tmagazine

Seventy years ago, women saw covers with titles like “Flying Lesbian” and “Never Love a Man” and bought those books by the millions. So did men. “The phenomenon of the lesbian pulp paperback — and it was a phenomenon, both culturally and financially — was both problematic and pioneering,” writes Mark Harris (@markharrisnyc), “although neither word adequately describes something that was at once a cynical business proposition and a burgeoning art form, a reinforcer of negative stereotypes and an act of breathtaking liberatory outreach, one that connected with countless women who had nowhere else to go, either in art or in life, if they longed to discover stories about people even remotely like themselves.” At the link in our bio, Harris writes about why these books are now being rediscovered. Photos: Alamy

Spend a few days in Siargao, the fig-shaped Filipino island in the country’s southeast, and locals will tell you, with a mix of anxiety and excitement, that the coconut tree-covered enclave is what Bali was in the 1970s. Or they might say, as the documentarian and trans-rights activist Queenmelo Esguerra (@queenmelomanila) put it, that the laid-back hotels and cafes that’ve opened this decade, “feel inspired by Tulum, no?” What the island shares with these busier destinations is a bohemian history, warm hospitality, beautiful jungle and ocean surroundings and an under-the-radar sense of cool that, as some locals rightfully worry, will quickly diminish if the construction seemingly happening everywhere isn’t carefully managed. Two years ago, the main airport began a major expansion — and now there are more than two dozen short flights each week to Siargao from two of the country’s major cities, Manila and Cebu; in recent years, United and Philippine Airlines started direct routes to Manila from New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. For now, though, the 169-square-mile landmass feels very remote. At the link in our bio, four insiders share their tips on exploring the island, from powdery beaches to coconut slushies. Written by @kurtsoller. Photos by @hannahreyesmorales. #TFlockingTo

The conceptual artist Lorraine O’Grady has died at 90. She considered her work, which spanned from performance to photo installations to video, to be autobiographical. “What I’m trying to do is get as much of myself expressed as possible, because there is so little out there that allows for an understanding of the fullness of the Black mind or soul,” she said in a 2021 interview. The second child of Jamaican immigrants, O’Grady grew up in Boston’s Back Bay. Before becoming an artist, she worked as an intelligence analyst for the federal government, a translator, a teacher, a student of fiction at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and, as if she weren’t already intimidating enough, a rock critic. “I don’t feel I’ve had much unlived life,” O’Grady said. On the occasion of a 2021 retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum, she answered T’s Artist’s Questionnaire, describing her process and considering the importance of criticism. Read the full interview, by Kate Guadagnino (@k_guad), at the link in our bio. Photos by @tiffanylclark.

The New York-based nail artist Mei Kawajiri (@nailsbymei) has created elaborate custom looks for pop stars such as Tyla, Dua Lipa and Sabrina Carpenter. Here, she demonstrates how to accomplish a festive version of “aura nails” — which feature gradient color accents against a solid base — using just a handful of products. Tap the link in our bio for the full guide. Written by Nia Decaille (@shesdecaille). Video directed by by David Chow (@davidchowing).

From the outside, @cabanetortin, a cliffhanging cabin in Switzerland’s Canton Valais, looks more like a gondola station than it does a luxury chalet. The three-bedroom fortress of concrete, galvanized steel, chimneys and solar panels sits solitary on a rocky ridge atop the ancient Tortin Glacier at an elevation of 9,500 feet. Its cantilevered glass windows reflect the surrounding pink alpenglow and bluebird skies that the 4 Vallées Ski area — Switzerland’s largest, including Verbier — is known for. Inside, the mind-clearing Scandinavian minimalism of the Norwegian architect Snorre Stinessen focuses on the elements with a blond wood grain ceiling, sauna and log fireplace. Read more about the secluded ski-in property at the link in our bio. Written by @adamgraham. Photo courtesy of @albrechtvoss.

Ahead of Christmas, we asked several design professionals to share how they decorate trees. The interior stylist @martinrbourne likes to save the tops of pines that’ve been mostly eaten by deer. “We pop them in a big vase and let them lean, lights, decorations and all,” he says. Aaron Aujla (@aa_aujla), a co-founder of the furniture and interior design company @greenriverprojectllc, hangs his with marigold garlands and Japanese chenille birds. When the scenic designer Tim McMath (@tdmcma) had a party with the theme “A Very Merry Monster Christmas,” the tree was adorned accordingly. In @beataheuman’s London showroom, the bows and skirt are made of fabric she designed. The set designer Theresa Rivera (@theresariveradesign) decorates hers with grapevine and pampas grasses, as well as winterberries and a few disco balls. For the skirt, she uses fabrics she already owns — this year it was two vintage carpets. Lindsey Chan (@lindscha), a co-founder of the Los Angeles-based interior design studio @officeofbc, says a garland of hearts from the fashion label Dosa is among her favorite additions: “Each heart is hand-stitched and beaded by local women [in Oaxaca], using Dosa’s recycled fabric remnants.” The Parisian interior designer @dorotheemeilichzon likes her conifer to be “colorful and joyful,” and every ornament has a deeper meaning, often representing a friend or family member. The interior designer @antonytodd opted for branches with baubles, while another interior designer, @sallybreer, made decorative fish using cardboard and silver spray paint. “I'm a real believer in making versus buying wherever I can,” she says, “and the holidays are really the best excuse to craft.” Photos courtesy of @martinrbourne, @greenriverprojectllc, @tdmcma, @beataheuman, @theresariveradesign, @lindscha, @dorotheemeilichzon, @antonytodd, @sallybreer. #TRituals

In addition to producing furniture, lighting and home accessories, the Danish brand @Vipp runs nine guesthouses in Europe. As of November, it’s taking reservations for its first property in North America, a five-bedroom home in Todos Santos on the Pacific Coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. Sofie Christensen Egelund, the third generation co-owner of Vipp, was introduced to the region by the Mexico City-based architect Pablo Pérez Palacios (@perez_palacios_aa), who’s behind the property’s design. The 3,800-square-foot home has a rooftop pool and open interiors that highlight natural materials: The walls are made of rammed earth, while window shutters are woven from branches of the local Palo de Arco tree. Furnishings include some of Vipp’s own pieces as well as the brand’s signature kitchen, a modular system with minimalist hardware. Tap the link in our bio to read the full story, written by Natalia Rachlin (@nat_rach). Photos courtesy of @andershviid. #TList

“I grew up around the remnants — gold dust, stones and wax,” Alexis Alexandra Briano (@a.alexandra.jeweler) says of A. Hagosian & Son, the jewelry shop that her grandfather Aram and her father, John, maintained for half a century inside the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco. Aram opened the store in the 1930s after having escaped the 1915 Armenian genocide and, especially because of the precarity from which it emerged, Briano didn’t want the business to die with her father. A few years ago, she found a Los Angeles-based goldsmith with the skills to recreate Aram and John’s intricate designs — lost-wax cast, hand-engraved pieces inspired by the work of the 16th-century Italian sculptor and jeweler Benvenuto Cellini, and by the natural world. The result is a collection of eight 18-carat-gold rings featuring wraparound botanical motifs. With their fine etchings and antique finishes, the designs have an old-world appeal, though Briano notes that a band carved with acorns is also “so California.” She sees the project, which she’s named Alexis Alexandra, as a tribute to her family, and yet she also wants to move the story forward. She plans to experiment with her own designs — and with various gems — and hopes, one day, to pass her knowledge down to her daughter. Tap the link in our bio to read the full story, along with the rest of our latest #TList recommendations. Written by Kate Guadagnino (@k_guad). Photos courtesy of @romainroucoules.

The partners in life Aaron and Irisa Na Kawabi never set out to be partners in business. After their 2014 graduation from the Parsons School of Design, where they met as students, Irisa worked as a product designer while Aaron focused on cabinetmaking, architectural fabrication and retail interiors. But when they married and moved into an apartment in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in 2022, they ended up making “almost everything we needed together, from cups to chairs,” says @irisa__na. One highlight was a piece they now call the Cascade Pendant, a ceiling light constructed from two interlocking pieces of American maple embedded with three ellipse-shaped lanterns crafted out of kozo, a highly prized mulberry-bark paper that they source from Shikoku, Japan. A year later, they decided to launch @kawabi, a collection of handmade lighting. The lights, which the couple describe as “beacons,” bear some resemblance to those designed by the midcentury Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi, and to vernacular Japanese and Chinese lanterns. Instead of typical bamboo ribbing, however, the couple use rattan reeds, wrapping them around a collapsible wood structure. The resulting silhouettes are organic and irregular — a departure from traditional Asian craft, which prizes exacting symmetry. Tap the link in our bio to read the full story about the collection. Written by Alexa Brazilian (@lexbrazilian). Photo by Emiliano Granado (@quesofrito).

Rose Fournier, the Swiss French interior designer and owner of @tarabelmarrakech, the 10-room riad that opened in the Moroccan city in 2007, spent the past five years overhauling a 19th-century mansion in Lisbon’s Lapa neighborhood. Situated across a cobblestone street from the United States ambassador’s residence, @tarabellisbon is set to open next month behind a facade painted enamel blue in homage to Queluz Palace, built in 1747 for the first female ruler of Portugal. For her new hotel’s relaxed, elegant interiors, Fournier scoured French flea markets for antique furniture (“Everything Napoleon III is comfortable,” she says) to mix with extra-deep, French linen-covered couches along with trompe l’oeil bookshelves and birdcages by the painter Gonçalo Jordão. All nine rooms across four levels have views over the Tagus River, some extending to private terraces. A guests-only garden is bordered by jacaranda trees and there’s also a glass-tiled swimming pool, heated year-round. Tap the link in our bio to read the full story about the new hotel along with the rest of this week’s #TList recommendations. Written by Cynthia Rosenfeld (@cynthiaroams). Photos courtesy of Tarabel Lisbon.

After walking away from the Black Eyed Peas, Kim Hill has been making art on her own terms. @alwayskimhill toured with the Black Eyed Peas for five years and contributed vocal hooks to tracks like “The Way U Make Me Feel” (which she co-wrote) and “What It Is,” both released in 1998. But in 2000, she parted ways with the band. During the pandemic, she longed for a creative outlet and found that weaving felt natural to her, almost akin to hair braiding, so she began making lawn chairs inspired by both her own collection of North African and Indonesian furniture and the aluminum-and-woven-plastic fold-up seats that her grandmother used for entertaining. Hill stripped four of those inherited chairs down to their frames and rewove them with water-resistant macramé in bright colors like lime and magenta. When a developer of the Rockaway Hotel in Queens ordered 27, Hill’s business, Hazel & Shirley, named after her grandmother and mother, was born. By 2022, Hill’s creations included vibrant wall hangings, as well as portraits of languid Black figures that she started painting after an art instructor advised her to capture not just what she saw but what she felt — an approach that reminded her of making music. Tap the link in our bio to read the full story, written by @emilylordi1. Photo by @mirandabarnes.

The writer and performer @juliafox has long seen herself as a freak. “I remember being in fifth grade [on New York’s Upper East Side] and being exhausted from trying to pretend to be normal all the time,” she told @tmagazine in an interview. Now, after coming into her own, she has a few tips for embracing all sides of yourself. Tap the link in our bio for her tutorial, part of T’s “Freak City” feature about the one-of-a-kind creative forces shaping New York today. Interview by Juan A. Ramírez (@itsnumberjuan). Photo by Justin French (@frenchgold).