#018 ☼ Renaissance Boy: Eli Russell Linnetz
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#018 ☼ Renaissance Boy: Eli Russell Linnetz
Ways To Live Differently • Oceanfront Treehouse • Japanese Citypop
ISSUE 018
Ginger Grapefruit Bourbon Sour
With tasting notes of Venice Beach and California skate culture, a serene treehouse-style home overlooking the ocean, playing with passport photographs, hifi speakers for your home, the beauty of Kaua’i and 36 ways to live differently.
The good life beckons once more!
CURATE WITH US
Join us in co-curating Palm Report around shared themes :) What’s on our mind this week is:
What would you do if money was no object?
Let us know in the comments 💭
And explore the top travel destinations discussed last week further down in this issue!
Hot Hyperlinks
☼ Passport Photos is a series by Max Siedentopf which challenges the restricted form of a passport photo, playing with all the things you could be doing outside of the frame
☼ High fidelity loudspeakers for the home to restore the lost art of active listening — A for Ara is where state-of-the-art engineering meets meticulous craftsmanship
☼ Watch until the end, it’s worth it! One of the countless extremely cool things happening in Thailand everyday and plenty of instances on this account to make you smile
☼ An architect’s own house by the ocean designed as an experiential treehouse filled with light
☼ Explore photographer Vivian Kim’s gorgeous book Island Time chronicling life, surf and family intimacy on the island of Kaua’i
☼ The art of non-conformity: 36 ways to live differently by Chris Guillebeau
☼ Looking Glass Lodge is an idyllic retreat in the British woodlands by Michael Kendrick Architects
☼ The polyurethane lounge chair that resembles a patch of grass designed in 1971, challenging traditional design values
☼ Unexpected musical gadgets that allow you to play music on any object
☼ Discover Citypop: the Japanese genre of music popular in the late 70s and 80s, and take a dive deep into the rabbit hole of its endless life cycle
SUMMER-ENHANCING PEOPLE
California Dreaming: Eli Russell Linnetz
In the words of Adrian Joffe: “Eli Russell Linnetz is a photographer, designer, producer, director, famous friend, avid surfer, Venice Beach lover, Paris hater, mischief maker and truth teller, but is a born collaborator above all else…”
With an ever-growing resume, Linnetz has worn all the hats, from studying opera to directing culture-defining music videos to making his own clothes to shooting magazine covers and most recently, a highly anticipated collaboration between his namesake label ERL and Dior named “California Couture” which launched this week.
Deeply inspired by Venice Beach, Eli’s irreverent personality and raw, sensual eye have culminated in a distinct and compelling visual language. He’s deliberately selective about his surroundings while following his instincts. After all — “Letting someone into my world influences everything else.”
Highlights
On resonance: “I think whether you're doing a stage design or doing a video or making clothes or writing a song, it's all about filling a void of something that's missing inside you and hoping that it fills other people that are missing that same part of themselves. My art isn't about making something I think people will like. It's something I will like.” (NSFW)
On casting: “I spent years finding these people. You know, I do castings every week, and it is so hard to find the innocence in someone’s eyes and the authenticity that will translate into the photos that once I find someone I feel like I am with them for life. However they evolve, I am going to change with them. I surround myself with so few people and everyone in my life is so important to me that I feel that if I am letting someone into the ERL world, it is because I really believe in them and they really speak to the vision or the story that I am trying to tell. All these people are like my family and they come back every season.”
On going through Dior’s archives and the influences that helped shape the ERL x Dior SS23 collaboration: “The result of the archival studies for the Spring 2023 season was a combination of tailored ‘90s glamour and elevated, modern-day skate punk, a more than familiar territory for ERL, a brand based in Venice, the “global epicenter of skate.””
On his Venice upbringing and photographing people at his high school: “The essence of Venice will always be there. It was so fun seeing people that go to my high school… They’re genuinely such awesome people. It’s a very specific energy, and it reminded me that that energy lives within me.”
On defining a new vision for GUESS: “The idea of a cross-country road trip is so American. There is something very liberating and free in that which I think is reflected in the clothes […] It really spoke to me and my belief in storytelling. Sometimes it’s not always about selling a product—sometimes stories and characters are more important”
The iconic Fade music video directed by Eli Russell Linnetz
Inside Dior x ERL's Dover Street Market pop-up in London, embellished with hot pink limousines and California notes
Is there anything Eli wants to do less of?
“Carbs? I don’t know. I don’t really do anything I don’t want to do.”
COMMUNITY CURATED: TRAVEL DREAMS
Last week, we shared where we’re dreaming about travelling to in the comment section. Here are the places of choice, curated by the community:
☼ Japan cleaned up on multiple lists: “I just got back from Japan, and must say, if anyone is able to go, it’s one of the best places to visit. The culture, food, people, and overall cleanliness, is incomparable to anywhere else in the world.” (via Victor, Camellia, Emilia, Lewis, Patrick)
☼ Barcelona Recs (via Marty)
☼ An All-American list including Palm Springs, Laguna Beach, Kennebunkport and Cape Cod (via Lizzie)
☼ Copenhagen during spring (via Sam)
☼ Love for Mexico (via Kylie and Kar)
☼ Bourges, France; Bethesda, Maryland; Cathedral City, California (via Leo)
Hop in the comments this week as we discuss what you would do if money was no object.
SUMMER-ENHANCING HOMEWARE
EXHIBIT A: Handwoven Marco De Vincenzo Rug • EXHIBIT B: “This Desk” by Mark and Jack Fearon • EXHIBIT C: Glassware by Sophie Lou Jacobsen
JOIN US
🌴 Tune in to our ultra-summer radio, Poolsuite FM, on iPhone & web
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🌴 Say hey, or drop leisurely content you’ve discovered in the comments below!
#018 ☼ Renaissance Boy: Eli Russell Linnetz
What I would do if money was no object:
1. Create different forms of art in different countries, influenced by the local culture. I think this is such a great creative exercise that can help you grow in addition to travelling!
2. Provide community support to creatives like [SuperHi](https://www.superhibasicincome.com/) did
3. Live on a tropical island and try to live a very simple and minimalistic life with very little material possessions, just to see how much it would change me as a person
4. Go around the world to source my own coffee beans and tea leaves and combine them with unusual flavours to see what I can discover… I’ve always wondered what blueberry coffee tastes like
5. Acquire as many mid-century modern houses as I can around the globe like these https://twitter.com/zillowgonewild/status/1567990140810797062 | https://twitter.com/zillowgonewild/status/1554868151715876872 | https://twitter.com/Dan_Cassaro/status/1527381436046929920
Buy a sick piece of land close by the ocean and build a bunch of tiny homes with a courtyard in the middle and have family and friends stay there. Like a wholesome cult