Weekend Conversation Starters

[Messy Nessy Chic]   So here’s the backup plan. Take an 18th century mountain manor, a herd of energetic goats, an even more energetic group of green-thumbed hippies ready to defect to the woods during the pandemic and (drumroll) we can finally start that off-grid utopian commune already. I kid, of course. But just in case – [let’s house hunt for that all American utopian commune.]( Alternatively, you could try living vicariously in [Sweden’s miniature mouse world]( (I hear they have great brie) or step into the twilight zone with our favourite photographer of the moment, [Miss Nadia Lee Cohen](. And if you’re in the mood to uncover some eye-opening hidden history, [America’s Lost Towns of Black Affluence]( should send you down the rabbit hole. See you on the other side. Stay curious, [Nessy]   [America’s Lost Towns of Black Affluence](   [topic-bronzeville]( Going into this, I don’t think I was prepared at all for how un-unique the story of Florida’s Sugar Hill neighbourhood really was. In the 1950s and 60s, the once upper class and prestigious Black community of Sugar Hill in Jacksonville, was chosen by city officials to be levelled to make way for a multi-lane…  [Continue Reading](   [Let’s House Hunt for that All-American Utopian Commune. Just in Case.](   [Andrew-MLS-1-1170x738-1]( We do love a good plunge into worlds apart – filled with utopian goat herding, secret society conspiracies and hippies living off-grid on the fringes of society. Of course, the line between commune and cult is famously slippery and plagued with crackpot messiah tendencies. The more modern and optimistic term for the idea of a…  [Continue Reading](   [Stop Everything, Live Vicariously in Sweden’s Miniature Mouse World](   [43257979_494726091023494_1338167456342113798_n]( For a brief moment, why not forget all the troubles of the big ol’ world out there and downsize in this tiny haven built for mice. Sweden has its own kind of Banksy you see; an anonymous artists collective which has been quietly installing miniature mouse-themed urban infrastructure, hidden in plain sight on the streets…  [Continue Reading](   [Meet the New Queen of the American Twilight Zone](   [ezgif-5-a1aefdc84468]( We’ll have what she’s having. Pour equal parts Hitchcock, Kubrick and David Lynch, throw in a shot of Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks, add a sprinkle of John Waters, a generous scoop of Cindy Sherman and you’ll start to feel more at ease in Nadia’s world. She’s a woman who, like Sherman, has emerged as a…  [Continue Reading](   [13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. DXVI)](   [tumblr_c3d6715adbcb7e8bb50df091d6864d17_3791fff6_1280]( 1. The Uncertain Future of America’s most beautiful soda fountain This summer, the 93-year-old Long Island Mom & Pop shop announced that it was going out of business. The statement said the cause was not COVID, but that the landlord is selling the building housing Hildebrandt’s and the new owners were moving in another direction.…  [Continue Reading](  Interested in Becoming a MessyNessy Keyholder? [Apply now to unlock the Vault!](    [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( [Blog]( [To read more from MessyNessyChic visit the Blog]( and make sure you keep getting these email by adding contact@messynessychic.com to your address book or whitelist us. Our postal address: In a Café, Paris 75001 Want out of the loop? [Unsubscribe](.