Hello, S.O.M.E.bodies!
My sincere apologies for the lag since we last corresponded. I have experienced a sudden uptick in “work” and the sensation of being the slightest bit busy for the first time since early March. Fear not, I am figuring out my new schedule and have a great list of contributors coming up for the rest of the year. Thank you for bearing with me, early adopters!
Without further ado, here are my Things for the week. Hope you Enjoy! Love you!
Sun Potion Merch
I met Lily for lunch at Dimes last week and the woman working was wearing an oversized Sun Potion logo tee which I have not stopped thinking about (and sadly can not source on the official website, but they do have totes). Sun Potion Transformation Foods sells herbal supplements like ashwagandha and reishi mushroom powder; I think I first spotted it at Moon Juice in LA circa 2016 but it looks like something I could have picked up at my hometown grocery co-op, The Outpost, decades ago.
I am drawn to the Sun Potion brand (and Dimes, Moon Juice, Sqirl, the whole genre of “health food for hot people” as Julia used to call it) because it is both practical and fussy; essential and prestige; ostensibly about health and wellbeing but teetering around orthorexia and obsession. It’s the kind of paradox that gets me going. I attempted to write about this in 2017 for Eater if you want to check it out: When Will the Food World Embrace Moon Juice?
Preliminary Materials for a Theory of the Young-Girl
I found this little gem at Artbook, the bookstore at the Hauser & Wirth gallery in LA. I don’t have a background in critical theory or much rigorous intellectual training at all (lol), so the fact that this book is written satirically and like tweets works well for me.
Basically it is a critique of how capitalism shapes the mind and behaviors of the ultimate consumer and the ultimate commodity, the “young-girl,” who does not need to necessarily be young nor female. Reading it felt wildly contemporary, especially given social media; I was amazed to flip to the front of the book and find it was published in 1999 (originally in French, thankfully translated). I keep my copy at my desk and occasionally flip to a page and read whatever jumps out, like an oracle or a prayer:
Even in love, the Young-Girl speaks the language of political economy and management.
BFGF
I bought the throw blanket/tapestry pictured above (now sold out, but so many other options available!) at the end of 2016/beginning of 2017 as a little gift for myself when I moved “for real” to LA after a few months of going back and forth between LA and NY. It still makes me smile and I get a lot of questions about it whenever someone comes over or it pops up in a picture on social media. It’s by an artist named Lilian Martinez who makes these throws as well as pillows, upholstered chairs, and some other stuff under the brand name BFGF. I found out about BFGF when I was doing a temp gig in 2016 on a Snapchat Discover (RIP) project for Hearst and one of the designers suggested the brand for some shopping story or roundup we were doing.
Blueland Dish Soap
Dish soap! I know. This brand just did a collaboration with Reformation (hehe) and sent me the set, which is lovely, but the standout is the DISH SOAP. I hate doing dishes soooooo much. Anyone who has lived with me at any point in my life can attest. But this powdered dish soap is so effective that I am kind of obsessed with seeing it work so I keep cleaning my dishes just to experience the satisfaction of it? What??
When my mom was here she identified that I have “soft water” so it takes longer for things like shampoo to rinse out, and probably liquid dish soap, too (haven’t Googled; won’t). Maybe that has something to do with how much CLEANER and SHINIER all of my dishes are. It’s exciting.
I should also note that this brand is extremely ecologically friendly / healthy to use / low waste / etc. Which I love. But mostly I love that it surprised me by being excellent.
That’s all for today! We’ll be back next week on the regular Tuesday schedule featuring Vagablonde author (and my best friend) Anna Dorn next week, followed by lots of other cool people. Thanks for reading, and please pass along to anyone you think might like!