Mercado San Cosme | Berlin (GER) | By Lee Fleming

Located in Berlin’s Mitte neighbourhood, Mercado San Cosme is a contemporary Mexican market comprised of a retail area to the front and a custom built Mezcal tasting room to the rear. The retail space presents a variety of items, from food and drink to accessories and homeware alongside remarkable Mexican design. An ‘embassy for mezcal’, the walls feature pre-hispanic imagery and geometric graphics and custom-made furniture features throughout. Pablo Limón, in collaboration with multi-disciplinary studio Savvy Studio and artist NANO 4814, designed the interior of this former 20th century butcher store. The space is also host to art projects and rotating exhibitions, check the Mercado San Cosme Facebook page for more details.

Photography by Coke Bartrina.

Modernist Metro Modern Map | Manchester (UK) | By Lee Fleming

Released in October 2013 by the Manchester Modernist Society and accompanied by a free tour of the city in a 1960s Manchester City Transport bus, the Metro Modern map is a unique guide to Manchester's 20th century architecture.

The Metro Modern map includes the CIS Tower, Central Reference Library, alongside lesser known buildings such as St Augustines RC Church and the CWS Building. The topological map is ideal for any visiting architecture enthusiasts and all sites can be explored on foot or by a free Metroshuttle bus, with all buildings in walking distance from one of Manchester's three Metro Shuttle bus routes.

The Manchester Modernist Society commissioned graphic designer Des Lloyd Behari to design the map, he collaborated with Daniel Russell to illustrate 20 accompanying buildings selected by the Society on the reverse. Available for free from selected Manchester independents TAKK, Fig & Sparrow or the Manchester Art Gallery, you can also purchase the Metro Modern map for the price of a stamp (£0.70) from the Manchester Modernist Society website.

The Challenger's Almanac | Cornwall (UK) | By Lee Fleming

The Challenger's Almanac, founded in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (UK) is an annual business publication created by a small and passionate team who have used their own experiences to challenge ‘the way that business is done’. Consisting of husband-and-wife duo Mark (filmmaker and entrepreneur) and Emily (Graphic designer) Anderson, The Challenger's Almanac looks far and wide from local companies to large scale multi-national corporations, in search of inspiring stories that will challenge the status quo and inspire readers to step outside the box.

The first edition of The Challenger's Almanac was born out of a successful Kickstarter campaign along with the help of 300 crowd funders. The Andersons sit at the helm of the business and draw upon their extensive production skills whilst a talented team helps them to realise and expand upon their ideas. Editor Meg Lobb conducts in-depth research, the arresting photography found inside the Challenger's Almanac is taken by Alastair Sopp (West Cornwall, UK) and Rasmus Keger (New York, US) and the illustrations are by Joshua Vyvyan (London, UK) whose workings, inspired by traditional tattoos and the sea, are often found on skin, not paper. Inside the issue features stories from Hiut Denim founder David Hieatt, Sugru inventor Jane Ni Dhulchaointigh and US Illustrator Jessica Hische. Curated by consultancy firm Sideways, the inaugural issue also features contributions from consultancies including Naked Communications and Pearlfisher’s Jonathan Ford, who helped to create many of the brands profiled in the publication.

To read more about The Challenger's Almanac or purchase their first issue visit their website.

Smiljan Radić's Serpentine Pavilion | London (UK) | By Emma Harrison

The Serpentine Pavilion Commission, now in it’s 14^th year, has hosted many experimental and impressive structures from some of the world’s greatest architects. From last year’s intricate and airy construction from Sou Fujimoto to Frank Gehry’s Da Vinci-inspired 2008 multi-dimensional space, each year the unveiling of the pavilion is eagerly anticipated and 2014 has not disappointed.

Designed by Chilean architect Smiljan Radić, the otherworldly, pebble-like structure rests upon large quarry stones and houses a flexible social space and café. At home in a seemingly natural setting, the cylindrical structure has a semi-translucent skin and as the sun goes down, the pavilion’s amber glare illuminates the foreground of the gallery- an image that would not seem out of place in science fiction.

The ethereal nature of the pavilion is further drawn out by the spatial arrangements inside and Radić explains, ‘this shell - white, translucent and made of fibreglass - will house an interior organised around an empty patio, from where the natural setting will appear lower, giving the sensation that the entire volume is floating’.

The pavilion will remain in place for four months and on Friday nights between July and September, the venue will play host to the Serpentine’s Park Nights series. Consisting of eight events, each evening explores art, poetry, music, film, literature and theory alongside a preview of three new commissions by emerging artists Lina Lapelyte, Hannah Perry and Heather Phillipson.

Haeckels Seaweed Skincare | Cliftonville, Margate (UK)

Margate, a seaside town in the district of Thanet (East Kent) has, like many British coastal resorts, endured steady decline over the decades. As traditional seaside resorts fall out of favour with modern holidaymakers, Margate has instead let its natural beauty captivate attention and the town boasts an abundance of coastal walks, beaches and ocean. While Margate's regeneration has including attractive openings such as the Turner Contemporary and the re-opening of Dreamland, our attention has been drawn to premium organic skincare maker Haeckels who incorporate the town's history and environmental amenities into their products.

Named after late 19th century German botanist, philosopher and artist Ernest Haeckel, Haeckels was founded by Dom Bridges over four years ago after he devised creative ways in which to use Thanet's large seaweed deposits (between 6,000-7,000 tonnes). Bridges started by making soap for friends one Christmas and from there, with an interest in halassotherapy, he grew a seaweed fragrance, skincare and treatment range made from hand-harvested wild seaweed and other local ingredients.

Bridges, only one of two people in the UK to own a license to gather seaweed, harvests the aquatic plant-like algae then cleans, dehydrates and steam-distils the seaweed as preparation for use. All Haeckels products are free of toxins or symmetric compounds and are made in Margate using local seaweeds, plants and herbs such a lavender, parsley and rosemary. The range includes eight perfumes; each containing natural ingredients foraged at the GPS reference on the label, as well as candles, incense, beard oils, body wash and a Courtesy Flush fragrance.

To read more about Haeckels plant-based 100% natural skincare visit their shop and laboratory at 18 Cliff Terrace, Cliftonville or visit Haeckels online.