Good morning everyone,

Staying true to my minimal commentary brief today for the first time in years, with a series of links about bugs and bees. Thank you to the friend and subscriber who sent me off on this path.

Let's start with some modernism in the form of Elsa Schiaparelli's bug necklace. Lots of pictures of Schiaparelli's other designs in this article, well worth a click:

A true modernist and innovator at heart, Schiaparelli was the first to experiment with synthetic materials in couture, effectively turning her fashion creations into art. One of the most controversial and bizarre was called Rhodophane, a clear plastic related to cellophane. Schiaparelli used this material to create a floating insect necklace as well as a cape that apparently shattered like glass if handled improperly.

https://lonewolfmag.com/elsa-schiaparelli-surrealist-fashion-designer/

I enjoyed this interview with Helen Jukes, on beekeeping and what bees "are":

“you can think of a colony either as individuals or as a collective. The whole of beekeeping history seems to be this repetition of confusion. Each time people try to fit them into categories, they seem able to escape them. Are they individuals or a collective? Is honey animal-based or plant-based? Are bees wild or domestic?”

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jul/30/helen-jukes-interview-beekeeper-memoir-a-honeybee-heart-has-five-openings

How about you make like Adrastea and outsource your job to some bees today. Looks like they would do a great job. This is an extract from the Ladies Dictionary, the first book aimed specifically at women!

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=GfQ_TquTZicC&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false

Bug love,

Alex.