Last week I went to Twenty Peas’ opening celebration. Lucky, lucky me. I heaped as much of what they were offering onto my plate, and greedily ate delicious butternut squash tart, soy bean sprout salad, roasted vegetables, and later a creamy celery and cauliflower soup. After I was done thinking about how good that butternut squash tart was, I attacked the pastry table which included multiple French toast squares and housemade Pim’s. The best was the little bag of mini financiers and jar of mini jam that were tucked in my pocket as a parting gift (which I happily devoured le lendemain matin).

This good food is actually good food : fresh products that reflect the season, cheese from Neal’s Yard, wine from La Contre Etiquette. It all changes daily, and I can’t wait to go back to see what they’ll cook up next. Oh, and it’s the cutest place on earth.

Twenty Peas*

59, rue des Mathurins – 75008

(images courtesy of Léa et Irina)

This video makes all of us want to cry, and yet, there is no sign of change in government policies. We all know nuke power is highly dangerous, yet new plants are still being built all over the world.

A long time ago, we believed radioactivity was revolutionary and absolutely safe. We used to manipulate radium as in the image below. We are now aware that radioactivity is harmful not only for our environment but also for those who are exposed. It is not just another common electric power process. It has to be handled with care, or not handled at all.

But it is not. Many accidents have occured. And we are exposed. Take a quick look at this map displaying existing nuclear plants. Isn’t that enough? Scary, huh.

Nuke power is not the sunshine of our lives. Unlike natural disasters, nuclear minor or major accidents can be avoided. Take action! Think how simple it is to save energy at home and at work. And if you believe this is not enough, you also can support organisations that fight everyday for a brighter future. Greenpeace, and the WWF are doing a great job, and need your financial support. So, stop complaining and DO IT, DO IT, GO!

Photo credits : Vintage transparent plate for projections in french physics class pictured by talented Vianney. Map via mapcruzin.com.

This post is a tribute to her work, of course, but also to her style and beauty. She’s been an important figure and influencer, for me, ever since I was a little girl watching animal documentaries on TV. She once again prooves that you can be an activist and still be feminine and keep a great style… Which is probably true the other way round : you won’t loose anything when becoming a nature defender. Like Jane, don’t be afraid, go green, go !

I love these pictures, they’re just amazing.

Here is a timelapse video also infuenced by her commitment to nature.

A Timelapse Journey with Nature – Jane Goodall Version from Henry Jun Wah Lee

Check janegoodalllive.com for more info and tour dates.

Le 18 mars 1967 le pétrolier Torrey Canyon déverse 120 000 tonnes de pétrole brut dans la Manche, créant ainsi la première catastrophe écologique due au transport du pétrole. Serge Gainsbourg en fait une chanson. 44 ans et beaucoup d’autres désastres plus tard, nous sommes toujours dépendants du pétrole. Une petite rehab ?

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On march 18, 1967, the Torrey Canyon supertanker spilled 120,000 tons of crude oil in the English Channel, causing the first major environmental disaster due to oil transportation. Serge Gainsbourg got inspired and composed this song. It was 44 years ago and many other catastrophies occured since then, but we are still addicted to oil and no rehab is planned (yet).

I also talked a little bit with Jeremy, happy owner of Sultan, a fabulous brand of menswear. He pretends he is not eco conscious, but I can tell you his collections are! The 100% made in France collaboration with Paraboots is amazing, I’ll mention it in an upcoming post. I loved the look of the shoes with seal fur, but I could NEVER wear them, because of the feeling a cute animal of an endangered species has been murdered so that my feet will look cool. When I told him, he answered his company only kill bad seals and let the good seals live. Ha ha ha, I sure believe that!

There’s also this article from the Fearless Blog, that I really appreciated. They say you don’t have to put labels on people, like, if you’re a vegetarian you’re supposed to act some way, whereas if you eat meat you’re a bad bad bad killer.

For my part I was raised in the countryside, where people grow animals. It sounds weird, when you think about it, to take good care of a Being everyday, and then when you’re hungry you just kill it.
Is this cruelty, or just life ?

Is it a crime to kill for food? I am not a vegetarian but I eat a very low amount of meat, that I choose of good quality and local. I am aware of the tremendous impact red meat has on our planet, and I personally don’t want to be part of that. Meanwhile, I am french and a food lover, and can’t imagine a parisian bistrot without a good steak frites on the menu! We have to keep that tradition, but with local and good quality products, and maybe less quantities. Besides, I suppose there probably should be a program to modernise slaughterhouses to limit the pain.
Also, animals kill each other, don’t they ? And we humans are part of the food chain, right?

Is it a crime to kill because you want to look good? I don’t know, but I would never buy fur or leather from an animal that was raised for this purpose. Yet, I love to wear vintage fur, and leather from animals that were raised for their meat in the first place.

Is it a crime to kill to maintain traditions? I don’t know, but for my part I have the feeling that cruelty is part of nature. I respect ancient traditions that are very close to sacrifices, because sometimes we need to be in contact with death and its symbolic power. Like, corrida represents the symbol of a risky fight for life. Like whaling on a tiny little boat, once in a year, as they used to in the ancient times, at the risk of the sailor’s lives. Confrontation with nature is part of our « human animality ». But using modern equipments to perform a masacre, like they do every year at the whaling in the Faroe Islands, how human is that?

Is it a crime to kill for pleasure? That, I feel, is totally unbearable.

In the end, I would place Nature’s rights above all. And since we’re part of it, we can kill, eat, but not destroy. This is my own private opinion, and I am conscious of my contradictions. Well, life is not in black and white! It’s more like in a technicolor movie. Yes, you can be an eco activist AND wear leather. There is no « 100% » cruel or « 100% » nice, there are only inbetweens!

I would love to get feedback on that matter.

Photo © www.generalprojects.com

nuclear jeopardy mix by polocorp

Polocorp’s blogspot & Polocorp’s facebook

However, there is one subject I don’t feel very optimistic about : nuclear power. For many reasons –among them the fact that the Fukushima disaster happened on my very birthday– I feel TREMENDOUSLY sad and concerned when I think about it. This post is not about proving nuclear energy is unsafe or not ecological. Plenty of articles show the obvious : it is the most serious security hazard, a source of global pollution and it is not even cheaper in the long run.

One of my favorite quotations is : « Do not complain. Either act, or forget ». I’m not the kind of person to demonstrate in the streets, but I still don’t want to abandon the idea that maybe, one day, our governments will be more responsible. I’m gonna stop complaining, and I’m gonna take some action : sign this and that, subscribe to this, and I will also donate a little bit of money here, and there. And I will turn my computer off when I’m done.

French people, wake up. We are the nation with the highest concentration of nuclear plants in the world; it represents a big part of our economy. But this is fragile (do I have to mention Fukushima, again ?) and not sustainable. Go for green energies. Your electricity bill won’t be that much more, and you and your children, and the offspring of your offspring will be safer, for thousands of years. Take care of YOU, for godsake !

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Ce blog veut montrer une vision optimiste de l’avenir green, et il se trouve que nous manquons de temps et d’espace pour mentionner tout ce qui se passe en France et dans le monde. Tant mieux !

Cependant j’ai personnellement du mal à être optimiste concernant un domaine : le nucléaire. Est-ce parce que la catastrophe de FUKUSHIMA est arrivée le jour de mon anniversaire ? Triste journée… Je me sens d’autant plus concernée.

Je ne vais pas prouver, avec ce post, que l’énergie nucléaire est polluante, extrêmement dangereuse, et même pas moins chère à long terme. Il y a déjà pléthore d’articles sur le sujet. Une de mes citations favorites est « Ne te plains pas. Agis, ou oublie ». Mais j’ai un peu de mal avec le concept de manifestation dans la rue. Ok, je peux quand même agir. Je vais aller signer ici et là, souscrire à ça, et je vais aussi donner un petit peu d’argent ici, et là. Et je vais éteindre mon ordinateur au lieu de le laisser en veille.

Chers Frenchies, réveillez-vous, bordel. Nous sommes le territoire avec une des plus grandes concentrations de centrales. Cela représente une bonne part de notre économie, soit, mais c’est tellement fragile… Dois-je mentionner une nouvelle fois l’exemple de Fukushima, son coût humain, et même la chute libre de l’action Tepco ? La vie a une valeur immatérielle et immense, ce n’est pas une facture d’électricité un PEU plus importante qui va me contredire. Je VEUX soutenir les énergies renouvelables, et c’est une pensée égoïste. Pour MOI, pour ceux que j’aime, pour mes enfants, leurs enfants, et leurs descendants, pour les milliers d’années à venir. Allez, allez sur les liens, et signez, donnez ! Prenez soin de VOUS !

image © www.unknownhipster.com

photos by Estelle Hanania

sketches for the Good Guys collection and self-portait by Mayon

*Hi Mayon, thanks SO MUCH for doing this interview. Can you tell me about how this project came to life? I know it has something to do with Brice Partouche at April77 (love that guy!). Could you explain why leather-free products are important to you, and also about the type of production you chose in Portugal.

Mayon: Hello! Yes this project started first between Brice and me, we were both thinking at the same time about starting a shoe project and not using leather, or more precisely a cruelty free shoe brand.
When I met him the first thing we talked about was this idea that we had in common.Then a few months later we started to sketch and work together with a commercial agent. Leather-free products are important to me because I love animals. It’s as simple as it sounds. I design shoes for other brands and leather is always the main material we use in this industry. I started to feel the need to do my own brand, but I didn’t want to use any leather, and to start « fresh ». You surely know about Stella McCartney, she’s a vegan and you’ll never find leather in any of her creation and still it is very luxurious and the designs are incredibly beautiful and the materials high quality.
To produce in Portugal was also something I cared deeply about. I wanted to produce in Europe and for our kind of shoes Portugal was great. It wasn’t easy to find a factory that was ok not to use leather though.

*How long have you been designing/loving shoes? I know you love to travel, do you get your inspiration on the road?

Mayon: I’ve been a shoe designer for almost nine years now, I started really young. I had my first shoe collection called « Marion Hanania » when I was 21 and I was selling my shoes in France, Europe, Japan, etc. That lasted for three years then I started to work as a freelance for various brands like Isabel Marant, And A, Dévastée, Mellow Yellow.
I can’t really stay at the same place all the time, I need to go on the road and travel to get inspired, I need to be free and to have a little excitement and the risk of being my own boss. Travels are a very important part of my life and the creative process for me.
When you are on the road everything has a special power/effect on you, the lights, the architecture, the people, every minute is worth living and 2 weeks in Sweden or New York can help me go through a whole year in Paris. I also love Paris, and sometimes I try to recreate the excitement of being abroad when I’m home. It works but at some point I will always feel the need to go somewhere else.

*It’s not easy to find vegetarian friendly shoes, especially in great classic designs. Can you talk about why you wanted to offer this kind of product?

Mayon: Indeed, when you’re a vegan and you are looking for shoes it’s a tough quest, especially if you like fashion and not only hiking boots or plastic pumps made in China. I mean that vegan shoes can also offer style, great design and stay trendy or chic, and not only be comfortable and practical-it’s not an easy thing to find! Brice and I wanted to make a shoe collection for both vegans and non-vegans, just great shoes that you really want to wear because they look good and they are well-crafted just like any other shoes that I love like Rachel Comey, Opening Ceremony, Stella McCartney, Maison Martin Margiela, Marni, Dries Van Noten…

*It seems like you enjoy working collaboratively (photos by your sister, music by Yaya for the Good Guys video, etc). Can you tell me what you enjoy about this process?

Mayon: I love collaborations, I love working with other artists, photographers, musicians or designers. That’s how it started with Brice, we had a very good feeling and we didn’t hesitate to build something together.
My sister has always be an inspiration for me and we’ve worked a lot together since…always, she’s my twin sister and we always ask each other’s opinions on…everything almost! She took the « Good Guys » pictures for the Autumn/Winter « Good Guys » collection, I love them, she always understands what I want.
David Herman Dune is like a « muse » of my everyday life,his music is the soundtrack of my life. It wasn’t an option not to make him do « something » for « Good Guys ». He is a vegan like Brice and he was a strong inspiration for creating this collection. And he is beautiful and wears them so well!

*What is your favorite pair of shoes of all time?

Mayon: My favorite pair of shoes is the « Good Guys » Derby that I can’t quit right now!! But if I have to choose another one it would be my old Marni « cut-out-patched » loafer, masculine and so feminine at the same time. They are a really original pair that I found in London a few years back.

*People are dying of anticipation to get their hands on these shoes, when and where can we get them?!!

Mayon: I just want to make them happy!! They’ll be able to buy the shoes at the April77 shop in Paris but also in New York at MooShoes and in another twenty shops in France.

Lightning round:
*Veggie burger or hambuger?
Veggie Burger+ oinon ring

*Blow dryer or air dry for your hair?
Air dry in the summer :) but blow dryer in the winter :(

*Bicycle, skate board, or…roller skates?
Bicycle

*Cats or dogs?
DOGS

*Acoustic or electric?
Acoustic

*Flats or heels?
Flats (wish I was more of a heel girl)

*And last but not least, do you have an argument infaillible for durable development?

Mayon: I wouldn’t have any ARGUMENT INFAILLIBLE to convince people about the « developpement durable », I’m not into convincing or making a point but If you can do something to help our planet and the future generations, do it.

Wear Good Guys! They are good for you and for the future generations… ;)

You can get updates about Good Guys on their Facebook page.

via Purple Diary

See concert video here.