ISSUE NO. 48

An August Issue

It’s been one year of curating this community—of sharing, exploring, and returning again and again to the question: what does it mean to create from an authentic place? In a world that’s constantly shifting, is authenticity about staying true to who we are right now—or honoring every version of who we’ve been? Maybe it’s a collection. A quiet mix of memories, cultural imprints, and the questions that still linger.

ARCHITECTURALLY CURIOUS

Solids, Voids, and the Echo of a Staircase

In Coyote Arquitectura’s housing complex in Tulum, the staircase becomes a sculptural gesture. Every interior stair is echoed by a negative, stair-shaped niche carved directly into the exterior façade—transforming function into façade.

The walls are finished in traditional chukum plaster, a local technique that creates a smooth matte texture and rich terracotta tone. These quiet architectural moves—apertures, mirrored voids, and pigmented plaster—work together to make the structure feel monumental but never overpowering.

A Jungle Grid with a Secret Rhythm

From the street, the homes read as a rhythm of solids and shadows. Two types of units—singles and doubles—are arranged side by side, creating a jagged profile broken up by carved recesses and soft transitions between volumes.

Delicate wooden screen panels shield the only exposed garages, while folding glass doors tuck into patios facing the lush, internal alleyway. It’s here that you sense a soft nod to Luis Barragán—the way color is treated as volume, how silence is built into the walls.

Water, Columns, and the Color of Heat

And then there’s the pool: long, reflective, and partially shaded by wide, flat concrete columns that rise like oversized fins. The basin wraps around preserved trees, allowing nature to dictate the layout rather than the other way around. The communal pavilion—structured like a colonnade—extends the complex’s formal language into a space of leisure. It’s a project that feels as much about restraint as it is about richness.

GLOBAL GLIMPSE

Freedom in Restraint

This 400㎡ flat on the banks of the Dongjiang River is shaped by silence, not spectacle. Lighting is tucked, storage is hidden, and materials—like matte plaster, warm stone, and ash-toned microcement—feel calm to the eye and soft to the touch. Each wall reads like a blank page, inviting solitude, guests, or a shift in mood. Even the glowing sconces pulse gently, never overpowering.

Framing Stillness

Instead of traditional partitions, volumes drift into one another—living, dining, and working spaces glide in a single line of sight. The oversized window is part seat, part frame, part breathing room, wrapping the river like a lens. The furniture stays low and quiet: a caramel velvet sectional, a simple slab desk, a lounge chair that doesn’t try too hard. Nothing interrupts the rhythm—just the soft hush of daylight across a muted palette.

Clarity in the Details

A rough-cut stone block anchors the edge of a room without shouting, while a sculptural pink bench balances out a cool marble coffee table. Wall edges and junctions are tight but unforced, forming thresholds rather than boundaries. A portrait painting leans surreal, adding personality without crowding the space. The rooms don’t fill up—they breathe.

VISUAL COMFORT

Seashell Appeal

Somewhere between archaeology and design, these works feel like they were uncovered, not created by multidisciplinary artist Shaha Raphael. Draped linen and lace offer a soft backdrop for pieces that read like relics from the sea—shells reimagined as stools, fishbones as sculptural candelabras.

The Spine Table floats atop vanilla-scented she-oak wood, its hand-cast aluminum vertebrae whispering of evolution. Even the smallest object, like the scallop-edged glass or brass spoon, tells a story—one rooted in Lebanon’s natural textures and ancient craft. Each detail balances softness with severity, from the table’s claw-like onyx edges to the unpolished fossil cube perched casually like a time capsule.

Shells, Shadows, and She-Oak

Take a closer look at the lampshade: its peachy fabric recalls antique lingerie, but its heavy base pulls it firmly into Brutalist territory. That contrast—sensual and solid—is the through line of the collection. A dangling chain switch (originally imagined as a necklace) turns functional detail into jewelry. The soft curves of the shade echo the sea-drifted shells that inspired it, yet its metal spine keeps it grounded. It’s design that asks: was this found… or made?

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

What I'm Listening to in August

And maybe creating from an authentic place isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about allowing ourselves to keep unfolding, moment by moment. Thank you for being on this journey with me—I’ll see you next week, my friend.

Warmly,
/shane