SWISSVIEW is my new go-to-iPad-app when I am in desperate need of some major zen. It features more than 1,600 films of spectacular helicopter footage of Switzerland. Every film comes with useful information on the overflown regions and places. Nice.
(thank you Ted)
Thinkingform posted the above graphic by Swiss designer Peter Megert. I find the three interlocking arrows fascinating.
While browsing the new *fantastic* Flipboard iPhone App I stumbled upon a photo essay on on Appenzell Innerrhoden, the place I grew up in Switzerland. (well, I grew up 20minutes from there, but I consider it my home) It’s one of the most charming, greenest places on earth. If you’re into hiking, this is your place.
Appenzell Innerrhoden is the smallest canton of Switzerland by population and the second smallest by area, Basel-City having less area. Wherever you look you see dairy farms which produce the amazing Appenzeller cheese. Next time you go to a cheese shop, ask them for Appenzeller. It’s a super-yumme hard cheese and comes in all kinds of ‘stinkiness levels’, at least in Switzerland. Here in the US I usually am only able to get one kind.
The images are by Jean-Yves Roure.
Oh, the (Swiss) memories that just flashed in front of my eyes upon discovering the Caran D’Ache Red Metal Pen over at Kaufmann Mercantile. Trust me, these pens are a pleasure to write with and last forever, as you can refill them easily. Two swissmiss thumbs up!
This is not your usual wayfinding system. Hat tip to Tina Staeheli for designing this refreshing, minimal signage system for a (fancy) Swiss retirement home.
I just stopped over at my friend BB’s blog and had to chuckle upon discovering the-above-oh-so-familiar photo. It’s the »How to Work Better« Mural is by Swiss artists Fischli & Weiss and covers an office building in Zurich-Oerlikon. You can prominently see it from the train when you get into Zurich station.
As swimming in rivers is big in Switzerland, the invention of the Wickelfisch makes total sense: The Wickelfisch is a waterproof bag that allows you to take your belongings with you, while you go for a swim. Why would you want to do that? Well, as the stream in a river makes you float away from where you started out it is oftentimes not possible to get back to your belonging all that quickly and easily.
Hat tip off to the designer. At this point you can only get it in selected stores in Switzerland, listed here (all in German). There’s a contact email over here.
(thank you Jaqueline)
Now, here’s a charming new water toy for little ones. Immerse Pluï in water to fill up and then use it to create ‘rain’. The key is how you control the flow of water simply by sealing or opening the top nozzle with the tip of your finger. I can see our little Tilo loving this one. It’s called Pluï and was designed by Swiss Johanna Rickenback and Alex Hochstrasser.
(thank you Ueli)
These playful floor stickers made me chuckle. It’s an initiative by the city of Lucerne (Switzerland) to get people to notice and use garbage cans. What a fun idea! Hat tip!
(via curious about)
The Printer’s Terms contains explanations of virtually all printer’s terms of the pre-digital “lead age of typography” in English, German and French. Designed by legendary Swiss Rudolf Hostettler.
KARTONKLUNKER is an assembly set of a cardboard chandelier. You read right, a cardboard chandelier. Thankfully there is no glue or any other tools necessary to assemble this beauty of a ceiling mounted lighting source.
KARTONKLUNKER is the first lamp by Rainer & Tobiad Kyburz, creating a playful contrast between the ordinary cardboard material and the luxurious object of a chandelier. It’s a Swiss product, through and through; designed, produced and boxed up in Basel, Switzerland.
I don’t know about you, but this chandelier made me smile. Two swissmiss thumbs up! Oh, and watch the assembly video below:
KARTONKLUNKER from Claudia Link on Vimeo.
images by michaelsieber.com
Reversible is one of the latest inventions of Swiss Nicola Staubli. Reversible consists of steel tubes and fabric than can be assembled into four different seats. By flipping over the rear legs, the chair transforms into a lounge chair and vice versa. The reversible cover, tensed and wrapped around the steel frame, offers two color variations that fit both positions. Brilliant? I think so!
I noticed quite a few of these stunning looking kids caddies called Vento, when I was in Switzerland last summer. Aren’t they just beautiful to look at? Given the big grins of little ones sitting in them, it seems as if they’re comfy to ride on. What I find particularly awesome is that it has a dual purpose: attach it to the bike or push it like a stroller.
If you’ve traveled to Switzerland, you most likely know what the ubiquitous uppercase orange M stands for you see everywhere. It’s Migros, one of the biggest supermarket chains in Switzerland. (Well, at this point, it’s way more than a supermarket, they own banks, schools, amusement parks and so on.) Living abroad has amplified my fascination with products that remind me of my childhood. Whenever I go back, one of my first stops is indeed a trip to Migros. Knowing that, it’s clear that I get quite a kick out of Migros’ m-stars.ch site on which they sell all kinds of apparel and accessories with their store branding or products. Pictured above are the classic Milk packaging water bottle, the classic Midor strawberry ice cream packaging translated into a shopping bag, the M logo big and bold on a t-shirt and an M jumper.
I guess you have to be a Migros-Nostalgic like me to really appreciate this: m-stars.ch
Here’s some exciting news that most probably only my Swiss readers will get: I am going to be on Kurt Aeschbacher’s TV show, which is airing tomorrow, thursday march 31st at 10.20pm.
Here’s some info (in German) about all 4 guests on the show, including myself. (For those of you not familiar with Swiss TV, Kurt Aeschbacher is the Larry King of Switzerland.)
Exciting? Very!
Swiss Travel Agency Kuoni released its 2010 Annual Report, appearing this time in the form of a daily newspaper. The Brand Report took on the function of a feuilleton, as an independent features section within the publication. It stems from the third Kuoni Getaway Council in Venice and offers a captivating compilation of texts on tourism. Renowned authors, essayists and scholars such as Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Orhan Pamuk, Thomas Steinfeld, Wolfgang Scheppe and Simonetta Carbonaro are represented with contributions.
(Thank you Manuel)
