hope to (re)visit once free travel returns. In the process I’ve also been thinking about the successes, shortcomings and growing needs of urban centers around the world, factoring not only the global implications of a post-pandemic world, but also the developing challenges attributed to climate change. The Ideal City: Exploring Urban Futures offers a hopeful and holistic view of the roles architecture, design, technology and governance each play toward the realization of urban centers that meet these challenges head-on, delivered with a buoying optimistic spirit. What I most enjoyed about SPACE10’s curation within the pages of their book is they’ve dedicated a great portion of the book to real world and completed efforts from around the globe, offering numerous adaptable solutions while also recognizing there are no single one-size-fits-all approaches to realizing an ideal city.
2. UMÉ Mini Soaps

The eroded and angular silhouettes of these hand cast soaps remind me of earthen skyscrapers…and a little bit of the shape of lip balm/lipstick after it’s been used regularly. The marbled swirl of the Lavender soap is my favorite in color of the bunch, but Dirty Grapefruit ? scented with white grapefruit, honeydew melon and mango seed butter ? rea...