May – Contributors

Nic Monisse
Writer
— design

Monisse is monocle’s very own design editor. With a background in landscape architecture and stand-up comedy, he moved from Australia to London, with his fiancée Hannah, to pursue a career in design journalism. For this issue, Monisse fielded the best in design studios, product releases and architecture projects from the past year to put together our annual Design Awards, for which he interviewed Nigerian architect and designer Tosin Oshinowo.

What piece of design or architecture has left a lasting impression on you?
Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux’s engineering of Prospect Park in Brooklyn, which opened in 1867. It is a feat of landscape architecture that continues to serve New Yorkers every day.

Lyndee Prickitt
Writer
— affairs

Prickitt grew up in Texas and now lives in New Delhi. While out reporting on India’s forthcoming elections, she also visited a couple of Bengaluru’s famous microbreweries, where she savoured the best stout this side of Dublin. “When I’m not on the road exploring the wonders of rural India or producing a news podcast, Newsy Pooloozi, with my 11-year-old daughter, I am usually trying to find the best food and drink in Delhi,” she tells us.

What piece of design means the most to you?
I get immense pleasure when the afternoon sun falls on my 18th-century fuchsia chaise lounge, slowly moving to the teal velvet Chesterfield covered in silk cushions. India’s colours are infectious.

Silvia Tack
Illustrator
— inventory

Tack is a freelance illustrator based in Madrid, who finds inspiration in everyday scenes, such as a table after dinner, people on the metro or nature. For this issue of monocle, she illustrated an Inventory story about Istanbul. “For this kind of article, I like to play music from the location while drawing to be able to capture its essence,” she says. 

What piece of smart design has transformed your life?
There are three objects that have made my kitchen more beautiful and practical in equal measure. One is a handmade oil cruet, another is a red Peugeot Paris pepper grinder (the only one that works properly) and the last is my beloved Moccamaster, which makes the best cup of coffee.

Gunnar Gronlid
Writer
— business

Gronlid grew up on a dairy farm in Telemark, Norway, lived briefly in Japan, and is now based in London. He worked in clinical neuroscience research before settling on a career in journalism. For this issue, he was tasked with writing about the psychology, economics and other aspects of the queue. He was surprised to learn that there are hundreds of experts and even more academic papers on the topic. 

What piece of design would you invest in? To reflect my interests, it would be a Braun Studio 1000 hi-fi system with a PS500 turntable by Dieter Rams, a Leica M11-P or a Hansen Writing Ball typewriter.

Ashish Shah
Photographer
— affairs

Mumbai-based photographer Shah rose to prominence in the late 2010s with his bold and evocative imagery of India. Since then, his photography has been published by the likes of the New York Times, Vogue and monocle. For this issue, we asked him to train his lens on the people and places of Bengaluru to capture the city’s strengths and contradictions. “The view of the city’s flower market was like a colourful mosaic, where people and flowers intertwined in a beautiful dance of life,” he says of his favourite moment during the assignment. 

Is there a piece of design that you covet?
The Braun SK55 phonosuper radiogram, designed by Hans Gugelot and Dieter Rams in 1956.