Le Noeud Papillon Life & Style

An old Italian tailor by the name of Frank once taught me how to sew in a straight line and I never forgot it. He's now of the age that Covid might take him if he gets exposed, so I want to honour him for passing it on. Frank, you are the best.

We have published our pattern in the hope that others will follow. It is good to see today that Australians are starting to get the message and taking quarantine more seriously. The face masks we are currently making feature a front pleated and plain option woven silk jacquard, and in the more ornate ones, gold lurex details. The rear side is made from fine woven Swiss cotton. The face masks can be washed in hot water in a basin with laundry detergent, rinsed by hand and preferably placed in direct sunlight to dry. A mask becomes far less effective when moist. So keep them dry. And please be safe out there and follow the strict guidelines set by our respective government health departments.

Digital printing is taking over much of the production that occurs in printing on fabrics that I saw from the luxury high end brands that make in Italy. Only a handful of companies continue to screen print, and the ones that screen print on silk are even fewer. It's a dyeing art unless more companies are willing to invest in those few that continue to have their doors open. 

La Gioconda or Mona Lisa or La Jaconda was, according to Da Vinci's biographer Walter Isaacson, the culmination of his life's curiosities, scientific, artistic and intellectual pursuits. It was commissioned by a silk merchant Francesco Del Giocondo who wanted his new wife Lisa Gheradini to be painted.

 

Sometimes we over-complicate things. Like the French with sauces or humans with trying to over-complicate their emotions. The Italians, by contrast, know how to keep things simple - certainly with their food, not so much with their love lives.

Patrick went for our new mini jumbo shape bow tie in our house black satin silk mogador. His wedding then took place in Denmark, from memory in Skagen to be specific. I love this photo. It is so charismatic and although I am getting over menswear photos where there are only dudes standing around in fancy clothes, this one has a lot more realness to it. Mid dance moves, a great looking dinner suit, the boys lighting up. You can feel the camaraderie. Thank you Patrick, this is by far the best groom shot of 2019 and although the other photos which include your beautiful wife are extraordinary, this one really caught my eye.

By Shane Cubis

 

You know how it is: some pretty little ingenue rises through the Hollywood system to become a glittering star while we lumpen basics fawn at the pedestal of his or her blinding wattage, raw charisma and effortless poise. Maybe they even have some talent. But then, well… actors start to believe they should be taken seriously. Comedians try their hand at something serious. Musicians want to be the next Woody Guthrie, so they buy a sticker for their amp and write a list of words that rhyme with the names of political leaders. And suddenly we have to listen to their opinions instead of merely lusting after their bodies and/or lifestyles of excess.

To my mind Dr. Strangelove is one of the best comedies I have ever watched and it is in my opinion Peter Sellers' best work. I come back to it year after year. There is something brewing out there and humans around the world seem to be feeling the same anxiety about the environment, Brexit, the rise of China, the decline of the United States' power base. Corruption. Trump. Putin. The Ukraine. Impeachment hearings. Brazillian forest burning. Bush fires across Australia. Drought. Kurds. Syrians. Terrorist cells in major cities. Drug cartels. The rise of the Alt Right. The way the press beefs things up on one issue whilst turning a blind eye to another. And all of this uncertainty and anxiety lead me back to Dr. Strangelove. The manner in which one rogue commander could potentially blow up the entire globe. Or that the Austrian nuclear scientist advising the President is mentally unstable, possibly a psychopath left over from Nazi Germany. And all of it lead to a bad dream which made me ask Peter Howard to use that theme to come up with a canvas for the window. My hope is that it was just a dream. But the way things are going, one really couldn't tell.

By Shane Cubis

 

“Obviously I am not paying for you to go to France on a food study,” wrote Nicholas, in my second disappointment of the day.* The third disappointment quickly followed on its heels, when another email popped in from Nick that wasn’t a change of heart accompanied by a first-class ticket to Provence. “I want you to explore the services of Jean-Marie Liere from Our French Impressions.”

Still, all wasn’t lost. My local pub was doing a $15 sardine nicoise with a complimentary house white that might have had some sauvignon blanc in the mix, getting me in the Gallic spirit for a chat with Jean-Marie Liere, who takes people on tours of France to soak up the culinary scene, cultural and historical surrounds, and excellent company.

Meo Fusciuni I found inside the store Masons in Flinders Lane in Melbourne. It has notes of mint and lemongrass, a touch of ginger I felt. Some tobacco. Maybe something citrus. It kind of reminded me of Creed's Original Vetiver but then went of on a tangent all of it's own. It will be the next scent we will send out and it coincides with the arrival of our superlative silk knitted ties which were made for us in Como, Italy. 

I had one of those exciting adventures you rarely get in your own city because you think you know everything and where everything resides. Which is why Chef's Armoury in Stanmore was such a pleasant surprise. It performs three main functions. Firstly, it is a comprehensive library of the best artisan Japanese knives in the world. I'd never seen such beautiful knives in my life. Secondly, it is a beer and sake store with a comprehensive range that, upon trying a few, I know I will be back in the future. Thirdly, it is a place where you can get your Japanese steel knives sharpened. And honestly, I could have dropped a bomb had I not had an agenda. I was there to pick up some whetstones. I have been researching on YourTube ways to sharpen my scissors. It's strangely not a service easily available in Sydney nor even on YouTube are their definit