FROM THE ARCHIVE: The wafting aroma of lilikoi (passion fruit), sea salt, coconut, and hibiscus greets the nose upon arrival to the islands of Hawaii—and that combination might even be a flavour for Oahu-based frozen-treat maker OnoPops.

Lukas Peet is the winner of the Design Exchange’s inaugural Emerging Designer Competition, and will have a solo exhibit at the museum from February 21 to April 1, 2014.

The discovery of a massive gyre of plastic in the middle of the Pacific Ocean sent out shockwaves in 1997, but the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is no anomaly. According to the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, not a single square kilometre of sea water is free of plastic particles today. Essentially, our oceans have become a soup of broken-down non-biodegradable bits.

“Hello, handsome” likely wasn’t the greeting between Michael Phillips, Chris Owens, and Tyler Wells, as they first met while working the coffee circuit. Then again, Owens admits the impetus to start their company, Handsome Coffee Roasters, came about while he and Wells were on a “man-date”.

Although urban development, economic growth, and external influences have dramatically changed the way of life for many residents on Oahu, some traditional beliefs and cultural practices remain firmly entrenched. Taro—or kalo, as the root vegetable is locally known—has been a staple food for as long as Hawaiians have existed in Hawaii, and it is still revered as the giver of mana, or life force.

Rag & Bone originated in 2002 after David Neville and Marcus Wainwright discovered an old denim manufactory in Kentucky—and in many people’s eyes, their jeans are still what they are best known for. Although the denim workshop is no longer operating, from Neville and Wainwright’s perspective, it still represents the backbone of what they do.

From his all-in-one showroom, office, and design studio on Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, Rogue menswear designer Jimmy Reilly captures the spirit of his clothing line in an iconic New York accent. “I’m a rock ’n’ roller,” he says.

No garden party is quite complete without the bashing and bludgeoning of a piñata. And nothing is more exhilarating than tearing away your blindfold to dive dizzily into a flurry of arms and legs, gathering what you can of its showering innards.

FROM THE ARCHIVE: With jeans tattered and torn, skin leathery and tough, Reece Terris looks every bit the construction worker. At first glance, you wouldn’t suppose that one of Canada’s most promising visual artists was standing before you.