Source: A weekly compendium of beautiful and bizarre objects of desire

Hot seat

Mola by Spacetale

A chair inspired by Jamini Roy’s painting ‘Mother And Child’ and made, appropriately, from recycled saris and cane. Wind down after a long day in this cocoon.

Spacetaledesigns.com; Rs88,800 (shipping extra)

Molten Wood stools

Molten Woods stools

Delhi-based designer Advaeita Mathur’s work blends industrial metallic elements with an organic aesthetic. For these handcrafted stools, she combines found tree trunks with aluminium and brass to make the perfect statement side table.

design@studiometallurgy.com; Rs70,000 to Rs1.5 lakh each

Woodgeekstore

Custom

Woodgeekstore

Engrave messages or names on these woodcrafted sunglasses, or notepads and phone cases. We have our eye on The Hipster and The Journeyman. Woodgeekstore.com; Rs2,999

Misho

Wearable art

Misho

In case you’re not much for a messy bun, you’d want this gold vermeil and gun-metal finished sterling-silver bun cage. For the next time you need to look as put together as you feel.

Perniaspopupshop.com; price on request

Political Theatre by Mark Peterson

Title treat

Political Theatre, Mark Peterson

In photographs that made a splash on his Instagram page and are now part of this prestige publication, Mark Peterson creates a vivid record of political rallies in the US over the past two years.
Steidl.de; €35 (around Rs2,500)

Cross-stitch embroidered jacket by Ritu Kumar

Dress circle

Cross-stitch embroidered jacket

It’s just the right weather for this jacket by Ritu Kumar’s Label. Available in two colour options.

All Label outlets; Rs3,700

All Things Masterpieces of Indian Modern Art

Eye candy

All Things Masterpieces of Indian Modern Art

A ready-to-mount S.H. Raza painting is the lid of a box of these handmade truffles. In collaboration with art gallery DAG Modern.

Theallthingsshop.com; Rs750

Compiled by Vangmayi Parakala

By Invitation: Vanities

An ode to things you don’t need but must have

Uguisu No Fun Illuminating Mask

This week: Uguisu No Fun Illuminating Mask (Nightingale Poop Facial) Mask

By Swapan Seth , CEO, Equus

It infuriates me when people assume that great facials are the prerogative of women alone. The truth of the matter is that I apply sunscreen and serum every day. My toothpaste has charcoal. And my soaps have clay.

I am a fad follower. For a long time, I was lecherously in love with bee pollen. And currently, I’m exploring dandelion. It is a pleasure to look presentable. And a smattering of rose mist in the afternoon never hurt any man. But the product that took my breath away in more ways than one was nightingale poop.

Now, a bit of perspective is in order.

In the 17th century, the heavily made-up geishas and kabuki dancers would use it to protect their skin from the disadvantages of make-up. The make-up of the kabuki dancers contained a lot of lead.

The poop is not that of any free-flying nightingale. It is from the species that likes to hang out in the Japanese island of Kyushu. And since urbanization has largely been unfair to most species on this planet, there aren’t very many of these birds. These nightingales live on a diet of seeds and berries. Which means their poop is organic and vegan.

So the supply is parsimonious. As a result, it is a tad expensive. A 90-minute nightingale poop facial at The Spa at The Hilton in London can set one back by £190 (around Rs15,845). I went looking for an alternative. Amazon.com has vast virtues. So I did find the Uguisu No Fun Illuminating Mask (around Rs3,940).

While it is purified and UV sterilized, I must warn you that the odour is outrageously offensive. Therefore, the trick is to take the powder and make a paste using rosewater. Put it on your face for 8 minutes and then wash it off.

See the years bid you goodbye. Watch pigmentation vanish like The Angel’s Share. See the sun damage lose its radiation. I swear by this. Though just last weekend someone suggested bacteria—Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium.