Journal

Sabrina de Sousa is the co-founder of one of our favourite New York eateries, Dimes. Together with her business partner, chef Alissa Wagner, the talented restaurateur has pioneered a movement towards quick, casual and colourful produce-driven meals that hinge on beautiful bowls—both the savoury and açai variety—that are as nourishing to the body as they are pleasing to the eye and the palate. Since opening in Chinatown in 2013, Dimes has blossomed to include Dimes Deli and Market (where you can find Sans [ceuticals] alongside everything from Japanese condiments and local vegetables to printed rolling papers by artist Tauba Auerbach). On any given day, Dimes’ buzzy Memphis-inspired spaces are filled with a creative crew of artists, designers, writers, skaters and makers, who gravitate towards the warm and enchanting energy the two women have cultivated. To counteract being run off her feet between the three neighbouring shopfronts and the duo’s catering business, de Sousa is a firm believer in rituals and self-care to rejuvenate and restore. Here she shares some of her most valued practices.

An easy and elegant style for those rushing out the door.

For curls that look effortless and natural.

Inspired by antique embroidery samples, Clare’s process begins with a sketch of a delicately threaded prayer or rhyme. From here, she pulls a section from her sketch to then paint, blowing it up onto a large canvas. Her well-lit studio looks over the apartment building’s shared gardens, it is here that Clare will work for hours, preferring to start early, in sync with the sunrise. In the centre of her studio, the canvas is laid over a table horizontally. Working over the canvas allows Clare to become completely absorbed into detailed sections of her painting, without seeing the full scale until some time later. This process she has created lends itself to what has become her signature painting style.

We visited Clare Grill at her home studio in Queens, New York, where we talked and ate croissants amongst her sketches, books and works-in-progress. Clare is full of contagious energy and laughter. Her cropped hair emphasises her warm eyes and honest smile, which feels like a lovely reflection of her soft and hazy coloured paintings hanging on the walls beside us. However, much like her paintings, there is a depth and melancholy to Clare, a serious side that can poach the mysterious and magical out from the sweetly feminine.

Kate Newby is a New Zealand artist known for her quiet, poetic and humorous installations that often respond to the conditions of every day life. Sans [ceuticals] spoke with Kate about her own daily rituals and how they inform her art making.