The Influencers

Intel from fashion, travel, and creative insiders

Piece of Dali jewellery, The Eye of Time, in Spain's Dali Theatre Museum
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Day tripping with Dali | Barcelona dreamscape | An eye on art

Groucho
Brainy and cheeky. Witty and inventive. Always smoking hot.

Artistic offerings in Barcelona are not confined to the city’s beating heart. In her new book, The Art Lover’s Guide to Barcelona, author and performer Ruby Boukabou plots an out-of-town speed date with Salvador Dalí. Salvador Dalí exemplified the Surrealism art movement, with all its figurative absurdity. The “mischievous provocateur” made paintings about his dreams….

Myrtha Hollenweger's butterfly-strewn Swiss flag at the Hans Erni Museum in Lucerne, part of the Typically Swiss exhibition showcasing works by the Swiss Papercut Association
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Lucerne for art lovers | Quay of life | Masters and makers

Garbo
Cool, understated elegance that belies inner sparkle and sizzle.

Surrealists, cubists, pop artists, paper cutters – just a couple of days in Lucerne and you’ve met the best. Susan Skelly plots an art trail…   I’m walking along the quay by Lake Lucerne, not far from the famous wooden Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge). To my right, the postcard-pretty lake with its alpine backdrop; on my…
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A word, if you please | writers in paradise | Jaipur in the Maldives

Brando
Charisma and character - and just a little bit game-changing. Action!

At the Jaipur Literary Festival Soneva Fushi this week, words are just the beginning… Australians love a writers’ festival. In 2022, some 140 of them are scheduled or in planning, canvassing genres, themes and dedicated authors, including this month’s Sydney Writers Festival (May 16-22). One of the world’s biggest assemblages of writers occurs each year…

Preparation is everything for Amber Guinness, author of A House Party in Tuscany, who has mastered the art of hospitality.
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Tuscan temptress | what makes a good host | Celebrating easy Italian food

Garbo
Cool, understated elegance that belies inner sparkle and sizzle.

For Amber Guinness, Italian hospitality is an art form. In her 18th century farmhouse in Tuscany, where guests come to eat and paint, this passionate home cook shares her template   Before I had even finished browsing through Amber Guinness’s new cookbook, I had made pea and mint soup, an asparagus and ricotta tart, and…
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Pass the pepper | new perfume notes | sizzling summer scents |

Monroe
Sexy and glamorous. Red carpet ready. Did someone say 'rescue fantasy'?

Why pepper, lily and Cognac are on the wishlist of perfume connoisseurs This summer, luxury perfumers are drawing inspiration from the Silk Road, warm sun on citrus, 1980s pop culture, ancient opulence, heady islands like Madagascar and Sicily, and warm, after-dinner ambience. Among the new season’s surprising A-list invitees are pepper, lily, Cognac, and that…
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The couturier and the candlemaker | a fragrant collaboration

Garbo
Cool, understated elegance that belies inner sparkle and sizzle.

Two French powerhouses light a candle to creativity… Balmain’s creative director Olivier Rousteing likes the scent of Cire Trudon’s “Ernesto” candle to be diffused through the maison’s flagship stores (Paris, Milan and, this month, New York). So no surprise the two powerhouses have teamed up to create an exclusive candle called the Cire Trudon x…
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Classic perfumes | Legends in a bottle | Fragrance Book of the Year |

Monroe
Sexy and glamorous. Red carpet ready. Did someone say 'rescue fantasy'?

* This post may contain affiliate links. Excess All Areas may receive a small commission, at no cost to readers, if a purchase is made What makes a perfume a classic? Michael Edwards dissects the divas of scent in a tome that has this week been named Fragrance Book of the Year… Perfume is a…
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Luxury train travel | the romance of rail | trainspotter shares his tips

Brando
Charisma and character - and just a little bit game-changing. Action!

From Japan to Canada, Switzerland to the Scottish Highlands, top-end train travel can be addictive. Just ask trainspotter Rylie Heathfield… As a boy, Rylie Heathfield could go one better than a bedroom full of Thomas The Tank Engine books and toys. Across the valley from his aunt and uncle’s property east of Melbourne was the…

The Baskets of Britain installation in the bar of NYC's Whitby Hotel, a tribute to UK craftsmanship
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Basket case | Setting the bar high | weaving magic

Garbo
Cool, understated elegance that belies inner sparkle and sizzle.

A New York hotel celebrates the skill and romance of Britain’s old-time basketweavers One thing the Firmdale Hotels have in common is the intoxicating collision of contemporary art, patterns and textiles. But you can always count on hotelier Kit Kemp to imbue each member of her 10-strong portfolio with a cheeky point of difference. In…

A sisters story ken family collaborative biennial installation AGSA tarnanthi saul steed
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Collectable indigenous art | welcome to country | Australian canvas

Groucho
Brainy and cheeky. Witty and inventive. Always smoking hot.

Indigenous Australian artists have forged one of the most globally significant art movements. So, asks Susan Skelly, where does a collector start? At Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art this past spring, the work of Kuninjku artist John Mawurndjul had viewers criss-crossing its galleries as each new wall spied diverted attention from the last. The artist from…

Copyright © Susan Skelly 2020.