My parents called San Diego home during their 20’s and thus have a soft spot for the city. Though it’s been almost 40 years since they last resided in town, they navigate the roads without maps and look fondly out onto the coastal beaches, desert plains and palm-lined streets.

They told me one of their favourite weekend activities was to head to Old Town with friends for some Mexican and drinks. The area is admittedly a tourist trap in many ways – cue overpriced gift shops and over the top décor – but I personally revel in the kitschy aspects and would like to see more piñatas and mariachi bands.

And let’s not forget, Old Town is the birthplace of California, where the first Europeans settled, and for that alone I’d make the trek.

Words & Photos: Rosa Park

The post Old Town, San Diego appeared first on Cereal Magazine.

If you don’t enjoy coffee, don’t bother visiting Melbourne. Of course I’m exaggerating to make a point, but quite frankly, good coffee is what the city seems to be fixated on these days. We’re living in a time where your average Joe Bloggs is spending a big chunk of his money more on haute drink pleasures than on things like say, apparel or gadgets; subsequently, Melbournian café culture is thriving. On that note, here’s a list of four must-visit coffee locations in the city.

As the competition heats up for the 4.20AUD latte, it becomes all about the details. At St Ali North’s, Matt Perger says the process starts from the farm: “We don’t buy ‘regular’ coffee. We go to the farm [in Brazil]. We fly there and talk to the farmers, taste their product, and make sure that they’re getting a fair price for it”. Some of the more senior baristas at St. Ali North’s are able to join in on these trips to truly understand the coffee trade.

Then there are those who are obsessed with the quality control of the roast, and such is the way at Wide Open Road; they roast on site with Giesen small batch roasters, creating their own Bathysphere blend, consisting of Kenyan, Brazilian, Costa Rican and Ethiopian beans. A cupping session is carried out each morning and it can look like a bizarre coffee ritual to an outsider – the roasts numbered and systematically laid out on the table with a strict system for smelling, tasting and recording of details for every batch to ensure the customer is getting the finest roast.

At Brother Baba Budan, a branch of the Seven Seeds Family, they are focussed on the single origin bean for the espresso roast. Located in the CBD, this bustling little joint is harder to get into than most bars in the city, and the boys at the coffee machines are not dissimilar to hip DJs in their booth, with everyone vying for their attention.

If you head just around the corner you will find a tranquil spot to stretch out and enjoy your flat white. This lovely place is Manchester Press, a café that feels like your very own New York-loft. Predominantly white in colour scheme with distressed interior accents, this converted gallery space is a haven for the Melbourne coffee aficionado who wishes to escape down one of the cities’ infamous laneways.

Whether it’s drip coffee, latte, espresso, flat white, long black, pour-over, filter, single origin or the latest trend – a tea-like beverage called cascara – Melbourne has plenty to offer when it comes to quality, innovative coffee destinations. And the passionate and informed people of this community are what make it so special.

St Ali North | 815 Nicholson Street, Carlton North 3054 | stali.com.au | (03) 9380 5499

Wide Open Road | 274 Barkly Street, Brunswick 3056 | wideopenroad.com .au | (03) 9387 6079

Brother Baba Budan | 359 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne 3000| brotherbababudan.com.au | (03) 9606 0449

Manchester Press | 8 Rankins Lane,  Melbourne 3000 | (03) 9600 4054

Words: Lauren Dietze | Photos: Rahel Weiss 

The post Melbourne coffee appreciation appeared first on Cereal Magazine.

We are excited to announce that we’re working with Albam on some fantastic collaborations, the details of which we’ll share later this month. Watch this space…

albamclothing.com

Words: Rosa Park | Photos: Rich Stapleton & Rosa Park

The post Breakfast with Albam appeared first on Cereal Magazine.

Photos: Rosa Park

The post La Jolla Cove appeared first on Cereal Magazine.

Cutlery is one of those things that we tend to take for granted. In the western world, we use it with our consumption of almost every meal, yet eating with silver and stainless steel utensils is still a relatively recent occurrence. It wasn’t until the 1400′s when enjoying a plate of food with a fork and knife became commonplace among the society’s elite, and it took at least another century for this practice to filter down to the lower classes.

Over the course of another hundred years, the use of cutlery was widespread in the western world, and the city of Sheffield in England was one of the earliest manufacturing hubs.  By the end of the thirteenth century, Sheffield was world renowned for its production of high quality tablewear – giving it the nickname, “steel city“.

David Mellor, born and trained as a silvermith in Sheffield, is the best known cutlery designer in Britain. We recently visited his cutlery factory in Hathersage, just outside Sheffield in the beautiful Peak District National Park to see where and how some of the knives, forks and spoons we use everyday are made.

The factory, designed by architect Sir Michael Hopkins, is perfectly circular, almost 100 feet in diameter, and constructed of natural stone and steel. It is purpose built and has won numerous architectural and environmental awards since its completion in 1990. It has even been described as a ‘minor masterpiece’ of modern architecture. A stone rim runs the perimeter of the factory, with an impressive bicycle wheel structure supporting the roof of Finnish pine. Inside, the factory is modern, with lots of subtle design touches, such as custom wood light fixtures and symmetrically arranged tool sets. Aesthetics here, however, are secondary to its function. The circular form of the Round building is ideally suited to the linear process of cutlery manufacture, which here is conducted in a clockwise manner at successive stations. Each piece of cutlery goes through intricate stages of blanking, forming, cutting, grinding, plating, and polishing to produce something of consistent quality.

It is incredible to see that cutlery is still being manufactured in the traditional way and in its historic home, with great skill required from the workers to achieve a high quality end product.This quote from David Mellor does well to encapsulate the overall feel of the factory and his attitude towards his own work:

‘For me, in all aspects of my activity – from the architecture of our buildings, the selection of products for my shops, down to the choice of the right rivets for my cutlery – to aim for the highest visual standards has been paramount, and perfecting this skill has been one of the main aims of my life as a designer”.

While we were at the factory, we were pleasantly surprised to see David Mellor’s young grandson being taught the tricks of the trade on the factory floor, ensuring that the necessary skills are passed down to the next generation. It’s comforting to know that the future of cutlery design is in safe hands.

davidmellordesign.com

Words & Photos: Rich Stapleton

The post David Mellor cutlery design appeared first on Cereal Magazine.

The post Cereal Volume 2 appeared first on Cereal Magazine.

I’ve been a fan of O-Check Design Graphics for quite some time now. I appreciate the simplicity and subtlety of their design, and the comprehensive range in their offering. Most of my notebooks and folders are now O-Check branded, and they’ve even convinced me to invest in a couple of stamp sets and gift tags – not my usual purchases of choice at a stationer’s but their products are so well crafted that I could easily find use for any one of their merchandise.

That’s why it was such a treat to visit the O-Check store and cafe in Seoul. The space is a natural extension of the brand – their offices are located just upstairs – with plenty of worn in wood furnishings, employment of a muted colour palette, and placement of playful figurines, vintage bottles and potted plants.

This is an ideal place to combine stationery shopping, coffee consumption and people watching in one excursion. 

o-check.net

Words & Photos: Rosa Park

The post O-Check Design Graphics appeared first on Cereal Magazine.

As we packed up our van at dawn, preparing to bid farewell to a frozen and wonderfully wintry Yellowstone National Park, we met a fellow traveller who recommended one last jaunt before our departure: to visit the place where the water boiling out of Mammoth Hot Springs blends with the bitter cold Gardiner River, creating a microclimate suitable for bathing all year round.

Hoping to make this the grande finale to what was already an unforgettable trip, we went in search of this body of water. We found it at the point where Wyoming turns into Montana. The nearby road was deserted, and even the bison appeared to be asleep. We wandered down a narrow dirt path for half a mile, following the buffalo hoof prints in the freshly thawed earth.

Spotting the warm mist rising from the water, our pace picked up, anticipating the relaxing dip.

As we bathed, the sun rose. We watched the landscape light up around us and spotted an elk climbing a distant hill, as a pristine bald eagle flew overhead. It was perfect.

Words & Photos: Jeremy Sachs-Michaels

The post Yellowstone National Park appeared first on Cereal Magazine.

Brooklyn, USA

The post The Brooklyn Kitchen appeared first on Cereal Magazine.

www.hypebeast.com

The post Hypebeast appeared first on Cereal Magazine.