The title of this video is “David Lynch being a madman for a relentless 8 minutes and 30 seconds” is perfect and requires no further information or contextualization. (thx, david (no relation))
If you scroll through Instagram as much as we do, you’re likely familiar with Sleeper. The sleepwear brand became famous for its feather-detailed pajama sets — a favorite amongst the fashion crowd — and nightgown dresses, the latter of which have taken off during quarantine. Now, the Ukrainian brand is making its debut into the world of indoor shoes.
On Thursday, Sleeper launched its first-ever permanent line of footwear with a satin “Puff” slipper. The style — which comes in three colorways: electric blue, chocolate brown, and classic black — is just the first of many shoe drops that Sleeper plans to release over the next few months. “We love shoes and have dreamt of creating a shoe line since day one,” Kate Zubarieva, Sleeper’s co-founder, said in a press release. “We have been carrying this dream for over five years, and we are now thrilled to announce the launch of the serial and essential shoe line.”
The shoe, a flat mule with a square-toe, is made from extra-soft satin and leather. They also feature a drawstring cord that’s meant to perfect the fit for each individual wearer’s instep. “It took us six months to design the pair of ‘The Puff’ slippers,” said Asya Varetsa, Zubarieva’s business partner at Sleeper, in a press release.
“We wanted to create something very aesthetically pleasing, versatile, and comfortable.”
As is true of all Sleeper products, the newly launched Puff slippers are produced with sustainability in mind. “We at Sleeper are not big fans of fast fashion,” Varetsa says. Every shoe sold by Sleeper is handmade by artisans in Ukraine, a fact highlighted by the cards that are included with every purchase, each signed by the person who created said piece.
Slip your feet into a pair (or all three) of Sleeper’s brand-new Puff slippers today by signing onto The-Sleeper.com.
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"When I was doing my best work as a cop, I was doing mediocre work as a therapist or a social worker."
Confessions of a Former Bastard Cop is an essay allegedly written by a former police officer with ten years of experience in “a major metropolitan area in California with a predominantly poor, non-white population”. In it, he attempts to explain the system under which cops are trained and operate, “not to excuse their behavior, but to explain it and to indict the structures that perpetuate it.” At the very least, this essay corroborates what activists have been saying about the police for decades.
I could write an entire book of the awful things I’ve done, seen done, and heard others bragging about doing. But, to me, the bigger question is “How did it get this way?”. While I was a police officer in a city 30 miles from where I lived, many of my fellow officers were from the community and treated their neighbors just as badly as I did. While every cop’s individual biases come into play, it’s the profession itself that is toxic, and it starts from day 1 of training.
Every police academy is different but all of them share certain features: taught by old cops, run like a paramilitary bootcamp, strong emphasis on protecting yourself more than anyone else. The majority of my time in the academy was spent doing aggressive physical training and watching video after video after video of police officers being murdered on duty.
I want to highlight this: nearly everyone coming into law enforcement is bombarded with dash cam footage of police officers being ambushed and killed. Over and over and over. Colorless VHS mortality plays, cops screaming for help over their radios, their bodies going limp as a pair of tail lights speed away into a grainy black horizon. In my case, with commentary from an old racist cop who used to brag about assaulting Black Panthers.
And this, uh, training doesn’t prepare officers for what their actual job ends up being:
And consider this: my job as a police officer required me to be a marriage counselor, a mental health crisis professional, a conflict negotiator, a social worker, a child advocate, a traffic safety expert, a sexual assault specialist, and, every once in awhile, a public safety officer authorized to use force, all after only a 1000 hours of training at a police academy. Does the person we send to catch a robber also need to be the person we send to interview a rape victim or document a fender bender? Should one profession be expected to do all that important community care (with very little training) all at the same time?
To put this another way: I made double the salary most social workers made to do a fraction of what they could do to mitigate the causes of crimes and desperation. I can count very few times my monopoly on state violence actually made our citizens safer, and even then, it’s hard to say better-funded social safety nets and dozens of other community care specialists wouldn’t have prevented a problem before it started.
Armed, indoctrinated (and dare I say, traumatized) cops do not make you safer; community mutual aid networks who can unite other people with the resources they need to stay fed, clothed, and housed make you safer. I really want to hammer this home: every cop in your neighborhood is damaged by their training, emboldened by their immunity, and they have a gun and the ability to take your life with near-impunity. This does not make you safer, even if you’re white.
His conclusion: “consider abolishing the police” and “creating a society focused on reconciliation and restorative justice instead of punishment, pain, and suffering — a system that sees people in crisis as humans, not monsters”.
As someone who did it for nearly a decade, I need you to understand that by and large, police protection is marginal, incidental. It’s an illusion created by decades of copaganda designed to fool you into thinking these brave men and women are holding back the barbarians at the gates.
COVID has made me keenly interested in woodworking projects. I love this look.
This week we’re revisiting some of the most popular DIY stories from our archives. Read on for end-of-summer project inspiration:
By day, Maiju Saha works as a social media marketing specialist and campaign designer. By night and on weekends, the mother of three dives into home improvement projects and blogs about them.
Maiju and her family live in the small town of Vaasa on Finland’s west coast. Two years ago they moved into their 1941 house and since then she’s be puzzling over how to make her and her husband Janne’s compact bedroom feel “less empty without crowding it with furniture.” Taking inspiration from the room’s paneled ceiling—and all the paneling she’s been admiring in other people’s quarters of late—Maiju came up with this DIY built-in headboard of homemade beadboard. She kindly agreed to share the project with us.
slotted wood panels cut to the right height (Maiju’s are approximately 45 inches tall)
wood for the frame (“this will be covered so it can be any kind of wood, even rough” says Maiju)
thin nails for attaching the panels
screws for affixing the frame
good-quality wood to use as a shelf at the top of the headboard
wood filler
The Tools
crosscut saw
hammer
power drill
paint
paint brush
Instructions
Above: Maiju used pine panels (shown here) that are much like Lowe’s Unfinished Pine Tongue and Groove Walls Planks. You can also buy readymade primed beadboard paneling in a range of materials from Home Depot and other building supply stores.
Above: Janne installs the frame.
Above: Hammering the panels. “The last plank is the one that goes on top; attach it with screws or wood glue or both,” says Maiju. “I also covered the screw marks with a filler to give them a more finished look.”
Maiju says she’s self taught and that one project has led to another: “It’s been a long process starting with painting picture frames and chairs. Over time, I’ve learned to use different electrical tools. Renovation projects are my meditation. And since my other work is digital, it’s always so rewarding to see concrete results.” Interestingly, Maiju’s last name, Saha, translates as “Saw” in English, which is how she got her blog name, Maiju Saw.
Above: Maiju chose a shade of sage green. She painted the pine directly; you can also prime the panels before installation. For detailed, step-by-step instructions (in Finnish; use Google to translate), go to Maiju Saw.
The Finished Project
Above: The finished headboard is approximately 45 inches tall and is topped with a shelf for small objects. Learn more about paneling options in Remodeling 101: The Ultimate Guide to Shiplap, Beadboard, and V-Groove Paneling.
Above: Maiju made the bedside ceramic lamp at a clay workshop and finished it with a vintage pleated shade. The leaf pillow is made from a William Morris fabric bought on Etsy; the striped bedding is from H&M Home.
Browse our DIY Project archives for more ideas, including:
Also, I own that short-sleeved print dress, but I got the hem let out because otherwise it looks like you are wearing an OVERSIZED TSHIRT.
In case you missed our earlier introduction to The Venue Report, check out the first part of this feature. The Venue Report is the perfect tool for finding your wedding venue. Whether you dream of getting married in a forrest, an estate, a castle, a villa or a ranch, they have you covered! This lovely styled wedding shoot takes place at The Grand Del Mar and is captured gorgeously by the one and only Jose Villa. With amazing styling by Cortnie of Canvas and Canopy and Summer of Grey Likes Weddings, you’ll want to pin every photo from this feature!
So, where will you say “I do”?
Where will you celebrate?
Head over to The Venue Report to learn more about this amazing new resource for your wedding, next party – or whatever you will create your next memories!
I added this link to my defunct tumblr just so that I could share it (curse you The Old Reader) and so that hopefully we can all scream in impotent rage together...
When Alexa headed to Paris, she realized that much of what she wanted to see was centered in the third and fourth arrondissements. While she was there, we asked her to put together a one-day tour of the Marais with all our favorite places and her latest finds. If you find yourself with only one day in Paris, we suggest you arm yourself with this little guide and set out for a day's walk through the Marais—the best way to get a big dose of Paris in 24 hours.
Remodelista: Best way to begin a day in the Marais? Alexa Hotz: Start with Rose Bakery's green tea cake or the pistachio one and a good coffee.
RM: Where to explore first? AH: Walk through Le Marché Aux Enfants Rouge, a covered market full of fruit stands, traiteurs, and places for cheap eats. Then head over to Christophe Lemaire's for a look at the clothing (he designs for Hermès). He sells these Cartouchières—small belted leather pouches—so good that I really regret passing one up.
RM: Next? AH: For an absolutely only-in-France experience, visit the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature (Museum of Hunting and Nature), which was recommended to me by a few trusted friends. The private museum was founded in 1964 by industrialist rug maker François Sommer and his wife, Jacqueline, in honor of their dedication to hunting and conservation. Think taxidermy-meets-opulence and you get the gist.
RM: Lunch spot? AH: Head straight to the cult favorite bento spot, Nanashi, on Rue Charlot. Chef Kaori Endo, formerly of Rose Bakery, cooks up bento boxes with mixed quinoa and pickled vegetables—top it with a juice of the day and you've got the right antidote to all those pastries.
RM: Where to next? AH: Near Square du Temple park you'll find The Broken Arm, where you can order a post-lunch coffee from the cafe and sift through the adjoining boutique with its mix of clothing and goods for the home. Afterward, head around the corner to the best book shop in Paris, Ofr, where you can stock up on art, design, and architecture books.
RM: Any other shops to see? AH: Le Petit Atelier is a must. Visit Jae-Hyun Cheong and Stéphane Froger, their newborn, and their mascot dog, Pompon, in their shop, where they sell a selection of delicate handmade porcelain dishes, pendant lights, and switch plates, as well as plenty of other goods for the home.
AH: And of course you have to head to Merci to see what's new and stock up on linens and household brushes, then have a look at Bonton, the retail emporium for children nearby.
RM: Other places to visit? AH: The Atelier Brancusi is a must-see and is free of charge (but it closes at 6pm). A whole small building is devoted to the Romanian-born sculptor's studio that he bequeathed to the Pompidou. The Centre Pompidou is well worth a visit, too, and stays open until 9pm, good for post-dinner browsing.
RM: Favorite place for dinner in the neighborhood? AH: Get a Breton-style glass of cider and buckwheat crêpe at Breizh Cafe (thanks to Heidi Swanson for this recommendation). If you're not in the mood for crêpes, then have a cocktail and an oyster at Le Mary Celeste or, if like me, you are suffering from a little French food ennui, try the California-style fare at Candelaria for the city's hippest tacos. Make sure you walk past the front counter and all the way to the back to find the restaurant.
Above: Maiju used pine panels (shown here) that are much like Lowe’s Unfinished Pine Tongue and Groove Walls Planks. You can also buy readymade primed beadboard paneling in a range of materials from Home Depot and other building supply stores.
Above: Janne installs the frame.
Above: Hammering the panels. “The last plank is the one that goes on top; attach it with screws or wood glue or both,” says Maiju. “I also covered the screw marks with a filler to give them a more finished look.”
Above: Maiju chose a shade of sage green. She painted the pine directly; you can also prime the panels before installation. For detailed, step-by-step instructions (in Finnish; use Google to translate), go to Maiju Saw.
Above: The finished headboard is approximately 45 inches tall and is topped with a shelf for small objects. Learn more about paneling options in Remodeling 101: The Ultimate Guide to Shiplap, Beadboard, and V-Groove Paneling.
Above: Maiju made the bedside ceramic lamp at a clay workshop and finished it with a vintage pleated shade. The leaf pillow is made from a William Morris fabric bought on Etsy; the striped bedding is from H&M Home.
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