Sardine Soap for Fishy (or Garlicky) Hands

Naâma Laufer and Luis Correia, who import wines from Mr. Correia’s native Portugal, started a second company, My Portuguese Market, last year, selling handcrafted goods from Portugal. They have just introduced a lemon- and sea salt-scented, sardine-shaped soap on a rough cord. It’s ideal for hands that have been working with seafood, garlic and onions,…

Salumi and Jerky for Summer Snacking

In early spring, Jake Dickson of Dickson’s Farmstand Meats created a salumi bar at his Chelsea Market store using locally raised meats. The specialties available on their site now include jerky for the trail and salami for picnics, or summer snacking. The company makes 10 or so salumi in flavors like tres chiles, cacio e…

His PTSD, and My Struggle to Live With It

I tried to maintain some semblance of my former life: I worked on the book, started a new research project, was offered a job and briefly considered moving us both to Philadelphia. When I wasn’t working, I made appointments and returned calls: therapists, doctors, human resources, insurance companies, co-workers, family and friends. Jason kept going…

Bhutan Will Triple Fees for Tourists

The tiny Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan on the eastern edge of the Himalayas, often referred to as “the last Shangri-La” for its abundance of natural beauty, sustainable development and rich cultural heritage, has long resisted the quick financial returns of mass tourism in favor of conservation. The approach is aligned with a cultural philosophy where…

Can Fashion Still Shock?

PARIS — What’s shocking now? There are many possible answers to that question, though few of them, probably, have to do with fashion. Reality long ago overtook wardrobes as a source of perpetual astonishment. Yet flying from the facade of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in the Louvre as the first full season of couture…

When the Czarinas Ruled the Front Row

Around this time just over a decade ago something happened in fashion that was as rare and unexpected as the sight of Kate Moss in a tutu. The front row of the couture shows, that rarefied array that often seems preserved in amber, underwent something of a metamorphosis seemingly overnight. A group of young women…