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Watch

Emma


They say there are only seven types of stories, and you’d be forgiven for thinking that Jane Austen’s Emma is one of them. Offering a new take on the Regency classic, Autumn de Wilde makes her cinematic directorial debut, having previously shot videos for Prada, taken portraits of Elliott Smith and Beck, and filmed music videos for the likes of Jenny Lewis and Florence and the Machine. Starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Bill Nighy, and Josh O’Connor, this latest Emma is a riot of cotton-candy colors and well-placed quips. And while Austen famously called Emma a heroine “whom no one but myself will much like,” screenwriter Eleanor Catton, who won the 2013 Man Booker Prize for her novel The Luminaries, proves that statement wrong, offering up a delicious and diabolical new take on the character for the modern age. (In theaters next month.)

Recycle

Compost


Once the province of the pastoral, composting, the eco-friendly practice of separating food waste and using it to enrich soil with nutrients, is becoming increasingly available to gardenless city dwellers. New York has recently added citywide compost pickup to its waste-collection services; Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., offer similar programs. It’s an easy, foolproof way to help the environment (not to mention a simple way to signal your eco-savvy to houseguests). But without a garden to benefit from the practice, remembering to collect food scraps and allowing them to decompose in your home can be a challenge. This sleek, walnut-and-steel composting bin from Alabama Sawyer makes collecting vegetable stems, eggshells, and coffee grounds about as chic—and odorless—as possible. ($175, alasaw.com)

Burn

Refillable Candles


Espelma, a Barcelona-based luxury-lifestyle brand, founded with an ethos of sustainability, specializes in longevity. Their flagship product, the refillable candle, is made of natural, clean-burning wax that comes in hand-made glass containers—glazed in equally elegant colors that range from simple monochromes to understated multicolor washes—that can be refilled once your original candle has melted down. We’re into their mission of permanence and reusable yet high-quality goods, but we’re equally excited about the low cost of replacing these wax beauties rather than buying a brand-new candle to burn out. We like the Fig Tree scent, which has a woody but bright aroma, and Smoky Tea, a wintry blend made from a Lapsang souchong brew. (Candle, $110; refill, $40; espelma.com)

Drive

1959 Porsche 356A Convertible D


A special one-year model, named for its coachmaster, Drauz, the Convertible D was conceived as a more civilized Speedster, with a roomier interior, bucket seats, and roll-up windows. That said, it’s still a sports car, albeit for the weekend racer—although pro driver Harvey Siegel owned one—and this paint job, the factory’s Silver Metallic, is appropriately slick. Just 1 of 1,330, it’s the rarest of the standard-production 356 models, coveted by collectors—expect a winning bid well over $100,000—and a favorite among classic car–heads. (bringatrailer.com)

Gaze

Star Walk


A lot of apps these days are attempted “life hacks” or productivity tools. To get away from all that, we like Star Walk. Pointed at the sky, your phone can, thanks to this app, further light up the Milky Way. It stores data on planets, stars, constellations, and other heavenly bodies, allowing you to verify whether that little sparkly thing is an alien, Jupiter, or an orbiting satellite. With beautiful illustrations of the astronomical world, this is one of the few apps that actually encourage off-screen contemplation. (apps.apple.com)

Issue No. 28
January 25, 2020
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Issue No. 28
January 25, 2020