The French design creating light-bulb moments from scrap paper

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SHOP / Who gives a scrap?

Henri Dejeant uses recycled paper as the central element for his lighting designs.

“Moulding up” is the term young French designer Henri Dejeant uses to describe his sustainable technique of transforming scrap paper into a substance that mimics the texture of leather or concrete while maintaining its lightweight property. Working from the south of France, he meticulously handcrafts each Invider Lamp (from $880), infusing them with biomorphic characteristics that he hopes lend a lifelike quality to the sculptural form. “I try to convey something,” he says, “like Geppetto in the workshop where Pinocchio was born.” Frances Mocnik

PLAY / Russian revolution

The Art Gallery of NSW is showcasing the life and work of one of the most influential European modernists.

From vibrant swirling forms to the spiritual power of colour, Vasily Kandinsky, the artist and pioneer of European abstraction, believed that art shouldn’t merely imitate the visible world but be a reflection of the artist’s inner self. The exhibition Kandinsky (until March 10, 2024; adults $35) features more than 50 key works, drawn from the Guggenheim Museum in New York, that cemented Kandinsky’s career as one of Europe’s most influential modernists. It spans his time in early-20th-century Munich, his return to Moscow at the beginning of World War I followed by his years as an instructor at the Bauhaus in Germany and a final experimental phase in Paris. Frances Mocnik

WEAR / Mini major

After the LBD, the LGD.

The flipside to the party season’s extravagant silhouettes and look-at-me materials has arrived in the form of a simple, sleeveless tunic. The Deia dress ($740) is like your favourite LBD – only green. Away from the body, it looks like an oversized sweater vest with generous pockets, but put it on and the versatility of this Italian-linen-and-cotton mini-dress is revealed. With a quick switch from sandals to mules and an accessories upgrade, this understated outfit goes from the beach to the best table at your nearest brasserie, all the while showcasing newly sun-kissed limbs. Damien Woolnough

READ / Secrets and lies

Tony Birch’s fourth book tells the tale of what happens when 11-year-old Joe’s happy family life in 1965 Melbourne is disrupted.

Respected Australian author Tony Birch, a survivor of domestic violence, says he writes about the topic out of respect for his mother’s courage. His fourth novel, Women & Children (University of Queensland Press; $35), is set in a working-class suburb of Melbourne in 1965, and features likeable 11-year-old Joe, who’s always in trouble with the sadistic nuns who teach him. His happy family life, with single mum Marion and sister Ruby, is disrupted when Marion’s younger sister, Oona, arrives unexpectedly, badly beaten up. What follows is a powerful depiction of toxic masculinity, female courage and family loyalty, with a touching portrayal of the relationship between Joe and his beloved grandfather, Charlie. Nicole Abadee

EAT / Smash hit

Nutworks has unlocked a revolutionary way to crack open nuts.

The Aussie macadamia is a notoriously hard nut to crack. Conventional nutcrackers often don’t work, while whacking the offending nugget with a hammer is a messy, hit-and-miss affair. To solve this problem, Australian-owned Nutworks has cut a neat slot into each of its locally grown, oven-roasted, in-shell nuts and supplied a special “key” with each pack for effortless cracking ($14 for 500g). Simply insert, twist and say hello to a buttery-rich, crunchy macadamia kernel. Frances Mocnik

DRINK / Sweet thing

Cup 49’s DIY bubble tea kit offers the opportunity to brew your own at home.

Bubble tea may be Taiwan’s least-serious export, but anyone living with a devotee of the cold, sweet, tea-based drink with its famous “pearl” toppings (“boba”) knows a), that an emergency craving can cost $15 to satisfy, and b), it’s a plastic-heavy indulgence. Enter DIY bubble-tea-kit home-delivery service Cup 49 (so named after founder Serene Lim, pictured, discovered one outlet was pumping out 48 drinks an hour). There are plenty of kits to choose from – specify your preference for a fruit- or milk-tea base first – while add-ons include a glass cup, steel straws, cute-critters ice moulds and those all-important tapioca- or popping-pearl toppings. Sampling a peach and mango combo kit (Peach DIY Fruit Bubble Tea Kit; $60 for 20 serves), Upfront’s resident teenage boba bae declared her home brew just as delicious as her twice-weekly shop buys. Epic win. Sharon Bradley

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