First Yawn - Birthdays, Bento Books & Medieval Aesthetics
Welcome to my Monday musings, where I ramble on about a few things that have caught my eye over the weekend.
Monday’s are a little drab aren’t they, it’s the start of the working week and we pull ourselves, groggy, foggily out of bed to the sound of our tinkling, screaming phone alarms.
I usually get up a little earlier on a Monday morning to start my weekly rituals of sipping my iced black coffee and to read a chapter or two, before the first of my morning meetings start. It feels like I’m reclaiming the week back for myself with this small act of self-kindness. Making time to do a little bit of the things I love centres me for the rest of the week and helps blast away the brain fog.
Last week whilst I was sat there sipping my coffee, a thought popped into my mind - back when I used to work in content we’d have these really lovely round table meetings each Monday morning. We’d sift through the various news articles, magazines and online publications to share with each other top articles and whatever else had caught our eye. I kind of missed that - *insert epiphany here*.
So, First Yawn was born - this will be a little roundup of my ramblings and discoveries over the weekend. Think of it a little bit like a first draft - rough notes on things that have cropped up throughout my previous week, inspiring thoughts, art and my POV on life’s silly little moments, that often go unnoticed but deserve closer inspection.
It’s a space where I can share those fleeting moments and insights that might not make it into a polished piece, but still feel worth putting out into the world.
Like what you see? Help me keep creating our bookish content by treating me to a coffee. You’ll get really good karma 😉😘
Birthdays
It’s August which for me means the start of birthday season - I guess I have a type after all. A fair few of my closest friendships share this Summer birthdate, and the month is filled with celebrations and activities. Now, I love a birthday - it’s an excuse to gather all of your favourite people in one place, an unavoidable excuse to go out and do something nice with the people you love.
I think there’s a real privilege with each passing year - of growing older, getting wrinkly or like my friend stated - ‘becoming more daddy’. Each year is full of promise, we wish on birthday candles for new opportunities - to meet the love of our lives, get that dream job or to finally make time for that trip to Hawaii.
Birthday’s represent new beginnings, a chance for change, but they can also be a stark reminder for some that we’re not where we want to be in life. Societal pressures often make us feel that if we don’t fit into a particular box, there’s something not quite right with us. That’s simply untrue, there’s no timeline folks - you don’t need to complete certain milestones in your life to be a successful human - it’s all a myth!
It’s much more important to do the things you love, with the people you care for and to be happy within yourself - striving for perfection never did anyone any good.
Why this self righteous rant? Well, sipping a cocktail or two in a Soho bar allows for your unfiltered thoughts to come to the surface - and as any normal elder millennials will tell you, we’re really good at the whole self-deprecation thing. It’s about time we flipped the narrative and were proud of our achievements - however small and insignificant they might seem. Like my nana says ‘wow life is so exciting - you have the whole wide world ahead of you - absolutely anything is possible! Isn’t that exciting - to have so much agency and time’.
So next time you blow out the candles - close your eyes, soak in the sounds of your friends singing ‘happy birthday to you’ out of tune, and live in this tiny magical moment. Because you are loved and that’s all there is to it really.
Happy birthday my leo & virgo babies!
The Unforgettable Loretta Darling by Katherine Blake | 2024Good Material by Dolly Alderton 2023 | Shanghailanders by Juli Min | 2024
Bento Box Books
Whilst browsing the internet this weekend I came across this interesting article about multi-panel illustrated books - aka ‘Bento Box Books’ and how this new design aesthetic is having a boom within the publishing industry.
This grid like pattern is usually filled with illustrations and text denoting key themes from the narrative of the book and its general ‘vibes’. Covers are often colour blocked to show sequential art and collages, with some using photography instead of illustration.
Dolly Alderton’s - Good Material is probably the most iconic of these covers and it’s an interesting way to include reviews without distracting the reader from the aesthetic of the novel.
What do you think about ‘Bento Box Book’ design? Are there any books that have caught your eye that follow this design formula? If so let me know what they are in the comments.
Maddie Fischer, 2024 | Disney, Shrek 2023
Medieval Aesthetics
Here Ye! Here Ye!
Tis’ time we all acknowledged that medieval aesthetics have arrived - and are here to stay. Dost thou hear me?
I’ve been seeing this trend more and more in recent months and although it’s not everyones cup of mead *ahem* it’s filtering down to the most obscure sectors. If you’re in design-y circles you might be aware that the Swedish electronics brand Teenage Engineering have just released the Ep-1320 medieval.
Yep, I have no idea what that is either - apparently some sort of pre loaded synthesiser loaded with hundreds of built in medieval sounds - forget brat summer we’ve moved on to jousting jams - queue the dragon roar!
But this nifty device doesn’t just sound medieval, it looks it to, with blackletter LCD display a parchment coloured body and quilted carry case it’s the perfect accompaniment for the peasant ensemble. But what really seals the deal is the promotional microsite which resembles a tome pilfered from the library of Friar Tuck.
Teenage Engineering: EP–1320 Medieval device | Teenage Engineering, 2024
Hark! Dost thou hearest something? ’Tis but the sound of a new graphic design trend: Ye Olde Future Medieval!
Future Medieval relies on visual chaos - think dark symbolism, heavy lettering and gothic nuances. Away with the coquettish whimsical bows of yesteryear, (over my dead body) and in with dense embellishments, symbolism, and geometric blackletter typography. Instead of using periods to end ones sentence, I declare a gargoyle is a much more fitting fixture!
Teenage Engineering: EP–1320 Medieval device | Teenage Engineering, 2024
The revival of Medieval aesthetics is in some part due to the resurgence of media inspired by the middle-ages and the popularity of the fantasy genre more generally. Think about dark comedies like My Lady Jane, Decameron, Seize Them and fantasy dramas like House of Dragons - even the growing popularity of Dungeons & Dragons, thanks to Stranger Things.
We can also see on social media like TikTok, the rise in occult aesthetics, as younger generations become fascinated by spirituality, mysticism and the supernatural. If you think about it a little bit you’ll start to see the trickle down effects of this trend everywhere - from Saltburns opening credits to Balenciaga’s Chevalier Derby boots - Imagine walking down Carnaby Street in those bad boys - Halt who goes there - It is I, Sir Didymus!
Like what you see? Help me keep creating our bookish content by treating me to a coffee. You’ll get really good karma 😉😘