Sent i august får jeg e-post fra Domaine Michelot i Meursault i Frankrike: «Vindruene er modne, høstingen begynner om tre dager!» Jeg meldte meg på for noen uker siden, og har ventet spent på klarsignal siden. Da er det bare å bestille togbillett, og komme seg av gårde. Jeg tar med klær som kan bli skitne, gode sko, støvler, regnjakke, solhatt og solkrem. Jeg må være klar for alt.

Mellom fjell, fjord og mark har restaurantscenen i Trondheim vokst i rekordfart de siste årene og satt byen på verdenskartet. Et tett miljø som samarbeider og hjelper hverandre ligger til grunn for mange av de mest særegne spisestedene i byen. Jeg har tatt en prat med medeier og sjefskokk på Spontan Vinbar, Fredrik Engen, om hva som rører seg i bartebyen om dagen!

Nordmenn er på besøk i Bordeaux, med åpne sinn og nysgjerrige smaksløker. Gutta fra Kampen Bistro i Oslo har pakket åtte kofferter til randen med norske produkter. Røkt laks, pinnekjøtt, fenalår og tørrfisk, samt japanske delikatesser som wasabi, yuzu, umeshu, og fem ulike typer miso, er på vei mot hovedstaden i Frankrikes største vinregion. Her skal de møte og samarbeide med franske og norske kokker, bartendere, vin- og siderprodusenter i to dager. Deltakerne ved arrangementet har reist fra øst og vest for å oppleve tidenes første Scandinavian Takeover.

I en liten sidegate i Belleville i Paris ligger Dame Jane, en bitteliten restaurant med fire små bord og noen få barstoler langs veggen. Jeg ble tipset om dette stedet av en svensk venninne som fortalte at hun hadde spist maur her en gang. Hun fortalte at her er det en ny kokk hver uke. Dette er utvilsomt et konsept jeg må sjekke ut! Jeg er nysgjerrig på denne nye trenden som vokser i rekordfart i den franske hovedstaden.

Thomas Callahan never went to school to learn how to build bikes and believes you can learn just about anything if you put in enough time and effort. "I worked on my first bike for a year, when I could have taken a two week class, but the time I invested is so much more valuable as you learn by making mistakes." Thomas recalls.

Helping New York get more butts on bikes, Sam Polcer published the book; New York Bike Style and runs the street style blog Preferred Mode. We talked to Sam about scouting models on a move, connecting to surroundings while riding and inspiring more people to get on a bike.

After witnessing a hit and run between a cyclist and a car three years ago, Miguel decided to portray life on a bike head-on.

For some people, a pair of denim jeans are just a blue silhouette covering their legs. They are pulled on and off, thrown in the washing machine and tossed in the bin when the fabric in the crotch burst. For others, a pair of denim jeans are similar to a blank canvas or a friend who will accompany you for years, only to become more and more unique in it’s features. This way of thinking results in a sustainable way of consuming apparel, which is the most important part for Livid Jeans.

Making your way into the creative industry is no easy task. Line Nakken´s strategy started out with turning down a school offer in Denmark and leaving for India for six months.

You have probably seen The Dots—the beautiful hooks from Muuto? But do you know the designer behind them?

In 2011, two architects travelled to Copenhagen. They found themselves in awe by the minimalistic way of living with a bike as a way of transportation. Dedicating themselves to bring this lifestyle with them back to Lisbon they quickly became a part of the sprout of bikeculture in the Portoguese capital.

Divided between Norway and England, photography and illustration, Joakim Heltne has without a doubt found his calling. His minimalistic and clean language flows through both his forms of expression, however, his artwork is stripped down to a level he explains as; “where there isn’t much left to look at.“

Coming from very different backgrounds, Henri Desgrange and Géo Lefévre played a very important part of the creation and evolution of French cycling history. With their help whilst in a desperate position to save their jobs, Desgrange and Lefévre established an event that over a hundred years later still is the worlds greatest sporting event. Tour de France has successfully placed the country of love on the map in the cycling world.

Architecture, graphic lines and rhythmic patterns are what makes Marius Svaleng Andresen’s (@lekestove) Instagramfeed so pleasing to the eye. Shared in a grid of three, his pictures creates a surreal illusion of what the world looks like through a camera lens. But even with his consistent and minimalistic style, there is a part of him in every single photo. November, last year, he even got to exhibit his photographs in Oslo and a great deal were sold to become a part of someone elses lives.

Only two years after its launch, Paper Collective have grown to become a significant platform for modern poster design and art prints, as well as an inspiration regarding their approach to sustainable and responsible production. The company brings together their favourite graphic designers, agencies, artists and illustrators to create graphic print while promoting good causes and charities.

Finding his passion for cycling after the age of 40, François Paoletti makes the history of the professional cycling world accessible for anyone interested.