Balcony is a biannual arts magazine that covers everything but art itself. Instead, its creators, Vicente Muñoz and Audrey Rose Smith, decided to build more complete pictures of the humans who work as artists, writers, curators, and photographers. While some art magazines resemble exhibition brochures, Balcony is a vivid mosaic of printed dialogue and visuals, portraying intimate conversations among artists. Discussing everything from their everyday routines to their favorite films, people including Chris Dorland and Francesca Gavin become “primary sources” in the magazine’s unusual approach to art journalism. (balconymagazine.com) —Carolina de Armas

If you have ever wondered where international cool girls source their vintage Chanel ballet flats, all roads lead back to one Instagram account. Julia Rabinowitsch started @themillennialdecorator (TMD) in the summer of 2020. “I was jobless, and it started as a Covid outlet,” she says from Los Angeles. Having designed for brands such as Sporty & Rich, Rabinowitsch knew she had a good eye. She started by selling vintage housewares on Instagram, then last April TMD had its first shoe drop. The account immediately blew up. Now women such as Matilda Djerf and Camille Charriere can be seen sporting TMD-sourced Dior slingbacks and Manolo Blahnik pumps. Rabinowitsch’s finds were even featured in Mirror Palais’s inaugural New York Fashion Week show. She’s currently gearing up for her first-ever loafer drop on Instagram, so if you want to partake, follow @themillennialdecorator and keep tabs on the account. When the drop goes live, direct-message Rabinowitsch and tell her which pair you’re after—she will have posted plenty of photos with sizes prior so that you’re prepared. The first person to D.M. gets the shoe. But fear not if the idea of an Instagram drop is all too overwhelming. She has vintage-dealer contacts all around the world, so if you D.M. TMD, Rabinowitsch can help you find exactly what you are looking for. (instagram.com) —Clara Molot

The Internet has forever changed how our lives get preserved. What happens to human histories when letters get replaced with e-mails and print-photography books are swapped for iPhone-camera rolls? Melanie Shorin was working in journalism and production, pondering these questions of legacy, when she had a eureka moment—oral history will become crucial once again. She founded Narrative Trust in 2008 to help others capture fleeting histories of businesses, nonprofit organizations, families, and individuals. After an extensive interview process (often three to seven sessions at a place of one’s choosing), the resulting oral histories take the form of written books and films, beautifully bound or produced, and always in the subject’s own words. Give this immortal gift to a spouse, parent, or grandparent—one day, reading or watching a loved one tell his or her own story will be a gift to yourself. (Price upon request, narrativetrust.org) —Clara Molot

As we make our way through 2023, how better to keep track of the days ahead than with a limited-edition calendar showcasing the work of 12 female artists—including Jenny Holzer, Marilyn Minter, and Catherine Opie—all of whom believe in women’s fundamental right to choose? Masterminded by fashion-world favorites Jen Brill and Ariella Starkman, the pink-ringed calendar also features a personal essay by model Paloma Elsesser, as well as split pages so that you can linger on the image of your liking—Louise Bourgeois’s red gouache florals, say—no matter the month. Best of all? One hundred percent of the proceeds go to Planned Parenthood of New York. ($45, hommegirls.com) —Zoe Ruffner

Looming over the gardens of the Villa Borghese, perched ever so slightly above Rome’s bustling, frenetic center, the Hotel Eden has been presiding over its beau monde since it opened, in 1889. (It was the first hotel in town to have electricity, running water, and an elevator, after all.) La Terrazza, the Eden’s Michelin-starred restaurant, has long been one of the city’s top tables, and now chef Fabio Ciervo is presiding over an inspired Sunday brunch in Il Giardino, the all-day restaurant and café just adjacent to it on the hotel’s sixth floor. The panoramic views of Rome are sufficiently filling, but the buffet is not to be missed. La Domenica Italiana, as the presentation is called, focuses on a different Italian region each month, and Ciervo painstakingly sources his sausages, cheeses, and other assorted delicacies. A lively three-piece band ensures that spirits are as high as appetites. (dorchestercollection.com) —Ashley Baker

Carrying around an umbrella all the time is an awful lot to ask. Stashing a tiny little hat in one’s bag is a different matter entirely. L-Hood is the brainchild of London hairstylist Elliot Taylor, who devised a stylish and extremely functional alternative to the plastic bonnet that his grandmother wore. The hats and hoods come in five unisex styles that repel both rain and unwanted sun, and they can be wrapped and fastened around the wrist for those who covet a little accessories-related flair. L-Hoods have proved so popular that drops sell out almost immediately. Fortunately, as spring approaches, a new range of the popular Ritza style has arrived. We’ll be having the black gingham for now, but the glossy black also has a certain appeal. ($53, l-hood.com) —Ashley Baker