Brian "Deka" Paupaw is a broadcast designer, creative director of the Se7en Nations clothing brand (still kicking?), a serious snowboarder, and now a filmmaker. He chronicles his journey from Bed-Stuy to South American back country mountains in his recently completed documentary, Hoods to Woods:

I will have just arrived in Liberia-- with my newly acquired surfboard in tow-- but if you're in New York next Thursday, you should go to the Hoods to Woods screening party at The Blue Seats:

Hoods to Woods Screening
Hosted by Filmmaker Brian "Deka" Paupaw
March 5th, 2009
The Blue Seats
157 Ludlow Street, New York, NY 10002

Doors open @ 6pm
Film Screening: 8:00 - 8:30
Reception: 8:30 - until

There has been a tendency to shy away from who you are, and I don’t want to deny who I am. If a Japanese architect talks about Shintoism, everyone goes, “Wow.” If an African architect talks about an African village, it is somehow weird in the Western context. I find that hilarious. What’s the difference?

London-based, Ghanaian architect David Adjaye was born in Tanzania and educated at the Royal College of Art. His 2005 Whitechapel Idea Store-- he designed several "Idea Stores," which are not at all unlike Japan's one-stop culture shop community centers-- in London won the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) First Prize Bronze Medal (photo just below). Adjaye also creates stunning private spaces-- including James Casebere and Lorna Simpson's four-story Fort Greene studio (bottom photo), which you may remember as the subject of a 2006 Times article.



Adjaye is all of 42 years old.

1962, St. John's Episcopal High School in Robertsport, Liberia. Eat your heart out, Thom Browne.

A sneak peek of what one might see if one dragged oneself over to Tracy Reese's 1 pm unveiling of her Fall 2009 collection, which is said to have been inspired by post-impressionist portraiture-- Vuillard, Van Gogh, and Modigliani.

A photograph by Xaviera Simmons-- one of the many works on offer at the Swann Galleries African-American Fine Art Auction next Tuesday. The Brooklyn-based Simmons received her BFA from Bard College, completed a two-year actor training program at Maggie Flanigan, and is a co-founder of Tuffness Crew, a DJ collective.

Last night I trekked from the Jazz Standard, where I caught the second bit of Esperanza Spalding's sold out three-set marathon, up to Port Authority, where my chariot awaited. I settled into my seat on the DeCamp, and pulled out from my poorly aging purse the last issue of Domino, which I'd picked up before hitting the show. On the back cover I spied a gorgeous girl who, amusingly enough, looked just like Esperanza.

Imagine my delight when I read the fine print and discovered that it was in fact her. She, along with nine other artists (including Nigerian-German soul singer Ayo), is featured in Banana Republic's City Stories spring ad campaign.

Don't let the smokey eyes and sexy posturing fool you; Esperanza is all spunk and funk and is not at all too cool to BURN.

I've had this post sitting in my queue for sometime, so you can imagine my surprise-- and admitted disappointment-- when I discovered that I'd been beaten to the punch by none other than everyone's favorite Fly Girl. Thankfully, the focus was more on the badass bassist's badass 'fro, rather than her great story or spot on music. So here goes.

Beyond fantastic hair, singing bassist Esperanza Spalding is nothing short of a world-class musician. One of the youngest faculty members in the history of the famed Berklee College of Music, The Portland, Oregon-born Spalding, who was, of course, always into music, sort of stumbled into voice and bass-- not before teaching herself how to play the violin at age five, tinkering with the oboe, clarinet, and cello, becoming concertmaster of the Chamber Music Society of Oregon at age fifteen, writing songs for an indie rock group, and touring with Patti Austin.

Released last may by Heads Up Records, Spalding's second studio album, Esperanza, is an organic mélange of samba, soul, and straight-ahead jazz. Some of her stuff-- which she writes-- is a bit too challenging for popular consumption, but she's got an arsenal of less complex-- but no less thrilling-- material that will please the common denominator.

Esperanza plays tonight (through Sunday) at the Jazz Standard-- a perfect way to spend this Valentine's evening.

If you're in New York:

Esperanza Spalding
February 13-15
7:30 pm & 9:30 pm sets
The Jazz Standard
116 E 27th Street
New York, New York 10016
The Jazz Standard | Tickets

I've been itching-- and trying-- to unearth more information on prop stylist Lili Diallo, whose easy, breezy Brooklyn loft was featured in the March 2008 issue of Domino, and subsequently lusted over by design bloggers webwide. So far, nothing. If her own space is this chic, imagine the fantasy, strictly editorial environments she must create for the likes of Elle Decor. It'd also be interesting to see how her space has evolved in the past year-- and to learn how she became one of the most sought after stylists in the industry.