A Conversation with the Museum Of Bad Art (an Underrated American Institution born from One Man’s Trash)

For every piece of beautiful art hanging in a distinguished gallery, imagine the countless of others that never quite made it. Picture an artist approaching their easel with the high hopes of creating a masterpiece, but with every brush stroke comes the sinking feeling that its not coming out quite as good as they hoped;…

Curiosity du Jour: The Intimate Little World of Nun Boxes

Let’s say you’re rummaging around the dusty recesses of a centuries-old French convent, as one does, half-expecting a stray rosary or two, when suddenly you happen upon a miniature wooden box — no bigger than a jewellery case, adorned with tiny religious figurines, bits of dried flowers, and perhaps a painting of a saint. You’ve…

Why Not Tattoo Your Walls like the French?

At this very moment, a drunken Dionysus naps in the doorway of a villa overlooking the French Riviera. In another room, the head of Apollo keeps guard of a marble fireplace, and Diana the Huntress rounds up her nymphs in scenes of cosmic mischief dreamt up by the artist Jean Cocteau, and immortalised – tattooed,…

Unicorns on the Brain: A Mother’s Journey Down the Rainbow Rabbit Hole

Unicorns have officially invaded what was once our fairly stylish Parisian living room. My nearly-three year-old daughter twirls in a fluffy unicorn costume, her laughter filling the room as she chases her brother with a bubble-blowing toy shaped like a rainbow-maned mare. How did we get here? I started wondering lately. The unicorn, once a…

The Forgotten Firsts: 10 Vintage Versions of Modern Technology

In this age of mobile, wireless, digital and whatchamacallit technology, nothing seems to surprise us nowadays. Unless they’re going to finally show us those flying cars we’ve been waiting for since The Jetsons aired on television, we’re hardly batting an eyelid at some of the latest gadgets. But if we take a look back, we might find some familiar but curious…

Artist du Jour: The Little-Known Legacy of a Bohemian Bloodline

Welcome back to my virtual art gallery, where I like to highlight painters, particularly Paris-inspired artists, that I’ve never heard of. When speaking of early 20th-century art in Paris, the usual household names like Picasso, Matisse, or Modigliani often spring to mind, yet within that lively milieu, there thrived another remarkable painter that has long-evaded…

The Lost Art of Hollywood’s Kaleidoscopic Fever Dreams

Gather ‘round, cinema enthusiasts, because it’s time to tip our top hats to one of vintage Hollywood’s most dazzling visionaries: Busby Berkeley. A man whose name conjures up images of synchronised swimmers, overhead shots of geometric dancers, and the kind of glitzy, glittery choreography that could put a magpie into cardiac arrest. Berkeley didn’t just…

Hunting for Harold Lloyd’s Legendary Christmas Ornaments

Harold Lloyd probably isn’t a name that rings many bells in the 21st century, but spoiler – he’s one of the most influential film comedians of the silent era, making up the the first trio of the silver screen’s laugh-makers, alongside Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. With his signature straw boater and round horn-rimmed glasses,…

The Vault

Vintage Pocket Guides to Syria & Beyond for the WW II American Soldier

As someone who writes a guide about the city of Paris and searches for off-beat travel, I can relate to the language of pocket guides. I guess you could say it’s kinda my thing. But what if I wasn’t writing for the leisurely wanderer? What if instead, I was writing for a young, newly-enlisted soldier headed off to war…

Pssst! You've stumbled across content that is exclusive to Nessy's Keyholders.

There’s a new way to access the really special stuff from Messy Nessy Chic …

Hidden beneath the surface layers of the internet, there’s a place where we keep our most secret addresses, untapped archives, creator’s inspiration, collector’s guides, explorer’s manuals, obscure research and much more… And it’s made for our keyholders only!

Apply now to unlock the Vault

Keyholder Login

Nothing Like These Hidden Temples Exists Outside of the Films of Indiana Jones

“Show us these temples or we will dynamite the entire hillside”, threatened Italy’s state prosecutor when police had failed to locate a rumoured network of mysterious chambers buried 30 metres in the foothills of the Alps. They had been dug by hand in complete secrecy in the 1970s under the direction of Oberto Airaudi, a philospher and artist who…