I needn’t have worried. Sebastian’s a talker. And a reader. And is very smart. And funny. And busy – having just had a retrospective at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, been invited to give  a TED Talk and a yawn on Times Square.

This is an artist who likes to challenge conventional thinking – for his university thesis in Santiago he asked his professors if he could hand in the first and only blank thesis. Something people would actually look at versus the 200 pager students were required to submit. The university heads refused, only to write Sebastian 15 years after he’d graduated to say they’d changed their minds.

Sebastian reads six to seven newspapers a day looking for inspiration.

“For me it’s all about ideas. I need you to get my ideas as quickly as possible”.

This thought came to him after learning that on average three females and one male get killed by their partners everyday in the US.

The high rate of campus rape in the states inspired this jacket. Sebastian spouts off disturbing facts with alacrity. One in five women on a college campus will be raped. Eighty-five percent will know their attacker. Ninety percent of the cases will go unreported. Sebastian says:

“The male student athletes accused of rape often receive support from the schools while the girls tend to suffer public shame until silenced”.

Flying back and forth between NYC and Santiago during the Iraq war, Sebastian was used to seeing shell-shocked looking American soldiers in uniform. When he researched the statistics and discovered that twice as many soldiers committed suicide after the War than got killed in it, Sebastian was inspired to create this street art, “American Kills” in 2009. This image went viral and CNN ended up covering it.

Sebastian is also a talented and meticulous designer. Here are just a few of  his tools.

He makes everything from exploding maple cabinets to covetable heels to lamps that quack.

He is currently designing the interior and exterior of a G650, the biggest and fastest commercial jet available. He suggested to his South American client that the wing should read “Goodbye Losers”. The idea was vetoed, but maybe in 15 years…

February, 2015

The post A Chilean Looks Again appeared first on Elena Bowes.

Oh my goodness! Where to begin?

I immediately called my friend Natalie who, like me, seriously struggles with Fear Of Missing Out and, unlike me, is an ace researcher/organiser. Natalie decided gastro-hub Williamsburg was a good starter for us newbies. So we packed our passports descended the subway at 59th and Lex and off to Brooklyn we went. Here’s Natalie a few hours post-subway, looking a bit smug  at how well her planning has gone. She’s seated at the counter in the uber-cool Reynard restaurant at the Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg.

But I’m jumping. More on Wythe later. Destination 1: Brooklyn Museum near Park Slope. There we saw a fun show called “Killer Heels”. Don’t miss the somewhat raunchy videos- heels never looked so sexy.

I strongly recommend hailing  a cab from outside the museum to Williamsburg going via Bedford Stuyvesant’s Hasidic neighbourhood that seems otherworldly and at odds with happening Brooklyn. In Williamsburg we wandered on and around Grand Street taking in the cool buildings.

And the cool people where vintage hats, thigh-high boots, colourful sandals and hot pants are in, in, in.

We lunched at the Wythe, once a factory now a buzzy hangout. The line for the Ides Bar stretched around the block, but for the Reynard restaurant we just walked straight in.

Autumn Rose anyone?

Next on Natalie’s list was foodie central Smorgasburg, the ‘Brooklyn Flea Food Market’ where the hipsters descend every weekend until November 22nd/23rd and stuff their faces from a slew of tempting stalls.

It’s a big party where every hunger/thirst pang can be satisfied. Fancy some Ethiopian tea? Or perhaps a glass of  Vermont Maple Lemonade? Oaxaca Tacos, Burma Noodle Bar, Biteme Cheesecake, Jack’s Chedbread and Elvio’s Chimichurri, it’s all here. Long lines are always a helpful clue to what’s worth eating. The lines were impressive at this pork joint.

And this sweet spot…

And for those who like truffles…

Get there early because things sell out…

Finish off with a tasty Vendome macaron…

October, 2014

The post No FOMO in Sizzling Brooklyn appeared first on Elena Bowes.

Kids learn to surf,

 while grown-ups learn to wait.

Manhattan Beach is ideal for the physically inclined and the neon attuned.

His…

and hers…

Age is just a number here.

For those who are better at relaxing and admiring their pedicures,

there’s plenty to gaze at…

Best of all, this peninsula of endless beaches and hidden coves offers really good photo opps for the groomed blogger.

September, 2014

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