Their collection of incredible writing, reports and recommendations is surveyed from locations, products and ideas that are inspiring better lives across the globe.

The 400-page book features original photography and illustrations printed on a selection of the highest quality papers with the goal of making the world a little more liveable and loveable.

The Monocle Guide to Better Living is the ultimate reference for inspirational ways to improve your life.

Published by Gestalten.

The book is available now for pre-order, shipping September 2013.

Blue Point Oysters are originally from Blue Point, New York in Long Island’s Great South Bay. Blue Points are known for quality, and grow in shallow, brackish waters, with smooth, satiny meats, high brininess and mild flavor. Genuine Blue Point Oysters have a fresh, crisp, firm texture with a sweet aftertaste and loads of salinity.

Blue Point is a short sleeve linen button-down shirt from New England Shirt Co, made exclusively for Need Supply Co. as part of The Cookout Collection. Features contrasting gingham chest pocket and yoke, button-down collar points, and rounded hem.

Olde Salt Oysters are native to the Eastern Shore of Virginia, specifically salty Chincoteague. This strain of oyster tastes most like the ocean, with a bold brininess and smooth, clean follow through. Olde Salts are a true Virginia classic.

Olde Salt is an exclusive light weight chambray button-down shirt from The Cookout Collection, featuring contrasting star print fabric at front chest pocket and yoke, button-down collar points, and rounded hem.

Sting Ray Oysters, from the pristine waters of Mobjack Bay, are the quintessential Chesapeake Bay oyster. Named for the area’s chief predator, they are sweet and only mildly briny with a clean, crisp finish.

From Need Supply Co. and New England Shirt Co.’s The Cookout Collection, Sting Ray is a short sleeve chambray button-down shirt with contrast paisley chest pocket and yoke, button-down collar points, and rounded hem.

Shop The Cookout Collection, made exclusively for Need Supply Co. by New England Shirt Co. here.

Learn more about oysters from our friends at Rappahannock Oyster Co. and from the Need Supply Co. Guide to Oysters.

Illustrations by Will Godwin

Warby Parker was founded in 2012 by four friends and business school grads, David Gilboa, Neil Blumenthal, Jeffrey Raider and Andrew Hunt. The company, named for early Jack Kerouac characters Zagg Parker and Warby Pepper, changes the eyewear game with their innovative business model and their partnership with non-profit VisionSpring. We chatted with co-founder Neil Blumenthal and got a little more insight into the brand.

Why Richmond?

Richmond has always been an epicenter of history and culture – anyone can see just by looking at the city’s diverse architecture. One prominent feature we noticed was the unique concentration of cast-iron architecture all over balconies, fences and porches. Our very own flagship store in New York is located on the longest stretch of cast-iron architecture in the world so we definitely feel right at home in Richmond. We also liked the way Richmond’s citizens have preserved the past while mixing in a contemporary attitude. In a similar nod to yesteryear, all of our frames are inspired by the now vintage glasses our grandparents wore in the 40s and 50s. Classic, timeless, but at times disruptive, a little like Patrick Henry.

Why is Need Supply Co a good fit for the showroom?

Need Supply Co. has a powerful point of view and a strong commitment to community. It’s a perfect match!

What is the design process like? What inspires the frames?

We have a team of superbly talented designers. Our cultural diet at Warby Parker is diverse, and we’re all inspired by big range of influences—French New Wave films, hardboiled detective stories, military heroes, old Hollywood stars. Every day it seems like someone here has a new pet obsession, and you can pick up on some of these references in the frames.

What inspired you to specifically get into eyewear?

Back in 2008, I met with my friends (and Wharton classmates) Dave Gilboa, Andy Hunt and Jeffrey Raider for drinks. Dave had recently lost his eyeglasses traveling, and he was appalled at how much it would cost to replace them—around $400 for a pair of designer frames. Jeff was in the same boat. It was a clear moment for all of us: something needed to be done.

I had previously served as the director of VisionSpring, a nonprofit organization that trains low-income men and women to start their own businesses by selling affordable glasses in developing communities. This experience taught me that glasses can be designed and sourced for a price that ends up being affordable for people living on less than $4 per day. So if that’s possible, it’s pretty obvious that glasses don’t have to cost a ridiculous amount.

We kicked off the showroom with a launch party including drinks inspired by the most popular frames and invited our friends. Thanks to our friends at Saison, Goatacado, Mr. Frostee, and DJ Robot E. Lee.

Party photos by Cameron Lewis.

Click here to see our Warby Parker Photo Booth.

Polaroids courtesy of Amber Mahoney. See more of Amber’s work here, visit Worn Magazine here, and view a behind the scenes video of the shoot here.

Special thanks to Space LES for hosting us, DJ Lucas Walters for playing the jams, Heineken for providing beer, and to our friends at Capsule.

Photos of the journey, destination, and party by Will Godwin. Video by Duy Nguyen.

Snag a copy of Issue 2 here.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you became interested in photography?

My mom is an artist – and was such a huge influence on how I saw the world. she would always pull the car over when the sky looked beautiful. Or get teary eyed when a heard of buffalo would cross through a valley – she really taught me how to take the time to look around me and see the beauty in everyday happenings. I think my love for art and photography began there. I went a step further and studied photojournalism in school and finally learned how to incorporate that with fashion when I moved back to LA…

How long have you been in Los Angeles? What do you love about living and working there?

I was born and raised in Iowa and Wyoming…and continue to be inspired by the simple things in life. Vintage feeling scenery – throwback shoots that tap into my journalism mixed with fashion. My most recent shoot was inspired by Dorthea Lang’s dustbowl-era photojournalism. The cool thing about LA is the diverse landscape and how you can create almost ANY setting within an hour radius of the city.

What would you be if not a photographer?

A cowgirl.

You shoot fashion for other people, but can you tell us about your own fashion? How would you describe your personal style?

A hot mess….with a little bit of country. I love ‘A Friend of Mine’ and ‘Stone Cold Fox’ cause I feel feminine and wear a hot dress, but still rock a Stetson hat and boots.

What are your favorite and least favorite parts about what you do?

I love what I do more than I can even explain. It seems cheesy, but everyday I think how lucky I am that I took a chance, and at least tried to make it as a photographer…the hardest part for me is that this is MORE than a job to me…it’s who I am, so when I put my work out into the world it feels very personal and sometimes a bit revealing.

Any crazy stories to share from your shoots?

Every shoot I do has a crazy story. Right now I am in Curacao (in the Carribian). No joke – about 5 minutes ago an iguana shit on my head. Dont ask….

Below are some of Harper’s shots from HBJ and some outtakes from our shoot. See more work by Harper Smith on her website here.

See Nevermind, photographed by Harper Smith, in Human Being Journal Issue 2.

We were lucky enough to work with Olivia Malone for the second issue of Human Being Journal, available now. We traveled to Los Angeles, where she photographed Mombasa Breaks in the beautiful California countryside, styled by Carolyn Doolittle. We asked Olivia a few questions.

Can you tell us a little bit about who you are and how you got started?

OM: I was born and raised on the east side of Los Angeles by my fiercely talented single mom. She produced some of the best music videos in the 80s and 90s and I grew up on sets watching the most talented directors and DP’s work. I was always interested in cameras but I was sure I wanted to be a cinematographer (one of the few female DP’s out there)…however, one summer my aunt and I made pinhole cameras out of laundry detergent boxes and I began to take photos of the ocean and boats.. I became obsessed with the immediacy of still photography. She was a photographer and artist and she was working on a photo project for a show at the time, and I modeled in some of the photos. Amazing long exposures of me swimming in the pool at night..Ever since that summer I was always shooting photos. I knew in high school I wanted to go to school for photography. It’s awesome that I recently just DP’d my first music video so it’s all come full circle.

Has there been a moment or turning point in your career when you really felt like you’d made it?

OM: I’m a bit of a perfectionist so I still can’t admit in all truth that I feel I’ve made it! I used to think that as soon as I was flown somewhere for a job that would mean I made it. But once that happened, I just changed the distance, that I had to be flown to Europe. Now it’s flying to a savannah in Africa, when I’m flown there for a shoot, I will feel I’ve made it.

What else would you be doing if you weren’t a photographer?

OM: I always joke that I would own a salad shop or a vintage shop. I am not a great cook really but I know how to make banging salads which is surprisingly hard to find in any other place than Los Angeles. And I love to thrift, it’s meditative so I think it would be fun to own a shop.

You shoot fashion for other people, but what about your own style?

OM: I’d have to say that I have kind of hippie goth style. I love a lot of black, different textures, velvet, sheer velvet, leather, suede, silk all mixed and layered with some nice rich prints mixed in. My shooting style tends to look like high end pajamas, loose baggy pants, ankle boots and loose silk tops.

What other artists, photographers, designers, etc do you look up to?

OM: There are so many.. Francesca Woodman, Bruce Davidson, David Lynch, Bert Stern, Kenneth Anger, Goddard, Truffaut, Jodorowsky, Terrence Malick, Corinne Day, Mark Romanek, Rineke Dijkstra , William Eggleston, Inez + Vinoodh, Noguchi Rika..

What are your favorite and least favorite parts about what you do?

OM: My favorite part is a part that most people would hate… I love that no week or day is like any other. I never know my schedule or what city I will be in until the week of. I am shooting in the desert close to Vegas Tuesday, traveling to NY and shooting in the Hamptons the next day, traveling to Georgia the week after with shoots in NY and LA in between. I love that I work with so many different talented people, I love that what I do requires working with a team, that I get to make images that are beautiful. My least favorite part is getting stuck at the computer and that digital has made everything too immediate so we never have any time to digest what we shoot we just need to put out more and more content all the time.

Thanks Olivia!

See more work by Olivia Malone here.

Below are outtakes from our shoot with Olivia. See Mombasa Breaks, photographed by Olivia Malone, in Human Being Journal Issue 2.