February – Contributors

Ana Kinsella
Writer
— fashion
After 12 years in London, journalist Kinsella moved back to her home city of Dublin. For this issue, she penned an essay about how we develop a signature style in response to life events and how it changes. “I had to look quite critically at elements of my own wardrobe and I learnt that I prize comfort and tactility more than I thought I did – soft fabrics and things that feel good to touch,” she says.

Where do you go to seek a little inspiration?
I find a friend and head for the local pub, where we can discuss our creative problems in a setting beloved by generations of Irish writers and artists. Dublin has no shortage of traditional pubs with cosy snugs and low lighting, which are ideal places to talk out any creative roadblocks. There’s a combination of privacy and conviviality in an Irish pub that feels  very conducive to creative thinking.

Jesús Prudencio Gamino
Illustrator
— affairs
Spanish graphic designer and illustrator Gamino has lived in Seville since he came to this sunny city to study fine arts. He’s best known for his series Cars and Films, which is his take on some of the most famous cars in the history of cinema. For us he illustrated a drone carrier for In the Basket, all while correcting exercises done by his graphic design degree students. 

How do you give your creativity a boost?
When I feel like I need a reset, I look for a creative recharge and inspiration in books, films, exhibitions and long walks. I am also lucky to often find it in my work.

Silja Magg
Photographer
— at the front
Magg is an Icelandic photographer, currently based between Europe and the US. To recharge, she likes to head to her holiday home in the countryside. “I have a painting room there, which is kind of my escape,” she says. For this issue, she photographed the first lady of Iceland at the presidential residence. “I really wanted to try a certain backdrop in nature so I was dragging her up and down this hill – she probably thought that this was going bit overboard.” We can all agree that it was worth the effort. 

Where do you go to seek a little inspiration? 
I get to travel a lot because of work and that has been a great inspiration for me – to spend time in different cities and meet and work with different people.

Hester Underhill
Writer
— inventory
Born in London, journalist Underhill grew up in Oxford and now lives in Athens. When she is not bringing us news and views from Greece, she is working on her online film magazine called Cinemagoer. “For this issue I visited the newly opened Manna hotel in Arcadia. They were playing the Succession soundtrack throughout the hotel so I felt like I was living a real Logan Roy experience,” she tells us.  

Where do you get your best ideas?
I love just walking around my neighbourhood, Kypseli. It’s such a warren so every time I go out I discover something new. There’s also a beautiful park here called Pedion that I run around most mornings to clear my head and give myself a boost. But I often get waylaid by all the cute stray cats I see along my way. They’re really well looked after here and super chubby and friendly.

Benjamin Rasmussen
Photographer 
— culture
Rasmussen is a Faroese-American photographer who grew up in the rural Philippines and is now based in Colorado. We dispatched him to Aspen to capture the town’s bustling art scene. “Aspen is an old hippy town that has been flooded with money over the past decades and we were trying to find what that meant for the place of art there,” he says.

Where do you go to seek a little inspiration?
I spend a lot of time in Taos, New Mexico. I stay in Stova, a restored adobe house built in 1840. Very little in this part of the US is old, so being in a space with a century and a half of history feels very inspiring.