At Chukster we understand that there are stories you read, and stories you walk into, eat, or hold in your hand. This month's Nice Things is about the second kind. 

Every month we gather what's caught our eye. In April the red thread turned out to be stories told through materials, senses, and experience.

1. Studio CoPain
   Here the story begins with three French designers who chose bread as their medium for making. Their practice spans food design, catering, set design, and product design, and at the centre of it is bread as a relational and environmental act. We could have never imagined all the things you can build with bread as a material… are we sensing a new sourdough craze coming on?
    
2.  Balete font
   Inspired by the balete tree of Philippine folklore, notorious for strangling its host, Balete's letterforms feature creeping terminals that emerge from twisting stems. The result is the illusion of fluid calligraphy constructed entirely without curves. Designed by Jad Maza, it's one of those typefaces that makes us want to find a brief worthy of it.
    
3. Imps ring by Heresy
   Heresy pulls roots from folklore to make streetwear, jewellery and even music. Fashion is an industry that tends to forget where it comes from. Heresy doesn't, and as a case study in building a genuinely distinctive brand, there's a lot to learn from them.
    
4. Marcin Rusak Studio
   This Polish maker caught our eye not only because of the stunning pieces they make, but also because of the poetry behind the designs. Established on the premises of creating pieces that try to pick up a dialogue about our changing values over time, the objects look like they could be made in the future, or be beautiful relics caught in the volcanic debris of ancient Pompeii. 
    
5. Simona Mastrolig lovebird cabinet
   Inspired by Uruguayan artist Joaquin Torres-Garcia, a toy designer and educator who carved objects from wood by hand and believed play was how children made sense of the world. Two makers, separated by decades, making the case that play is as serious a design principle as any other.
    
6. De la Finca House
   Our new favourite place in Copenhagen. Started by four Argentinian siblings, the warm and creative atmosphere is as potent as the delicious smell of home-made empanadas. A café, bar, and creative space where people come to make things and share stories together. It’s the perfect cure if ever suffering from the long danish winter blues. 
    
7. Lyran Matbar
   Worth crossing the bridge for. Lyran serves daily tasting menus built from whatever arrived that morning, and all you're given at the table is a list of ingredients. No dish names, no descriptions. The story of the meal is something you piece together yourself, in conversation, between courses.
    
8.  SUPeR Bookstore 
   A small, sharp indie bookstore tucked into Blågårdsgade in Nørrebro, with a handpicked selection and staff who clearly read what they sell. It’s the kind of place where time seems to move at a different pace, where you arrive for one book and leave with three, slightly unsure how it happened.

That's April. Eight things, one thread: the best stories aren't always told in words. See you next month.