We kick off with the surprisingly big opportunity in a remarkably small corner of the internet: thumbnails for YouTube videos. And we end by exploring the rise of tattoo tourism. Enjoy. | | 01. YouTube thumbnail art (those little images that pop up as you scroll) is crucial for getting people to click and watch. And, finally, people are waking up to the fact that, yes, it's worth putting time and money into making them look great. They've suddenly become a well-paid niche for designers in the content creation space: MrBeast reportedly pays up to $10,000 for a single video, while creators like Tink the Designer are putting out tutorials on how to maximize the internet's smallest real estate – and growing large followings along the way.
02. Another unconventional dispatch from the design world – check out this website showing rotating sandwiches 🥪 (which just won an award – no kidding). Washington DC-based designer Lauren Walker tells us: 'I rotate the sandwiches on a battery-powered jewelry display in a lightbox and edit the video files in Adobe. I have around 100 sandwiches in my collection and add a few more every now and then, as my lunch plans dictate. There's no real effort on my part to monetize it right now but, if something came along with a creative brand that would be a good fit, I wouldn't say no.' Anyone hungry? | | | | ADVERTISE WITH US. Looking to get your business in front of Courier's 2 million-strong global network of subscribers? We're introducing advertising and sponsorship opportunities into this newsletter. Email partnerships@couriermedia.com for more info. | | | | | | | Creative, customizable and clean Don't compromise sustainability for style when it comes to product packaging. noissue's eco-friendly materials and manufacturing – think 100% Forest-Stewardship-Council-certified paper and soy-based inks – are combined with an in-house design team and easy-to-use online editor that can bring your packaging designs to life. Join a community of brands championing sustainability and helping customers responsibly dispose of packaging after use. Let your brand shine | | 03. You can do a lot with two pieces of bread: Panco, a brand selling potato buns to feed French eaters' growing love for smash burgers, recently launched in Paris.
04. Personal color analysis – where you hold up different swatches of colors to see which tones are the most flattering for you – is blowing up on TikTok. It's opening doors for smaller brands and creators such as Created Colorful.
05. However, lots of people are saying the white tee is back, thanks to the uniform worn by the main character of hit TV show The Bear. We're pretty sure that the white tee never really went away, but we can't argue with the fact that brands featured on the show – Merz b Schwanen in Germany and Whitesville in Japan – have seen a boost. And for good reason: both brands manufacture on vintage machines using time-consuming weaving techniques that have almost completely died out. Quality, no matter the color, will always win out. | | | | TRY IT. Wearing the right clothes, whether a white tee or a three-piece suit, can make a big difference to your day. Here's how to dress for confidence. | | | | | | 06. An overlooked way to start something in food? Private cheffing. Meredith Hayden is a live-in private chef for a wealthy family in the Hamptons, documenting her days and amassing 1.9 million TikTok followers in the process. Vlogs of her summer in Long Island have led to partnerships and big brand deals.
07. Video is also how Jesse Jenkins, photographer and former professional skateboarder, got back into cooking. He'd worked in restaurants in Los Angeles before moving to London for creative work and started sharing story-driven recipes under the name ADIP (Another Day in Paradise). Now he does sponsored videos and has just teamed up with London restaurant Chet's for a pop-up barbecue.
08. Jesse is a busy man. He's also on the team launching Yew, a no-sugar sparkling-water brand (because you can't have too many 😳) set to drop this month. The brand started to build hype by giving out cans at Glastonbury and filming people's reactions. Smart. | | | | TIP. Getting your audience involved can be a cheap and effective way to market your product. One approach is user-generated content – check out our guide. | | | | | | 09. German-born Sri Lankan Lisa Baladurage is the founder of Sathutu, Berlin's hottest Sri Lankan restaurant 🇩🇪 🇱🇰. When she's not front of house, these are her top restaurants to visit in the city. - November. 'All the Ukrainians from top restaurants who fled [the war] are working here now. It's a year old. It's a little Japanese-inspired and the location is beautiful.'
- Trio. 'Proper German food, but done in a modern way. There's a huge bar counter where they serve German sausages, potatoes and stews but [using] really good ingredients.'
- Sale e Tabacchi. 'A restaurant with a super nice vibe and a lot of history. It's a good place for a date.'
- Nobelhart & Schmutzig. 'The name means "noble heart and dirty" in English. All the food is sourced locally in Germany, they pay their staff well and their wine menu is a bible for me.'
- Lila. 'Peruvian fusion cuisine in a super nice location on the canal [on] Paul-Lincke-Ufer [street]. It has a strong focus on seafood and does the best ceviche in town, with a sweet-potato sauce.'
10. Another Berlin spot to watch: Cee Cee Cafe. It's a six-month takeover of a cafe by popular local newsletter Cee Cee, bringing its recommendations on Berlin's best brands, businesses and events to real life – without the long-term challenges of owning a physical retail space.
11. Sticking with cafes with a side of media – check out Cafe Vins, a new coffee bar and reading room in London, and ODD KIOSK, which focuses on queer books and magazines in Barcelona.
12. There's a growing hunger for music discovery beyond algorithms. Area, a messaging app for musicians, makes super popular TikToks discovering new artists IRL by asking people in the street if they play music and, if they do, sharing their songs. | | | We moved into our new office in Hackney, east London, just over a year ago. In that time, many of you have come down for launches, events and talks, and it's really cemented our belief in the power of an incredible workspace and what an incubator it can be for your brands and businesses. So, we're opening our doors: for the first time, our beautiful new office space is available for hire – whether to host an event or to work from day to day. Email julia@couriermedia.com for rates and more info. | | | 13. Another one to watch: Early Rising. Its team creates playlists and writes reviews (kinda like early Pitchfork) and puts on shows for up-and-coming artists. It was created by former college football player Sam Morrison, who got injured and ended up deep in the music scene, working for media company Lyrical Lemonade before starting his own thing. | | 14. Our contributor in Singapore, Joseph Koh, told us about a collaboration between arthouse cinema The Projector and a major movie-theater chain – proving that indies and big businesses don't have to be at odds to succeed. Here are three other independent cinemas approaching the movie business differently. - CINÉ-REAL is the only place in the UK that shows films in 16mm format.
- Cinémathèque de Tanger, started by artist Yto Barrada, hosts a cafe and is home to one of the world's largest collections of North African films.
- Cinema Akil started out as a pop-up, bringing arthouse cinema to locations across Dubai, before settling in a warehouse space.
15. 'I just got back from a week-long road trip around Colorado's Rocky Mountains and came across a fascinating business called Melanzana,' says our news editor, Karis Hustad. 'It sells high-quality base layers for hiking, all manufactured right there in the shop with made-in-USA fabrics and machines. You walk in the front door and are immediately in the factory. Its hyper-local approach has made it a cult brand in the outdoors world: you can only buy its apparel in person via appointment. When I visited in July, the next available appointment was in December.'
16. Another shop that's building on the enthusiasm of the outdoors community: Seattle-based Windthrow. Opening in the same neighborhood where apparel brand REI got its start, the store sells niche outdoors brands for gearheads (Satisfy, Pa'lante Packs) but is equally focused on community events, like a fly-fishing workshop and instant-coffee collab with a local roaster.
17. And, if you're getting outside this weekend, we hope you've got proper eye protection or at least fun frames – like these eighties-inspired sport sunglasses from Albaoptics 🕶️. | | More from us (and elsewhere)
➡️ The rise of tattourism (and what happens when it goes wrong).
➡️ A dreamy record-focused cafe in South Korea.
➡️ Meet the master of cultural trends.
➡️ A Vancouver rock-climbing collective that's going on tour.
➡️ Sustainable cushions for insiders and outsiders. | | | | |
