We're happy to share many treasures this month, from the arcane to the anarchic. To wit, we introduce Arthur Beale, a ship chandlery staffed by proper English gentlemen. This Shaftsbury Avenue shop offers the finest rope, wire and rigging we've seen. And given that we recently used an enormous amount of rope as part of our Selfridges counter – about which we are enormously excited and proud - we feel newly qualified in this area. In addition to meeting our needs, Arthur Beale makes rigging for most of London's West End theatres, and has been operating from its Covent Garden home for more than a hundred years. We'd also like to share the work of Sophie Crumb, the talented daughter of Robert Crumb, who is carrying on the family trade in irreverent cartooning. We're not drawn to the aesthetics of all her work (though, to each his or her own) but admire her spunk and smarts. A different type of specialised skill is found in Munich's best music store, Shirokko Musik, where dignified sales assistants guide you through their impressive collection. The owner's highly refined taste allowed us to find Anouar Brahem and Oum Kalsoum as well as harder to locate pieces of music. Should you require music this very instant, Cartell Music is kindly offering Aesop customers the chance to listen to and download 'Voilà Les Anges' (featuring Cœur De Pirate) by Nouvelle Vague from the album Couleurs Sur Paris. Download it here.

ENJOY
Aesop's fabulous new Geranium Body Scrub in conjunction with our rue Bonaparte kit, a carefully combined selection of cool-weather skin care products which allow you to expertly cleanse, tone, exfoliate and hydrate. Pour a glass of fine red and indulge in a self-administered facial treatment. The kit contains Purifying Facial Cream Cleanser, Tea Tree Leaf Facial Exfoliant, Primrose Facial Cleansing Masque, B & Tea Balancing Toner, and Camellia Nut Facial Hydrating Cream, packaged in a sturdy and stylish black microfibre case with an internal mirror. Available internationally, including our new Claremont store in Perth, and imminently at our Bondi Beach store in Sydney.

EAT
At the diminutive Kunitoraya on rue Sainte-Anne in Paris. While the first arrondissement hosts many fine Japanese eateries, this bustling, distinctive udon noodle restaurant deserves special mention. Don't be put off by the long string of hungry hopefuls that lead to Kunitoraya's door at lunch and dinner times: service is polished, and while the staff are friendly they won't extend your visit with idle chit chat. Meals are freshly prepared with exceptional seasonal produce and are as wonderful for your eyes as your mouth.

SUPPORT
The WINS Foundation Child Sponsoring Program, which feeds, shelters and educates underprivileged children in Indonesia. WINS is a not-for-profit Dutch group with associate offices in Australia, France, the UK and US. Their impressive Child Sponsoring Program establishes local learning centres, then assists these in becoming self-sufficient organisations (funded by operating guest rooms, tour and transport services or garages). The WINS program is committed to education and independence, giving both the centres and the children tools that will enable them to improve and control their lives.

DISCOVER
Papier d'Arménie (Armenian Paper), a room deodoriser that originated in sixteenth-century Ottoman-ruled Armenia, and has been manufactured in Montrouge, France, since 1885. The fragrant paper is sold in small booklets, and each sheet therein has been soaked in a benzoin resin formula. Folded in the recommended style and burned like incense, the smoke from Papier d'Arménie is said to be a good way to clear a room of unpleasant pet or food odors. It's perhaps not the most potent room deodoriser but it is a poetic one.

LEARN
From writers around the world at the Sydney Writers Festival. We have booked tickets to see Fatima Bhutto, A.C. Grayling, and A.A. Gill, our favourite restaurant reviewer, and the most witty and erudite of all in our opinion. Even if you come away having learned nothing at all, which is unlikely, we feel certain everyone who attends leaves the festival buoyed at knowing that the written word is still thriving and exciting. Our sympathies to struggling booksellers, but our plaudits to those who create reader-friendly electronic alternatives. What matters is that we all keep reading, writing, and listening.

SHARE
Ian McEwan's The Daydreamer with the child in your life. The seven wistful and lyrical interconnected stories are told by Peter Fortune who had a series of magical and fantastic adventures in his youth, from turning into a pet cat to discovering a cream that makes people vanish. Told simply and without a hint of condescension, McEwan has said he wrote these stories to be read aloud. Bear in mind that while it's fine for the adult reader to enjoy the experience, a good children's book is all about the child. As McEwan puts it, 'What we like about children's books is our children's pleasure in them, and this is less to do with literature and more to do with love.'

WATCH
Nanook of the North (1922) and ponder the complexities of documentary filmmaking. Some call this Robert J. Flaherty film the original documentary, groundbreaking for its choice of subject, location and tone. Flaherty made multiple trips to northern Quebec to film traditional Inuit life, showing Nanook and his family hunting, fishing, building an igloo, and pitting themselves against extreme weather every day. Purists point to the fact that Flaherty did direct the family, even encouraging them to use old hunting equipment although they'd been employing shotguns for years. Watch the film with this issue of authenticity in mind, and for its beauty, compassion, and the strength of the Inuit people it captures. You'll feel awed, and awfully soft.

LOOK
At the elegant Swiss holiday chalet designed by Charles Pictet Architecture. A skin of warm wood surrounds a concrete core, making this generously proportioned home feel solid and light, timeless and modern all at once. Sweeping views of the surrounding mountains only add to the property's substantial charm. Charles Pictet runs his architecture practice out of Geneva, producing work renowned for its clean and contemporary aesthetic, ability to meld the old and new, and fascination with well-crafted detail. On a similar note we were drawn to the Studio Jo Meesterslighting exhibition, Aurelia Eichhornia, at the Milan Furniture Fair. No need to write and ask why we've made mention of them here: this level of skill simply deserves to be celebrated.

'Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everybody else.' Margaret Mead