For our winter edition, we explore the relationship between community and design. How can good design improve our quality of life?
Architect and professor Avi Friedman considers how social patterns are altering the designs of our homes and the ways we live in them.
City planners may shape streets and devise green spaces, but building community really starts where the pavement ends.
From baseball’s diamonds and snooker’s triangles to the goal lines we protect and the running tracks we circle, we take a closer look at the graphic patterns inherent in the athletic field.
You may never find a perfect palette match, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the evocative power of color’s hue-and-fro.
Whether designing a chair, a teaspoon or a shop’s interior, this British industrial designer takes the concept of community into his own hands.
We spoke to the co-founders of Berlin-based New Tendency about the importance of collaboration when designing timeless objects.
Michele Oka Doner weaves the human-made and natural elements of her day to find balance in both.
It’s one of design’s chicken-and-egg questions: Is current home design changing the way we live, or is the way we live changing current home design?
The founders of the interior installation firm talk about reshaping spaces into shared experiences that invite audiences to step outside the norm.
By forgoing trends in favor of classic patterns with distinctive details, this London-based designer create simple pieces that defy eras.
This fashion boutique owner has used grassroots innovation—and a dose of caffeine—to cultivate community in her native Brooklyn.
Although these French architects’ large-scale projects have taken them across multiple continents, they still maintain their studio’s esprit de corps.
Seasoned with shavings of fresh celeriac and charred parsley oil, a bowl of this creamy broth will warm you all the way to your roots.
This Danish design duo has learned to toe the line between combining complementary aesthetics and maintaining individuality.
Sometimes we should all think like designers: The strategies employed to create a perfectly proportioned bookshelf can also be used to enhance our personal well-being.
Flaky fillets are doused in slightly sweet vinegar and finished with a peppery crunch to create a sharp combination of dark and light flavors.
The friends behind this Copenhagen-based design studio discuss positive cooperation and how every idea is worth putting up on the wall.
The head of Harvard’s Desirability Lab examines what consumers like and why so designers can create products that hit the sweet spot.
Take one cut-out cracker recipe, stack on different-shaped toppings and snack on these tessellated grown-up building blocks.
Over the past 15 years, this Taiwan-born, New York-based graphic designer has come a complete, digitally rendered circle.
This softly set cream is served under a layer of paper-thin pears, dusted in licorice specks and sprinkled with white chocolate shavings.
From radial swirls to mirror images, the natural world often shows that there’s beauty in balance.
The Kinfolk Home welcomes readers into 35 homes around the world that reflect some of the key principles of slow living.
Miquel Alzueta’s fascination with the 1950s style of functional furnishings permeates every aspect of his home.
Yvonne Koné and Rasmus Juul moved to the Copenhagen suburb of Vesterbro because they were inspired by its rich history and historic atmosphere.
Geraldine Cleary’s home achieves the perfect balance between the inside and outside realms, the private and public territories.
The autumn edition of Kinfolk explores the relationships we have with our nearest and dearest, in all of their iterations.
Regardless of what kind of family you were born into, you can keep adding characters to your clan, whether or not you’re related.
Mail carriers, baristas, even the girl you see regularly at your local café: These folks can go from strangers to friends in an afternoon.
We spent a day with Afteroom founders Hung-Ming Chen and Chen-Yen Wei to learn about their working process, their home life and how their folks influenced their careers.
In celebration of the make-believe stories we once believed, this photo essay is a tribute to the fibs and fables that taught us how to wonder.
As an award-winning children’s book illustrator and comic-book artist living in Oslo, Norway, Øyvind Torseter often finds inspiration in the moments before sleep.
The spark that ignites when two people bond can be both unexpected and exhilarating.
Road trips are all about freedom, adventure and new perspectives, with a bit of nostalgia and fried food thrown in.
Is creativity something everyone is born with or something we learn from our environment? We interview Yale researcher Mei Tan to find out what position science takes.
Just because you shared personal space as a kid doesn’t mean you need to give up your individuality as an adult.
Fruit and cheese should never be confined to dessert. The Pomegranate Glaze adds a Middle Eastern element to this rich and decadent tart.
In this interpretation of red velvet cake, molten chocolate turns into gooey lava as it oozes from the center of this soufflé-like treat.
Seattle bookshop owner Peter Miller discusses the meaning of sitting down for lunch with your co-workers.
We consider the important role that playgrounds play in both our childhood development and social interactions.
Monette and Mady aren’t just identical—they’re inseparable. The Parisian twins live in the same apartment, dress alike, dance together and share every meal.
This crimson-hued cocktail mixes some of our favorite flavors: wine, whiskey and ginger, with a bright splash of lemon. Bloody good.
A look inside Kinfolk Issue Sixteen: The Essentials Issue, which will explore what we all consider the basic building blocks in life to be.
Furniture designers Stine Gam and Enrico Fratesi split their time between Denmark and Italy. We tag along to document a typical day.
This pastel-colored frozen dessert is made with just four simple ingredients, leaving you more time to relax.
Sometimes it takes half a continent and an expensive toaster to realize which culinary commodities you hold dear.
An excerpt from Peter Block’s book Community: The Structure of Belonging focusing on how we can become better connected citizens.
Starr Hout, cofounder of Apiece Apart fashion label, talks about her evening rituals and how she’s made her bedroom kid-friendly.
Breaking down the act of communication into its core components allows us to engage with more thought, understanding and consideration.
Laughter is one of life’s simplest joys. This portrait series explores laughter in all its forms and explains the science behind the smile.
We asked some of our favorite chefs and food intensives what they’ve learned about life from years in the kitchen.
We gathered together around the world to celebrate the season’s offering of rich colors, flavors and textures that hide just beneath the surface of the earth.
An interview with Greg McKeown, the author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, a book about work-life challenges that offers insight on how we can do more with less.
But what does it all mean? Many great philosophical minds have tried to pare down their theorems to find the fundamental truths.
This refreshing cocktail will start off your warm summer evening right with a kick of gin, honey, lime and verbena.
Watermelons are a quintessential part of summer. We’ve created a menu that puts a whole melon to use in a number of refreshing ways.
This salad recipe combines watermelon with fresh herbs, ginger and chilies to create a delectable balance of spicy sweetness.
The combination of this summer grilled seafood staple with a warm, fruity vinaigrette will elevate any barbecue.
One of the world’s most respected advocates of the Slow movement explains why we should all say no more often.
The heart of essentialism isn’t about asking how little we can live with, but determining what we simply cannot live without.
Our lives are dictated by unspoken rules that keep society moving smoothly and civilly. Without them, imagine the impolite chaos.
The whole may be greater than the sum of its parts, but photographer Justin Fantl slices and dices common objects to see what he can discern from their core components.
This photo essay pays tribute to olive oil, one of the most essential ingredients in the Mediterranean and beyond.
There’s no need to head to a far-flung beach or a cabin in the woods to disconnect: You just need to look up.
An essay singing the simple praises of bread and butter, along with several tasty recipes for flavored butters.
Chef Michael Anthony puts a citrus-infused spin on a traditional olive oil cake.
We visit the calm Tokyo neighborhood of Yanaka, which manages to slow the pace of city living while honoring old-world traditions and welcoming modern ideas.
Welcome to Kinfolk Issue Fifteen, the Entrepreneurs Issue.
Hans Ulrich Obrist, critic, art historian and curator at the Serpentine Galleries in London, tells us how he assembles the objects next to his bed.
Whether you work in an office, run a café or have your own store, paying attention to the five senses can help your visitors feel at home.
In this excerpt from Carl Honoré’s book In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed, he writes about the benefits of flexible hours and the importance of downtime.
Learning to control the way our limbs convey meaning gives us greater control of our messages. What language is your body speaking?
We speak with one of the world’s most respected advocates of the Slow movement—about the way we live, work, eat and communicate.
Whether you’re planning the week’s agenda or loafing on the couch, this evening can be used to embrace the calm before the weekdays’ storm.
Our career paths can be filled with plenty of unexpected detours, speed bumps and potholes, and it’s not always easy to decide which route to take. Sometimes it’s best to enjoy the road you’re on as you confidently stride into uncharted territory.
Embracing our limitations and narrowing our focus is often exactly what’s needed to free our minds.
Designed with budding entrepreneurs in mind, our coffee-inspired recipes will give you ideas for other ways to fulfill your daily caffeine consumption.
Designed with budding entrepreneurs in mind, our three-part coffee menu will leave you wide awake and satisfied.
Designed with budding entrepreneurs in mind, our three-part coffee menu will leave you wide awake and satisfied.
Designed with budding entrepreneurs in mind, our three-part coffee menu will leave you wide awake and satisfied.
The world is full of pseudoscience, bad advice and new age self-help jargon. Thankfully the School of Life has refreshed the idea of emotional education.
Alain de Botton is a one-man media empire, best-selling author and a thinker who helps us solve problems using history and culture as a guide.
For this issue’s Neighborhood profile, we travel to the picturesque city center of Bergen, Norway.
This tasty dish can be prepared the night before and will provide all the carbohydrates and protein you need to make it through the rest of your workday.
These comforting potato pancakes have traditionally been served during Hanukkah, though latkes have come to represent celebration in all its forms.
We follow film directors Andrew and Carissa Gallo as they head out into Oregon’s rich landscape to work on a new film project.
Some people complain of life weighing heavily on their shoulders, but for others it’s work that provides that pressure.
Sometimes perfection doesn’t need improvement. Invented more than a century ago, the paper clip is a bastion for simplicity in design.
Why do we always seem to crave a stiff drink while doing the laundry? Some cunning stores are combining two business ideas into one with great success.
It’s not just the work you do inside the office that counts: Sometimes what goes on after hours makes all the difference to productivity and morale in the workplace.
We speak to the fourth generation running the 101-year-old “appetizing” shop Russ & Daughters on the Lower East Side.
We asked a number of enviable business minds how they define the nature of entrepreneurship.
Sometimes opening our eyes to knowledge’s blind spots can reveal fresh solutions to old problems and give us an appreciation for the unknown.
In our special section on Community Entrepreneurs, we focus on organizations and individuals who build and strengthen communities while making excellent goods and services.
Helen Rice is living the entrepreneurial dream. Her company Fuzzco is going swimmingly—and she still has time for pottery, running and plenty of coffee.
Doodlers, rejoice! Scrawling stick figures and pyramids in afternoon meetings may actually make us concentrate more on the tasks at hand, not less.
In our special section on Community Entrepreneurs, we focus on organizations and individuals who build and strengthen communities while making excellent goods and services.
In our special section on Community Entrepreneurs, we focus on organizations and individuals who build and strengthen communities while making excellent goods and services
In our special section on Community Entrepreneurs, we focus on organizations and individuals who build and strengthen communities while making excellent goods and services.
Peter Miller Books is filled with sleek writing utensils, Finnish housewares, calendars, clocks and design books of all kinds.
An interview with Shigeki Hattori, creative director and one of six founders of the shop-studio-coffeehouse Graf.
Holybelly is raising the bar for quality food and coffee in the 10th arrondissement.
An interview with Colby Barr, the café’s co-owner and green coffee buyer.
If Kinfolk were a shop, it would want to be just like Labour & Wait in East London.
Heide Museum of Modern Art combines contemporary art, architecture, gardens and coffee into what is a lovely way to whittle away your afternoon.
If only we could have kitchens that are exact replicas of this beautiful Pacific Heights shop.
We interview chef-owners Jeff McInnis and Janine Booth about Root & Bone, a Southern neighborhood restaurant that focuses on timeless country comfort food.
Shop clothing, furniture and hard-to-find magazines.
A visit to this quiet gem on Sutter Street transcends the mechanical interaction of ordering and paying for a drink from across a counter.
We interview Louise Friestedt, who runs the cozy home design shop Fabriken with her husband, Johan Larsson.
An interview with Walter Manning, co-owner of Old Faithful Shop, a modern take on the old general store in Vancouver’s Gastown area.
An interview with Janaki Larsen, who runs this lovely shop and café in the Riley Park neighborhood of Vancouver, BC.
We chat with Kenn Husted, owner of Paté Paté, which is famous for Spanish- and French-inspired cuisine and—you guessed it—pâté.
An interview with Dai Hughes, who owns Astro Coffee with his wife, Jess Hughes.
We speak with with James Seaton, one of the founders of Toast, about the company’s growth, the latest collection, what inspires him and the recently renovated Chelsea location.
A chat with Rasmus Damsbo, who runs the popular café Kompa’ 9 and Kaf’ Bar 9 with his business partners Tobias Helweg and Mikkel Bang.
We talk to Klaus Thomsen, a cofounder of one of our favorite coffee shops in the Danish capital.
An interview with the creative director and manager of Art in the Age, a shop and gallery that also makes its own organic spirits.
We interview Ben and Max Goldberg, the innovative brothers behind the charming southern comfort food bar/bowling alley Pinewood Social.
