Blake Matich
Monocle’s digital sub editor and a regular contributor.
Is New York’s scaffolding getting a glow-up? Expectations are low – but rising
Scaffolding, or sidewalk sheds if you want to get technical, is as much a part of the fabric of New York as flooded subways or breakfast bagels. But does it have to be so…
A letter from Magdeburg to Sydney: terror, grief and the road to justice
Writing in the wake of a terror rampage in Sydney, and one year after a deadly car attack shattered Magdeburg’s Christmas market, Blake Matich reflects on grief, resilience and how communities restore order.
The art of ageing: Inside the studios of seven in-demand artists in their eighties and nineties
As we all too easily forget, ageing is a gift – and what gifts these artists continue to give the world.
Course correction: How restaurants are rebelling against performative dining
From phone bans to surprise menus, new collabs and extended late-night dining, restaurants are pushing back against the homogenisation of hospitality, one real meal at a time. No filter, no wi-fi, no problem.
Tray bien: Canteens make an upscale comeback as Londoners invest in lunchtime
Dining al desko is done and dusted. Office workers are reclaiming their lunch hours with the help of canteen-style restaurants that are healthy, a little smug and suddenly ubiquitous.
London’s most pointless event is also its best dressed
“Where are we headed?” asked a moustached man in a Saville Row suit so sharp that it would have made Tom Wolfe feel underdressed. “Haven’t the foggiest,” said a tall gent in a pith…
