Off to Cologne for a design visit and Pellkartoffeln at Magazin.
www.imm-cologne.de
passagen11.voggenreiter.com
These winter days, when it’s cold and grey, I need something to looking forward to – like summer holidays!
I found this amazing place www.casabramasole.com– my friends and I will be spending a week there of dolce far niente and lots of italianità…
If you need an idea where to go or just want to have a look at wonderful places check out www.casainitalia.ch
How nice to start the year with blank pages for many new inspiring Things…My new notebook has a handmade leather case and comes with a japanese pen. The design and craft is made by Carmen Schmassmann, a family friend. I got mine as a gift, if you are interested in having one, feel free to contact me. Here are some links to other notebooks:
fieldnotesbrand.com/shop
www.fabricafeatures.com/shops
letterboxcostore.com.au
www.moleskine.com
www.ecojot.com
www.bookbindersdesign.com
The design competition is organized by the Bundesamt für Kultur (Federal Office of Culture). I think this competition is a perfect opportunity for us as designers and I’m proud to say that Andreas Saxer is one of the winners! www.andreas-saxer.com
The exhibition is showing the prize-winning works and gives insight into the creations of young Swiss designers in the fields of graphics, textile and fashion design, photography, industrial and product design, jewelry, ceramics and scenography.
A good tip for the holidays to wander around and be inspired by young designers. The exhibition runs from 1.12.2010 – 20.2.2011 at the www.museum-gestaltung.ch
In 2007 when Kevin bought his MIH watch in Lucerne at the Embassy store, Beat Weinmann showed us an incredible prototype of Ludwig Oechslin’s watch concept featuring an intuitive calendar display. The brand is now called ochs und junior and that particular watch is the anno cinquanta.
The anno cinquanta’s annual calendar employs a system of orange dots to indicate the date, month and weekday. The dots appear in circles of apertures, and understanding the display soon becomes second nature. Conventional annual calendar mechanisms can incorporate anything in the order of 40 individual components. Ludwig Oechslin needs just three!
His concepts are one-of-a-kind, intelligent watches rooted in proven traditions. When the time comes for series production, Peter Cantieni machines the cases in a variety of metals, and Paul Gerber fits them with his exclusive self-winding calibre. The guys don’t polish the watch cases – they prefer to make them as accurately as possible, then to leave them with the (very slight) imperfections that reflect the craftsman’s artisanry. After that, your…my wrist…
www.ochsundjunior.ch
ochsundjunior.blogspot.com
www.embassy.ch
tooka has the same kind of concept we have with our zumznacht. Kana and Tomoko, two Japanese architects living in Zurich, organise 2-3 events a year at various places, where they introduce a delightful collection of Japanese objects. I like the concept of popping into a space, creating an exhibition or shop for a few days, and leaving again…
tooka04 is on right now until 23 December at Predigerplatz 4 in Zurich – don’t miss it if you’re still looking for great Christmas presents. Thank you Nicole for the tip!
This is the perfect retreat for simply kicking back and relaxing. Whether with a buddy or for a romantic weekend, the atmosphere in this 300-year-old farmhouse is incredible. Carolyn and Baptist renovated and refurbished everything in 2008. Their tastes match mine through a combination of leaving things as they were and adding fresh, simple accents. They are wonderful hosts and after a sauna and bath we enjoyed an excellent dinner.
Even it still can’t compete with the light of an incandescent bulb, this is a good Thing.
Energy saving light bulb. E27. Lifetime of 8 years. 11 Watt. 680 Lumen. Colour Temperature 2700k.
I recommend staying at www.townhallhotel.com or at least sipping something cool in their bar http://viajante.co.uk. Say hi to Rasheed, the superb barkeeper who mixed us a couple of specials that weren’t on the list.
Start the day with a walk through www.broadwaymarket.co.uk. Such a great atmosphere and plenty of good shopping, cafes and just wonderfully friendly people! On the way to Brick Lane, pass by the V&A Museum of Childhood www.vam.ac.uk/moc in a beautiful old building with a huge collection of toys… For lunch, try a crispy pizza at www.storydeli.com. Right next to them are some great shops and, a little later in the day, www.cafe1001.co.uk for dancing and clubbing from five in the afternoon ;)
Always a must is Tate Modern, especially at the moment with Ai Weiwei’s installation “Sunflower Seeds” in the Turbine Hall. Take time to watch the making-of movie shown right next to it www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/unileverseries2010/default.shtm
After a nice dinner at www.smithsofsmithfield.co.uk and a quick look at Fabric (building and staff are nice but the crowd is not), we joined an amazing warehouse party (thanks to Marie-Laure) organised by a group of guys – if you want to know more, come up with a very good reason and maybe I’ll let you know…