This Week's Discoveries - 23/01/22

We’re back with This Week’s Discoveries. For the last week of January, we’re challenging ourselves; mastering vegan cooking and upping our creative skills with online painting classes. We’re also catching up on some great TV, and as always, looking for some sustainable swaps to make our lives that little bit more green.


1. David Attenborough : The Green Planet

This new show from UK national treasure Sir David Attenborough sees the natural historian travelling the globe to show us the magnificent and versatility of plants all across the planet.

Educational and very beautiful, this is a perfect way to end the weekend - airing on Sunday evenings at 7pm on BBC One.

And if that wasn’t enough, head to the BBC iPlayer for lots of behind the scenes footage and to revisit some of his previous documentaries.

2. Virtual Vegan Cooking Classes

Many of you may have been taking part in Veganuary because we all know by now that going vegan is great for the planet and can also help you maintain a healthier diet too. So, sticking it out for longer than a month might be something to try in 2022 (we promise you, it’s not that hard)!

Among some of our favourite vegan cookbooks (The Green Roasting Tin and Deliciously Ella: The Plant-Based Cookbook come to mind), there are also a number of great online resources to help you master some at-home skills to get you confident cooking with veggies and making them taste the best that they can!

Sign up to one of these fun and easy virtual classes and you’ll be a well-versed plant-based chef in no time.

  1. Musical Cooking Class with Chef Gabrielle Reyes - One Great Vegan
  2. Transitioning to a Veg Lifestyle
  3. Meatless Mondays: Smashed Chickpea Salad with Lemon
Veganuary cooking inspiration | Image of plant-based soup

3. TOTM Period Care

Sustainability is something that’s on most people’s mind, whether you're conscious when you're shopping for new clothes, trying to always carry a tote or diligently recycling household waste, but when it comes to periods, it can be a little harder to find the right sustainable alternative for you and your body.

TOTM makes planet-friendly period care. Whether you prefer tampons, pads or menstrual cups, they’ve got it all!

Artificial chemicals that are added to traditional period products can interrupt the natural balance of your bodies’ pH and are also harmful to the planet. TOTM products use none, opting for organic cotton instead - better for body and planet. They also use plastic-free applicators and have reusable products too.

Fun fact: These are the products that we keep on hand in the W&M studio.

4. Painting Workshop with The Paint Club

If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to be more creative, look no further!

The Paint Club found their calling at the beginning of the first lockdown way back in March 2020, offering classes to help you stay communicative with people and to help improve your creative skills at the same time.

They offer great classes, perfect for beginners and taught by professionals. Some classes are virtual (you can order all the materials you'll need directly from them), but if you’re feeling good about being out and about, they also have IRL classes around London and Brighton.

Image of a person water-colour painting

5. Season 6 of Queer Eye

It’s back! The most wholesome TV show going (in our humble opinion) is back for a sixth season, with the Fab Five helping people in and around Texas, USA to find themselves, feel more confident and fall back in love with their lives.

This is the perfect show to pair with a weekday dinner on the sofa - the best show if you want to smile and equally great if you need a good cry. Stream it on Neflix.

6. Pangaia 365 Track Pants

We don’t know about you, but we’re still very much in the 'sweatpants over any other clothes phase' that began at the start of the pandemic.

When working from home, we of course want that balance of comfort and professionalism, but we want our clothes to have many lives, and that means going from Zoom meeting from the home office (read: sofa), down to the shops and then out to meet friends.

Our choice for all-in-one items is Pangaia, a materials science company that creates earth-positive clothing.

These track pants, avaialable in the most wonderful range of colours, are super soft, perfect for lounging around and wearing all day long. Made using 100% organic cotton and dyed using a recycled water system. Stylish and sustainable.

7. Nécessaire Body products

If you’re on social media, you have most probably seen this brand looming in the videos, stories and photos of many an influencer. The cult body care brand is making waves globally for not only having affordable yet luxury body and skin care products, but for also being uber sustainable.

Nécessaire is certified carbon and plastic-neutral, partner with How2Recycle to provide recycling resources, offer fragrance-free options of each of their items and have a simplified and transparent supply chain.

A selection of their products are finally available in the UK (via SpaceNK), block out a day in your diary for a self-care moment.

Discover more of our blogs over on our main journal page.