Nº68: Laurie Barron
The curator and writer talks archives, the best writing on cultural microtrends, and roast chicken for two.
We’re back with Laurie Barron. Read on to find out what he’s into, and if you’re new here, hit subscribe for secret recommendations every week.
Laurie Barron is a London-based Assistant Director for The Artist Room Gallery and writer for Plaster Magazine.
☞ COMME DES GARCONS SHIRT: Not cheap, but a CDG shirt is just the perfect everyday shirt! It’s a fab day if I find one for 80% off on Vinted…
☞ FOR SCALE: So much interior design content focuses on a) celebrities with huge LA condos b) whimsical English country house chintzy vibes - neither of which I find usefully inspiring for my small London flat. Substack newsletter FOR SCALE is the best place to discover archive interiors, incredible modernist furniture, and fascinating trends like ‘Office Lobby’, ‘Templecore’, and ‘Bachelor Aesthetic’. This article on gallerist’s furniture choices at art fairs (a subject close to my heart) is a constant reminder to keep art fair furniture tidy of mess!
☞ THE CANTON ARMS: Hands down the best pub in London. The first time I visited Fergus Henderson was taking his family for Sunday lunch, which can only be a good thing. Get the whipped cod's roe, the ham hock terrine, and the lamb shoulder. The £50 Yorkshire chicken ‘Caesar’ (for two) is a gamechanger. After the kitchen closes, they lay out bowls of crisps and leftover roast potatoes at the bar as a free snack. Iconic!
☞ OLIVIA ALLEN: Of course, I met Olivia Allen on my first visit to the Chesham Arms in Hackney (or was it the Prince George?), venues that function like fishtanks to observe East London’s latest microtrends. Writing across art, fashion and lifestyle, Olivia’s witty features for Plaster, Byline and Dazed (among many others) dissect such fascinating trends like ‘why tacky is back’, ‘sample sale subculture’, ‘why we are obsessed with bookclubs’, and ‘the enduring appeal of celebrity memoirs’.
☞ DEPA ARCHIVE: What Ghent-based 21-year-old curator Pieter-Jan De Paepe doesn’t know about contemporary painting and sculpture isn’t worth knowing. His IG account is a treasure trove for painting and sculpture nerds worldwide…
☞ CHEAP OLD HOUSES JAPAN: With 2.8 million followers, the Cheap Old Houses IG account, which finds incredible historic homes in rural areas in America and Europe costing less than a parking space in Mayfair, is not a niche recommendation. But, recently, I stumbled across Japan’s equivalent, unsurprisingly named Cheap Old Houses Japan, where many houses are priced less than an average London salary… Every time I see an image on these accounts I wonder if anyone has actually thrown it all away in exchange for rural Japanese bliss?
☞ PRINCESS JULIA: Original New Romantic Princess Julia’s relentless pursuit of discovering the new is endlessly inspiring. She does the work to stay informed about what’s happening, always supporting emerging talent, and cutting about London in super chic outfits. I often think about Julia’s incredible quote cited in Prem Sahib’s contribution to ES Magazine’s ‘My London’ series: “When in doubt, go out.” Love!
♪ LISTENING TO: Whenever someone asks me for a podcast recommendation, I say that Nymphet Alumni is the only one where I’ve listened to every episode. Sam Cummins, Biz Sherbert, and Alexi Arario intellectually dissect cultural/fashion trends like ‘Christian Girl Autumn’, ‘Spiritual Bimboism’, ‘Tiki’, and ‘Global South Core’. My friend Ana Viktoria Dzinic introduced me to Alexi at the Chelsea Hotel in New York and it was a truly life-affirming moment!
☠ HATES: UK non-profit arts organisations being defunded!
Thanks Laurie! Follow Laurie here!
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