From candles on the dinner table to the chandelier above it

From gathering around the fire, to the fire on the table, to the light above it and what that did and where do we go next. Gathering around the fire The chill of the night, forgotten, the closeness of others, embraced, the loving hand of a forgiving universe present in the darkness of the sky….

Christmas decor traditions and their ritualistic performance

Christmas is the most famous ritual in the western world. Controversial in approach for many reasons, the ones that celebrate it agree on the importance of a specific decor to set the season’s festive mood. Like any other ritual, the careful assembly of parts and steps is critical in achieving a successful rite and passage:…

What I feel is who I am – Nature, the Renaissance and the future of colour, part 2

Colour and stories are interrelated. They are two forms of life that surround us, and because of that, they have tremendous importance to how we perceive space. It may not be the most immediate association, but as you think they do not belong together and we have nothing to learn from combining the two into…

Beautiful Ukraine, Kiev, art, and the sheer pleasure of being

“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace A humanist at heart, it is hard to imagine what he would’ve thought if he had lived today. Dismayed by the lack of records documenting Russian domestic life at the time, his majestic novel is filled with vivid…

What we had in the hut and lost when we moved to the palace

When we all lived in the hut all things were, apparently, simpler. Rooms were multi-functional, less to clean, less to maintain. There was no need to show off since everyone had a hut and nobody was either on the streets, nor in a palace. Leaders that presumably had bigger huts were not questioned, nor envied…

The bright colours of Valladolid Mexico

In 1543 Francisco de Montejo arrived, wiped out an old Mayan town and founded Valladolid in its place. A few centuries later, the Mayans took it back.