Portfolio Book 2024

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3.2014- Creative Director Profidata Group, Zürich, CH Leitung/Verantwortung der Konzeption und Implementation aller kreativen Arbeiten (Web/Print/Events) 10.2012-11.2015 Mandat im Projektmanagement / Design – Start-up | Enspire GmbH, Zürich Firmenaufbau, Webauftritt, CI, Events, Sponsoring, Expos, Marketingstrategie, Gestaltung von Broschüren, Projektmanagement für Live-Switzerland und mehr.

9.2009-10.2012 Designer | Swiss Business Press SA, Zürich Designmanagement und Realisierung (Layout) von Swiss News Magazin und Webseite. Unterstützung anderer Zeitschriften im Layout.

3.2003-6.2009 Selbständig, Art Direktion / Designer | NC Creation, San Diego & Arizona USA Konsultation, Planung, Management und Realisierung von Grafikdesign, Webdesign und Marketingkonzepten.

1.2002-2.2003 Art Direktor / Designer | Jon Renau, Vista USA Aufbau und Management der Kreativen Abteilung, Neudesign und Produktion der ganzen Firmenidentität und dem Branding (Verpackungen, Broschüren, Webseite, Werbung, Casting).

2001-2003 Art Direktor / Designer | Skala Communications, Zürich CH Management, Design und Produktion, Webdesign, Animationen, Corporate Identities und Broschüren von San Diego aus für die Schweiz.

10.2001 Internship | AM Advertising, San Diego USA Assistant to Art Director, Grafikdesign, Bearbeitung von TV/Radio-Spots, Back-ups.

7.2000-8.2001 Teacher Assistant | TAAC und AIC, San Diego USA Demonstration von Computerprogrammen wie Quark Express, Pagemaker, Photoshop, Illustrator, Freehand, Flash, Fireworks und Dreamweaver.

11.1999-8.2000 Grafik Designer | USATCOM, San Diego USA Design and Produktion von internationalen Telefonkarten und Poster.

5.1999-12.1999 Production Artist | Mesa Label Express, San Diego USA Druckvorstufenarbeit in der Druckerei. Design, Korrekturen, Filmbelichtung, Druckplattenanfertigung.

6.1997-12.1997 Werbe- und Marketing Assistentin | diAx, Zürich CH Assistentin des Marketing- und Werbedirektors. Design von Einladungen, Management von Werbegeschenken, Organisation von Meetings und Präsentationen. Koordination von internen sozialen Anlässen.

12.1996-3.1997 Projekt Manager | CommCept Ltd., Investments, Zürich CH Organisation und Koordination des Umbaus einer Villa für den Umzug der Firma CommCept Ltd,.

Organisation und Produktion der Displays für den Autosalon in Genf 1996, um das elektrische Auto “twike” neu vorzustellen.

8.1991-11.1996 Banklehre & Bankangestellte | UBS, Zürich CH

Software Adobe Creative Suite Microsoft 365 Sprachen Deutsch (Muttersprache) Englisch (verhandlungssicher) Französisch (Basiswissen)

u ng

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Nicole Collins-Schlegel M. 079 872 73 99

5.2013-7.2013 Webdesigner CMS, Diplom Projektmanagement, Attest | Migros Klubschule 2003-2004 Dynamic web design with database integration | Career Center, San Diego USA (Flash und Dreamweaver) 1.1998-12.2001 Bachelor in Advertising Art Direction mit Diplom in Web Design | The Art Institute of California, San Diego USA Art Direktion, Werbung, Kampagnen, Grafik Design, Web Design, Texten, Kundenpräsentationen, Erlernen von PC und Mac, Marketing, Typografie, Fotografie, Multi Media, TV und Radio Spots.

1997-1997 ToeFL | Schweiz 1997-1997 First Certificate | LSI, London GB 8.1995-8.1996 Berufsbegleitende HWV | Juventus-Schulen, Zürich CH 8.1994-8.1996 Junior-Nachwuchsförderung | UBS 80% mit HWV, Zürich CH 8.1991-8.1994 Kaufmännische Lehre mit Berufsmittelschule | UBS Römerhof, Zürich CH 1990-1991 Vorkurs | Schule für Gestaltung, Bern CH Verschiedene Zeichnungs- und Maltechniken, Skulpturtechniken, Farbenlehre, Fotografie, Typografie, Kalligrafie, Design, Kunstgeschichte und mehr.

PROFIDATA GROUP WEBSITE

PROFIDATA GROUP COMPANY BROCHURE

PROFIDATA GROUP MESSESTAND

DirectOrder – order management anytime, anywhere With DirectOrder, we present the first module of our XLab product strategy: lean web application solutions, implemented with state-of-the-art technologies that focus on a specific use case to make it as efficient and user-friendly as possible.

With their own release cycle they add another facet to the existing XENTIS offering.

Order entry • Fast full text search across the entire data universe • Support of collective orders • BVI – Sheet upload

Monitoring • Real-time status changes • Investment compliance details • Real-time (partial) executions

Portfolio overview

Modifications

• Current positions, including orders

• Cancellation

• Securities and cash

• Change of limit, amount, validity

• Excel export

• Before and after placement

DirectOrder allows the internal user as well as the external users of our customers (external asset managers) to follow the lifecycle of the placed orders in real-time. From an order’s creation and the pre-trade investment compliance check to (partial) executions, the user is always informed about its current status. Current portfolio valuation and composition, including both cash and security positions, can be performed at any given time.

PROFIDATA GROUP FACT SHEET / GIVE AWAYS

PROFIDATA GROUP WHITE PAPER / FACT SHEET

BURLET AG / FREELANCE WEB REDESIGN

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SWISS NEWS REDESIGN, VORHER UND NACHHER

· Christa de Caro uge · Peter Saub er · Tina Turner · Samih Sawiris · · Carlo Janka · Thermal baths · Montreux Noёl · Lindt & Sprüngli ·

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Timeline

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• 1936 Christa de Carouge is born in Basel • 1963 moves to Geneva due to her marriage to a draper there • 1965 starts designing clothes alongside her husband • 1968 after her divorce, she begins to build her own business • 1978 opens first boutique in Carouge, near Geneva • 1978 creates first collection entirely in black • 1988 opens second boutique in Zurich • 2002 opens Christa de Carouge Homme in Zurich • 2004 leaves Geneva completely • 2004 is named one of Europe’s 48 most inspirational women • 2010 wins the style award at the “glanz und gloria Glory Awards” • 2011 wins “Das goldene Rüebli” (the golden carrot) in the TV cookery show of the same name

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success. “My concept is to remain true to myself. I don’t sell shoes, make-up, perfume and whatever else. I only want my clothes, and that is all.”

She loves Guinness® and hates today’s consumer society, but Christa de Carouge is best known for her voluptuous black creations: a style that was instrumental in shaping the landscape of Swiss fashion. She frowns upon modern trends though, and, in her work, remains true to her individuality. Swiss News met the woman behind the robes, that quirky hairstyle and those round-brimmed glasses.

Sushi greets you as you enter Christa de Carouge’s Zurich Tiefenbrunnen boutique – her little black dog, that is – although raw fish would be equally plausible, since cookery is one of De Carouge’s passions. “But I only cook for lots of people – it’s boring to just cook for myself,” she says with an infectious joie de vivre. “I have a huge, black kitchen and enjoy putting on buffets for my family and friends.”

That her kitchen is black is hardly surprising. In 1978, she was amongst the Swiss fashion pioneers, producing a collection entirely in black. On the day of my visit, her petite frame is swathed – as it usually is – in a flowing black creation; this one, like layers of tissue paper, but more voluminous. Black also dominates in her boutique. The cave-like interior is lined with clothing rails, full of dresses that resemble spirits dancing between neat little piles of grey stones. And, while other colours also have a place in her palette – including dark blue, brown, and this season, mostly white – they always complement black.

“It’s my favourite colour,” she explains with a wry smile. “It is suitable for any occasion: you can go to work wearing it, and go out in the evening without changing in between.”

The s tyle of architecture Th The 75-year-old designer has another reason for choosing black in her designs – her training in graphic design. “Black provides a home, and protection,” she says. “I have been tied to this colour since my days as a Bauhaus pupil. Johannes Itten (a Swiss artist) was my teacher, and I was very much inspired by concrete ideas. In this way, I have developed a look that comes from architecture, and not fashion.”

LADY IN BLACK

By Emily Mawson

Indeed, her trademark dresses are created using folds of fabric that seem to invite you to curl up inside; and they are supposed to be “timeless and classic”, so they may be worn for years

All photos © Christa de Carouge

It seems then that De Carouge is an independent thinker.

Indeed, she admires others who have pursued their cause on a much greater scale. A photo of Mahatma Ghandi hangs on her office wall, and she describes his fight for Indian selfdetermination as “crazily beautiful.”

without becoming outdated. In this vein, she is always making clothes using different fabrics, but mostly in black and white.

“Then it doesn’t matter which season they belong to,” she says.

These are perhaps not the words you expect to hear from a fashion designer; even less so, that she thinks climate change has removed the need for fashion seasons altogether: “We no longer have such defined seasons, so seasonal fashion collections are useless; an annual fashion collection would be much better – perhaps including a few hot shots for the summer, if we get a heat wave.” As if to make a point, De Carouge closes her boutique for five weeks each year in July and August.

“People should be on holiday,” she insists.

Fact file

A simple life De Carouge speaks in a wonderfully clear and confident voice that betrays self-assurance and reflects an intimate knowledge of the world. So it is perhaps no surprise to learn that she has travelled extensively, that Buddhism inspires her lifestyle, or that calligraphy has influenced her sense of aesthetics. “I have learnt a lot on my big travels to Tibet, Nepal, India, Japan and Morocco. I’ve even travelled to the heart of countries and visited minority tribes. Seeing the way they live, it is easier to understand what is important in life,” she laughs.

And that is not the only thing she feels strongly about. She considers today’s consumerism “utterly terrible” adding that, “buying clothing is the same as buying a house. I must like it and be able to identify with it; it is very important to me that that is the case, and not just consumption.”

Other colours also have a place in De Carouge’s palette.

De Carouge sees inspiration in the ability of nomadic tribes to travel with so little, calling it “the new age.” She has therefore developed a range of light and practical clothing that dries quickly and does not need to be ironed or dry-cleaned. In fact, she loves the simple way of life so much she would have liked to live in the desert. “That is a dream; a fantasy, you may call it!” she laughs.

Th The black s heep This is why her clothing is also not cheap. De Carouge advises customers to buy little and well, so they have a capsule wardrobe of pieces – both old and new – which they can combine again and again. “They should want [an item] and treasure it,” she says. “Not all people are millionaires.”

Certainly, her collections do not lack the variety to create such a wardrobe. De Carouge has defined her own measurement chart and she claims that anything is possible with her designs – at least, almost anything. “We shouldn’t dress ourselves like sausages,” she says with disgust, referring to the modern trend towards very tight clothing. “It is terrible, uncomfortable, and unattractive. There are so few bodies that are beautiful.”

completely left Geneva, and is now exclusive to Zurich. Her boutique is in an old, disused factory, off a courtyard of trendy shops beside Lake Zurich. “I don’t like to be in conventional places, or in the middle of cities.” She says of her motivation for choosing this unusual location, adding, “I heard of the Mühle Tiefenbrunnen and that is exactly what I love - old factories, and old walls. I am very, very happy.”

Despite her passion for travelling, she is well settled. “I love Switzerland. The cities are not too big and I love the countryside. We have a lot of possibilities here; going abroad is wonderful, but [so is] coming home. We must all have a home somewhere. In fashion, you don’t necessarily need to be in Paris or Milan.”

A damning criticism, but she doesn’t think much of modern Swiss fashion designers either; she suggests they lack the ‘wow’ factor, by all trying to be just about the same. De Carouge, on the other hand, set about developing her own, unique style at an early age: even as a child, her ideas for clothing became reality, thanks to her mother, a talented seamstress. And her mantra today is that believing in your style – if you have it (and, according to De Carouge, not all people do) - is the key to

Where to buy

Christa de Carouge’s fashion shows involve dance and movement.

As for the Western world, Ireland made an impression on her during visits to a linen manufacturer there. “I love the pubs, particularly one in Belfast, and I adore Guinness®,” she says with another tinkle of laughter.

With her individual style, no-nonsense attitude, and brilliantly infectious laugh, it is easy to understand why, in 2004, De Carouge was named as one of Europe’s most inspirational women in a book entitled Frauen mit Visionen (Women with Vision). Asked how she felt about being included, she responds modestly that it was a “lovely idea, but it has been [and gone] – and now others may take that place.”

Loyal to her Swis s roots Actually, Zurich has proved to be equally successful as a platform for her brand. She named herself after Carouge near Geneva, where she opened her first boutique in 1978. But Zurich’s international atmosphere, and the chance to better satisfy her primarily German-speaking audience, prompted her to open a second boutique there. In 2004, after 26 years, she

• Christa de Carouge’s real name is Christa Furrer • She is a fan of martial arts and has learnt Kyudo, the Japanese form of archery • Her fashion shows include dance and movement.

They take place twice a year at Miller’s Studio in the Mühle Tiefenbrunnen • One of her favourite recipes is “Geschnetzeltes” served with “Rösti” • She admires Coco Chanel’s perceptions, such as that no woman has beautiful knees

Anyway, De Carouge’s artistic flair is continuously developing: “There are always stories I want to tell,” she giggles. “Certain moments that make me happy, or occupy me … there can be no end!”

Christa de Carouge designs are available at: Mühle Tiefenbrunnen Seefeldstrasse 231 8008 Zurich T: 044 381 18 89 E: design@christa-decarouge.ch W: www.christa-decarouge.ch

Mode

Classic Classic Lim Lim

Victorinox AG, Schmiedga Victorinox AG, Schmiedga

SWISS ARMY KNIVES CUTLE SWISS ARMY KNIVES CUTLE 042_304_240x320_ClassicEdition_4c 1 042_304_240x320_ClassicEdition_4c 1

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motoring

Citroën DS4

Vive la différence!

By Matthew Beattie

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The first Citroën DS might have hit the road in 1955, but there is nothing retro about the new DS4. Besides their initials, the only thing these cars share is Citroën’s passion for cutting-edge design and technology.

As the numerous 1960s architectural carbuncles littering France’s towns and cities attest, the French enthusiastically embrace anything modern – even if it is a passing fad and precipitates building something that resembles an oversized public convenience in the heart of a medieval town. But architectural howlers aside, this passion for the latest design is as French as airtraffic control strikes at the peak of the summer holiday season.

We even use a French term to describe it: avant-garde.

In tune with the times

By Carina Scheuringer

The Altitude Festival – a new event to be held in Klosters this January – will see one of Princess Diana’s favourite bands descend on the Swiss resort favoured by British royalty. Duran Duran will be headlining the festival. After 80 million sold records, 18 hit-singles in America, 30 top-30s in Britain, and a career spanning 30 years, the group remains at the forefront of the British pop scene.

On 21 January, they will present their 13th album entitled All You Need Is Now, which they recorded with Grammy-Award winner Mark Ronson and released in March. We catch a glimpse behind the scenes with bass guitarist and co-founder John Taylor.

Duran Duran was one of the most successful pop bands in the 80s. Thirty years later, you are still a household name. What’s the secret to your success?

Not having found anything that we would rather do! We all love our work – and we love each other too. We have all dabbled at making music outside of Duran Duran, but we just keep on coming back, because we are a strong team and it works. It’s not perfect, but perfection is an illusion; it is unattainable. What we have is something special. We have been together for so long; we have been through so many life experiences with each other and I think our audience appreciates that. They have taken the journey with us and it has become part of our appeal.

Also, we have evolved so that, now, our positions and roles have become clearer. In the early years, casting was less obvious. But who isn’t more confused at 21 compared to when they are 51?

How do you stay true to your roots as artists, while attracting new audiences today?

It’s a gamble and sometimes you get it right, but sometimes you don’t. Our new album is the best we have done in ten years. It has all the elements of our early style – it remains very true to our attitude and our ideas – but it sounds ‘now’. It’s a modern record with a retro tinge, but so much contemporary music has a retro feel to it now. Young people today are listening to m ore old music than ever before and so their tastes are influenced by the old classics. I went to see Ringo Star and the All Star Band in São Paolo in Brazil and, all along the front row, there were teenage girls screaming at a 71-year-old Ringo Star. It is extraordinary. We often get asked who our audience is today and it has changed. For a while, our audience was just getting older with us – but now, we are attracting younger fans. They know all the words to our hits from the early 80s and [they] are

SWISS NEWS LAYOUT

No carmaker epitomises this Gallic flair more than Citroën.

Throughout its 95-year history, the French company has been at the forefront of automotive development. It built the first frontwheel drive car and developed monocoque construction; it created the 2CV, a car that farmers could drive across ploughed fields without dislodging the ash from their Gauloise.

However, it was the iconic DS that truly cemented Citroën’s reputation for the avant-garde. not ashamed of it, but are really into it. The ‘old’ music is still in there fighting – on iTunes and in music stores.

You mention iTunes. You have seen big changes in the music industry. How have you adapted to them?

The music industry is in a constant state of change. The key is not to get attached to any technology, but to focus on what is essential: in our case, writing songs and performing live. It’s natural to have some fear of change, but you just have to be open to it. Take our latest video Girl Panic – it’s one of the best pieces of work we have ever done. But it was a new experience for us when the video was released on the Internet and, for the first time, we really had no control over who had it in their possession. You hope that people will see it, and that will create some excitement around the band. Today, it’s no longer about the immediate sale but more about the long-term benefits. A few years ago, we would have struggled with that [new development], thinking we need to get our single out, get it on the radio, on MTV, on VH1. Today, none of that matters.

It’s not justt technology that has changed since your heyday – what about the clothes, the hair? Do you look back at some of your styles with a smile today?

(Laughing) Yes, there were a couple of clangers and I still have this annoying habit of wanting to wear Napoleonic military uniforms. It was a thing that I picked up when I was around 12 years old. I was painting military models and decided that I wanted to wear French cavalry jackets with epaulets – and I keep going back to that! I kind of did it in ‘82 and ‘85 – and now it’s like “get over it John! You are not in Napoleon’s army any more!” The 80s were a fantastic time – we were in our twenties and had so much fun with clothes. It was a race to the stores to

Re--birth of a legend

get the good stuff; then, we would argue and fight over our precious pieces. We would swap clothes, too. You look through the early pictures and you see – oh I am wearing that scarf here, oh Nick is wearing it there... it was great! It is how we created an identity. We never wanted to be a band that just went out onto the stage in jeans. We wanted to be flamboyant.

Launched at the 1955 Paris Motor Show, the DS set new standards in design, technology and refinement. Even twenty years later, when Citroën finally ceased DS production, this model’s cutting-edge technology lived on for decades in the cars that took its place.

So can we expect a resurrection of the Napoleon army look at the Altitude Festival this January?

(Laughing) “Let it go, John, let it go!” Today, we have to be more careful, because we are older and not as skinny as we used to be. When you are 20, you can get away with anything. Now, we have to be a little bit more appropriate; but at the same time, we are musicians. People don’t want Duran Duran to dress like bankers. They want us to look a little crazy so they can make fun of us. We wouldn’t be Duran Duran otherwise! The Altitude Festival will be a different sort of show for us. Switzerland has a pretty sophisticated music market and the Swiss are pretty hip as to what’s going on. Klosters gives us the opportunity to go somewhere we have never been before and experience something completely different. It’ll be fun!

What does the future hold for Duran Duran?

I think that we are going to be playing concerts until the end of the next summer, and then, maybe we will make another video.

Girl Panic has been such a blockbuster hit that we are now thinking of doing something else – similar but different. This is as far as we have planned, but the end of the road is nowhere near in sight. We have to wait for the Rolling Stones to break up first, an d then start to count down ten years or so! But seriously, we can’t give it up – we are having too much fun! There is a sense of rebirth in the band at the moment and we are riding it.

All photos © Duran Duran

The Altitude Festival

21 & 22 January 2012 Altitude Grounds Auf Christli’s Klosters Tickets: Ticketcorner or at www.klosters.ch Entertainment includes: live music, DJ’s, cabaret style street performers, gourmet food stalls, pop up stores, snow polo tournament www.altitudeklosters.com

But now the DS name is back. In 2009, Citroën resurrected the iconic name in the form of the DS3 – a cutting-edge breath of fresh air from today’s fashion for retro-chic. Based on the popular C3, it was an immediate hit with the motoring press and the public alike. And just like its 1950s namesake, its design was utterly modern.

Citroën now hopes to achieve similar success with the DS4: a crossover model, based on the C4. Groundbreaking, the DS4’s design is not; however, like its little sister, it is modern and fresh – and blending sporty hatchback looks with a little SUV presence, it is certainly distinctive. The lines are sleek, with tasteful flashes of chrome trim alluding to the car’s premium credentials. Although it has a slightly higher driving position than a standard hatchback, the DS4 looks well proportioned and poised. Citroën has even concealed the rear door handles in the C-pillar to ensure that nothing detracts from the sculptured door- and window-lines: in the process, lending an almost coupé-like aesthetic to the car’s profile.

A pleasant place to be The feeling of quality continues inside as well. Everything feels solid and well made – with no sign of the cheap, yoghurt-pot plastics of French cars in the 1980s and ‘90s. The dash is logically laid out, although I found that a couple of buttons were

All photos © Automobiles Citroën

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interview

Roger Federer

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By Emily Mawson

26 rival the likes of ying superhero to Roger Federer If there were a tennis-pla or Captain America, of a Marvel’s Iron Man with the grace darts across court the would be it. He tall and sweeping g, then standing to gazelle, pirouettin over the net. Yet, and force back his ball with precision hero is to discount to a comic book Federer compare me the player I am hard work has made could ambition. “I guess always areas you are There of talent. you today, plus a lot “but I believe that game,” he says, ses.” weaknes improve in your your not your strengths and should improve

NO. 10 OCTOBER 2012 CHF 7.50

I theories. Another of Federer’s inspiring It is This is just one you are not working. to “be silly” when re on scribble down is unruffled composu – renowned for his from an image of him crazy things away me smile. “I do me to wonder court – that makes ld explains, leaving the court,” the 31-year-o when I am on court it is all about to, “so that what he gets up g the sport.” the game and respectin by, it is certainly ies he plays his game won Whichever philosoph world No. 1 has alone, the current working. This year nts in Cincinnati, Masters 1000 tourname Murray in that the ATP World Tour and beaten Andy Wells, of Indian Madrid and him the oldest winner on final (making emotional Wimbled and re-focusing 1975 in Arthur Ashe 2011).

Wimbledon since exits in 2010 and after quarter final him and on medal attention silver home an Olympic He also brought .

Rotterdam and victories in Dubai ing veteran age professionally approach this That Federer is year and one that, more impressive a makes for an even hometown. “It means him back to his a fiveOctober, will bring Basel]. I grew up at Swiss Indoors nt lot to me [to play kind of tourname away, so it is a different five minute bike ride event he has won says of the sporting a lot of people for me,” Federer boy there. I know ball a be y, to times. “I used watch me play. Obviousl friends come to come in the stands and time, it’s a dream , but at the same it’s a lot of pressure true for me.”

Home to Basel

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A star is born

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growing up in Switzerla equally fondly of Federer speaks seen many beautiful the world and and unique. It “I’ve been around nd feels very special by places, but Switzerla and riding to school to kindergarten he was nice walking African Lynette, Robert and South bike.” Born to Swiss with swissinfo.ch g. In an interview said calls his roots interestin Seppli Kacovski Federer’s first coach earlier this year,

28 he believed his protégé was ambitious exactly because he was not one hundred per cent Swiss. “I do believe that both my Mum and Dad have shaped me as a tennis player,” says Federer. “They were serious about what I did and supportive, but at the same time they gave me space.”

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Mum and Dad also encouraged their son to play tennis at the age of eight. “I got into tennis very naturally through my parents. They sometimes went to the tennis club and I would join them,” Federer remembers. “I joined clubs in soccer [nowadays he is a fervent fan of FC Basel] and tennis and then got a lot more seriously into the latter. I played a lot of hours against walls, cupboards and garage doors, and I think that’s how I became really excited about tennis in particular.”

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in a Wimbledon final that, if you won, would mean your seventh Wimbledon title and a record to equal Pete Sampras? So it is no surprise to learn that fear would not come into the equation no matter who the opponent. “Afraid [of playing any player in history]? No, I guess not,” Federer replies easily. Not even 11 Majors-winner Björn Borg? “Just excited really. I would have loved to play some of the oldtime greats – and, of course, I would have lost a lot of matches against those kind of players!”

Federer never grunts nor looks breathless. His clean strokes could be set to classical music.

And although some sports journalists question his apparent graciousness in defeat (Kevin Mitchell in British newspaper The Guardian described him as “struggling to do humble”), he seems to take it well. After ceding the Olympic gold medal to Andy Murray in London he said in an interview, “I guess I got myself to blame, and Andy’s great level of play. I was happy for him and disappointed for me.” Then of course, there is Federer’s immaculate style – the coordinated outfits and sleek RF logo that go hand in hand with his manner. American Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour is a close friend. While she has attended Federer’s matches at Wimbledon and the US Open, he reciprocated by accompanying her to New York Fashion Week in 2006.

“On court, I’m very focused but, at the same time, I’m human.

Off court, I have a lot of fun and try to be silly.” Roger Federer

It was an upbringing that laid the foundations for a star of the future – though he may not have known it. “It obviously wasn’t clear that I wanted to become a professional tennis player.

That was more like a silly dream I had,” says Federer, who idolised Boris Becker. “And then one day, all of a sudden, there I was winning Junior Wimbledon [singles and doubles titles in 1998].” In the same year, he reached the US Open final and the semi-finals at the Australian Open. He closed his junior career with a title at the Orange Bowl in Miami and by 2001, when he beat seven-time champion Pete Sampras in the fourth round of Wimbledon, he had caught the world’s attention.

Taming the firecracker Plain sailing it was not, however, and Federer’s teenage tantrums have been well documented. He was regularly kicked out of practice sessions and threw his racket around à la John McEnroe but, when he was 17, he decided to see a sports psychologist. “Look, I used to be a firecracker I guess, early on in my life,” he admits, “but eventually I was able to settle down. It has served me well over the years to be calm and collected when it got tough.”

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Nowadays, he has 11 million Facebook fans and is quite the role model. “I have been in the spotlight so much that I feel like I can handle [being a role model]. I know that I will not go [off the rails],” he says – quietly adding that it would not be a problem if he did. Indeed, there are not many other celebrities who have such a glistening record with the paparazzi. “It’s nice in this day and age, where everybody looks for scandals, that I’ve been able to come through my career somewhatA138 unharmed,” he adds.

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Referring to his wife (Mirka Vavrinec, a former Women’s Tennis Association tour player who he met at the 2000 Sydney Olympics) as very important in helping him maintain a successful career after the birth of his twin daughters in 2009, he exudes warmth when Charlene Riva and Myla Rose are the topic of conversation. Seeing them in the audience when he won Wimbledon 2012 was, he said in a press conference before this year’s US Open, “a dream come true.”

Watch the video footage of his win and amid the roaring crowds, Federer’s teary eyes are focused on his family.

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As a father, he hopes his “kids will have the same great childhood as I did.” He wants to have a positive influence _(026_03 1)_Layou on them and teach them to respect other people. “The most t 1 18.09 .12 16:44 important life lesson I have learnt is to treat everybody the His impressive composure certainly accompanies him on Seite 31 court. Who else would look as unruffled when one set down same as each other. My travels have been so diverse and I

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Slick on court – and slicker yet in glamorous advertising campaigns for the likes of his sponsors, who include Credit Suisse and Rolex – Federer is James Bond-esque in the watch company’s most recent campaign. His stance is confident and there is kindness in his eyes. It is impossible not to see Roger, the family man.

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SWISS NEWS LAYOUT

have met a lot of people,” great learn he says ing expe , “and that rience for is rich and has been me. Just the othe a because r is not, them diffe as the Inter one pers doesn’t rently.” national mean you on made a Year of should surprise Spor t. The treat Weathering visit to Elizabeth following child the storm , South year he Perhaps Africa and ren near town tsunami ships in his open relief effor gave a Port -mindedn the Rog personal ts and, Goodwill er Fede ess led in 2006 donation Ambassa rer , he was to the photos to dor. founding named of his work Foundation in UNICEF 2003. In of disadvan for the That the taged child Federer foundatio myriad finds the n, spor t for ren in alongsid South Afric which supports young peop time to e his train sque focus is a and ing is insp le, Fede impossib eze so on tryin promotes rer is beam iring. Cert le. In much in g to raise as I can his 14-y ainly noth dramatic ing. “My as muc for the ear ing chan h money main career, seems less fortu ges in the went to he has and awa have beco nate,” he the Unite world of reness overcom me bigg explains d Nations tennis, e synt er, . as In 2004 in New hetic. His frames , he York to larger and racket heads longstan announce world No. ding pres strings 2005 1 Nova more k Djokovic ence in the spor annivers t led form ary of , in an the Dub er interview ai Duty on the Free Cha 20 th mpionshi ps, to

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Indoors

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credit him with tenn is’ curre able to nt popu weather larity. “I the storm wasn’t easy am happ . For me , but I mad y I was to adjust e it poss now, the ible,” Fede maybe at times focus is The olde on tennis rer says and I’m st player . and my still learn in the ATP family life. need to ing thing actually,” Top 10, nurture It’s a lot s today, he adm his agei Federer of fun my body its. which is improve ng body is aware ’s signs. things and “I’m a guy who of the amazing I take enou . “I have always smartly wants to I hope I I am done and have listened learn thing can do gh brea playing. to always many more Neverthel ks, hope s, Maybe been able looked at fully ess, after things whe I will go to plan the long do for the back to Federer final, John n – like skiin term,” he last 15 year things I lost to Murr McEnroe g, or play says. haven’t s because ay in the seen him observed ing he squa may Olympics look his of my care : “That’s sh.” Goo face on age.” the squa d luck to er the first sh cour any oppo time I’ve t! nent Beyond tenn For now – and with is Will there wait to his com ever com see how man ding reco e a time Fede Surely a rd indoors to hand champion rer performs at over the – let’s Swiss Indo opponent on hom baton? e turf is “Right ors Base s than ever more terrif l. least, is before – ying to only hum though his an. of course this one, at

Rec ords

• First Swiss Grand Slamman to win a beat Mark title when he Philippous Wimbledon sis at in 2003 • 17 Gran d Slam titles (beating Pete • Most week Sampras’ 14) s ranking (296 at world No. 1 • First living – 17 Sep 2012 ) person to honoured be with a stam the Swiss p by • Second Post in April 2007 oldes ranked world t man to be (after Andre No. 1 age of 33 Agassi at the in 2003)

Info rma

tion

www.roge rfede

rer.com

Born: 8 August 1981, Canton Basel-Land Height: 6ft 1inch Residence: Wollerau, Canton Schwyz Turned pro: 1998 Singles titles: 76 Career prize money: USD 73,453,677, making him the second richest global athlete after Tiger Woods. He has also won five cars!

Hobbies: playing cards, sitting on the beach and table tennis Languages: Swiss German, German, French and English Coach: Paul Annacone (former ATP pro and Pete Sampras mentor). In his professional career, Federer has had five coaches

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NOCK ing on heaven’s door

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By Carina Scheuringer

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Born to be on the tightrope Fear is a foreign concept for a sky walker who is the scion of one of Switzerland’s oldest and most renowned circus dynasties. The colourful history of the Nocks, who are said to be of Irish descent, dates back to 1770, when their romance with the tightrope began and they first became circus artists. Less than a century later, in 1860, the family founded their own circus.

A lfredo (Freddy) was born in 1964 in Gränichen, a municipality of Canton Aargau. As a small child, he marvelled wide-eyed at his family’s performance on the tightrope – his father, mother and older brother demonstrating their skills. At the age of four, when he was steady enough on his feet, he too started to learn the skills of the family trade and became a master of the tightrope. “I first practised at 50 centimetres above the ground; later, I advanced to a height of 2.50 metres,” Nock remembers.

“To me, that was already high. My dad taught me all the old secrets that were once passed down to him; how to slide your foot along slowly and how to balance.” Aged five, Nock first performed in the circus ring, and “it was a wonderful feeling.” There was no nervousness, only excitement. “I still get jus t as hyper today as I did then,” he admits. “It’s a joy to be up on the tightrope and show people what I can do.”

High above the clouds in Southern Bavaria, a small figure slowly creeps up the cable car wire of the Zugspitze. At first, he is barely more than a white dot in the far distance but then, as he edges closer, the fog shrouding those lofty heights begins to lift, revealing a man dressed all in white and wearing black sports shoes. Without any safety equipment or balancing pole, he is walking to the summit of Germany’s highest peak, at an altitude of 2,962 metres above sea level. Taking one step at a time, he overcomes an incline of up to 57 per cent and even finds time to wave at his audience, before reaching the summit after 90 minutes.

With experience, Nock became more and more daring. Still only a child, he had already learnt from some of the greatest artists in his field and, through hard training, had become a skilled performer himself. Now, it was time to start experimenting. “My dad scolded me when he found me pract ising in wooden shoes, telling me not to mess about,” Nock recalls. “But I wanted to be able to walk across in any type of footwear – leather, wood or those cowboy boots that were so fashionable at the time.” Through his experiments, the artist developed the special technique that is his trademark to date – as well as the elusive feeling that ensures he never puts a foot wrong. Meanwhile, being a child of the circus, young Freddy was also exposed to many other circus acts – he first trained ponies, then horses and finally elephants. However, his true passion remained the tightrope, as he loved the element of danger.

It’s a magical sight watching this man climb to the top, his body skilfully absorbing gusts of winds and wire vibrations; so magical indeed that you would think it is a trick of the eye. Yet, this isn’t the movies and nothing has been edited out. What we are witnessing is a brave feat by daredevil tightrope walker Freddy Nock, a Swiss artist, who has made it his business to make the impossible possible.

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people

Mister invincible “Why this fascination with danger?” I ask Nock and he is quick to answer. “When you cheat death three times as a child, it is easy to believe that you are invincible.” At the age of five, Nock was playing outside near a pack of fighting dogs, when a frightened brown bear broke loose. The boy was unlucky enough to be in the animal’s path. “Normally, you could even pet the bear, this is how tame it was, but it must have been scared by those dogs,” he explains. “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and so it attacked me – it threw me onto the ground, face down a nd then it bit into my head. It ripped off all my hair and my skin. It should have killed me, but somehow, I survived.

After three months in hospital, where they transplanted skin and hair, I was back on the rope as if nothing had happened. They told me I would be bald by 30, but look at me today!” The 47-year-old proudly points at the full head of hair that sits on top of his thin frame.

Reaching for the stars

Just over two years later, a careless Nock ran out onto the street without looking and right into the path of a VW bus. What might easily have killed him, left him almost entirely unharmed. Someone, somewhere was watching over this boy. Shortly afterwards, as an eight-year-old, Nock slipped on a pier in Locarno, when running after a paddleboat, and fell into the blue waters of Lago Maggiore.

Unable to swim, he wen t straight under. “I was down there for a long time, but you know, it was a beautiful feeling. There was no panic, but, instead, it was rather lovely. If this is what death is like, there is no reason to be afraid,” Nock points out. The child with many lives was pulled out eventually and successfully revived to live another day.

Today, the unbelievab le stunt in St. Moritz in 1998 is just one of the Swiss daredevil’s multiple entries in the Guinness Book of World Records. His proudest achievements include the 2006 walk along 1,222.7 metres of the Säntis cable car wire and his crossing of Lake Zurich in 2010. Another highlight of Nock’s career was when, at the age of 44, he won the high tightrope Championship title in the South Korean capital of Se oul in 2009. To date, his record remains unbeaten.

Earlier this year, the artist attempted seven world records in seven days in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. While the overall pursuit failed due to bad weather, the performer successfully completed the longest and highest wire walk above sea level without a balancing pole: his unusual climb of the German Zugspitze. Although obviously disappointed he couldn’t do it all, Nock is adamant that there is always a next time and leaves no doubt that he is eager to add more titles to his collection.

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Salzburg © Tourismus Salzburg

By Kati Clinton Robson

Salzburg is the stuff of dreams for many wandering romantics.

Its wonderfully preserved, UNESCO World Heritage designated Altstadt (Old Town) is brimming with baroque architecture, narrow passageways, fountains and soaring, mint green spires – each providing picture-perfect backdrops for the many markets. The icy, cerulean river hugging the city is a great starting poin t to explore Salzburg, while the storied history, boutiques and over-flowing event calendar ensure that boredom is kept well at bay.

Father Joseph Mohr wrote the lyrics for the beloved carol Silent Night in the early 1800s in nearby Oberndorf, so it is no surprise that Salzburgers have a deep-rooted affinity with Advent. In fact, the city’s annual Christkindlmarkt (Christmas market) dates back even further : it was first mentioned in the 15th century as a crafts market.

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Today, it comprises many different markets, with the ones on Domplatz and Residenzplatz turning into full-blown holiday spectacles, featuring evergreen-decked stalls, processions, impromptu carolling and the ever-present chatter of

SWISS NEWS LAYOUT

merrymakers elated by their recent purchases. As one of the continent’s oldest markets, it’s packed with tourists, to be sure; however, local charm does not get lost in this influx of visitors.

Deck the halls 17 November heralds the opening of many markets across the city – the six largest, centrally located ones are found at Domplatz, Residenzplatz, Schloss Mirabell, the inner courtyard of the Festung Hohensalzburg (Salzburg Fortress), in the narrow passageways off Getreidegasse and at the railway station. Just outside of town, Schloss Hellbrunn hosts its own market, featuring a life-sized Advent calendar in the façade’s 24 windows, as well as reindeer-pulled sleigh rides and torch-lit processions through the castle’s famous trick fountains.

With winter come darker days and colder nights, but the warming sights, smells and sounds of Christmas are always readily available in the Christkindlmarkt. When your hands are in need of thawing, there are Glühwein (mulled wine) sellers galore, ready to sort you out (on the inside too, with an extra shot of rum, if needs be) and closely arranged tables to huddle

around. And if you happen to pass a stall selling local honey or homemade jams, it’s worth checking to see whether they are offering other varieties of hot drinks. For energy, there are typical treats such as roasted chestnuts and almonds, giant doughy pretzels covered in cheese, baked apples and aromatic gingerbread – both in loaves and the iconic hearts frequently associated with Oktoberfest.

Hundreds of chalet-like stands – green with holly and glimmering with lights – sell traditional, handmade items.

Special purchases include hand-painted eggshell ornaments and blown-glass bobbles featuring the nativity or other themes.

On the subject of nativities, hand-carved examples abound, as do colourful woodentoys, nutcrackers of every size, and the intriguing Räuchermännchen, or ‘little smoking men.’ Found in the shape of Santa Claus, snowmen, woodcutters, soldiers and more, these wooden pipe-carrying figurines contain a space to burn incense cones.

If you are lucky, you may be treated to a spontaneous carol, choir or brass band performance as you browse the lanes of

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Make it happen

SBB/ÖBB: Five direct trains leave daily from Zurich (travel time: 5h 20mins).

From Geneva, add three hours and change in Zurich Flights: Direct flights leave daily from Zurich airport When to go 17 Nov – 26 Dec: Domplatz, Residenzplatz, Mirabellplatz and Schloss Hellbrunn Festung: Friday - Sunday www.salzburg.info Where to stay Altstadthotel Wolf: Located in a 500-year-old building in the middle of the Old Town, the reasonably-priced hotel has plenty of charm, with both historic accents and modern comforts. www.hotelwolf.com

stalls in one of the larger venues. And, while exploring the almost-hidden Stern Advent Market in the covered passageways extending off Getreidegasse, you’ll still be shopping beneath the stars – hundreds of star-shaped Christmas lights, that is, hung to atmospheric effect.

Winter wonderland With time to venture further afield, the snow-capped mountains and pre-Alpine lakes of the Salzkammergut offer the perfect respite from the city’s hustle and bustle. The picturesque towns of St. Gilgen, St. Wolfgang, St. Leonhard, Bad Ischl and Mondsee make nice destinations and also offer their own unique markets. Of course, these sites aren’t so far off the beaten path that you’ll be exploring them alone, but the scenery is well worth the effort.

Not quite a silent night Depending on your penchant for the darker-side of Germanic customs, you might want to keep 26 November and 3, 5, 8, 21

December in mind as you plan your getaway. In Switzerland, Samichlaus makes the rounds with his (usually silent) helper Schmutzli, who is sometimes used by shrewd parents to ‘encourage’ good behaviour in their children. In Austria, however, besides being used to frighten misbehaving kiddos, St. Nicholas’ sinister-looking henchman Krampus plays another, more active role. On the days mentioned above, Salzbu rg’s youth are given free reign to dress as Krampus (or Perchten, the wild pagan spirits who try to scare winter away), and gleefully take to the streets with bells and whips to swat at passers-by. While it is considered lucky if you get hit … it is, perhaps, not a completely pleasant experience.

More pleasant is an evening spent in respite and contemplation at one of the areas Advent singings, readings and classical music performances. However, whichever market, site, custom or production you have come to enjoy, Salzburg is certainly an enchanting destination – made even lovelier under snow, stars and the magic of Christmas.

Don’t miss

Mozart chocolate! Avoid the cheap, gold-and-red, massproduced stuff, and head to one of the four CaféKonditorei Fürst locations. www.originalmozartkugel.com 7 Nov – 23 Dec: Krampus worshops 14 Nov – 9 Jan: Ice-skating on Mozartplatz 2 – 18 Dec: Advent singing in the Great Festival Hall 6 Dec: St. Nicholas and Krampus visit the market 21 Dec: Perchten run www.salzburg.info

The sky is the limit

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© Freddy Nock

“If you don’t try, you will never know what it’s like,” says Nock in response to the question of what drives him. At the age of 47, the father of five is still full of ideas and is convinced that even at 80, he will still be walking his beloved tightrope. His dream is to be the opening act for the Züri Fest with fireworks going off all around him. “I am working on that,” he laughs. His face lights up in wrinkles of happiness when he talks about his joy for what he does – and the pride he feels when he thinks that his children may one day follow in his footsteps.

© Juerg Isler

© Ernst A. Kehrli

All these experiences undoubtedly shaped the artist, who today understands death as a “part of life.” He believes that when your time is up, it’s up and there is no point losing sleep over it. Nock is not afraid of death, but holds great respect for it. In fact, what frightens the sky walker more than dying is the possibility of losing an arm or a leg. And he was lucky not to, when at the age of 22, he fell from a height of four metres onto concrete ground, because he was distracted by a beautiful blonde in the front row. He got away with two broken hands. “Never again, I told myself. It can’t happen again,” he says. “And it won’t. I am 100 per cent certain that I will not fall again.”

Nock always tries to find the positives in his experiences. “We all make mistakes, but it depends on your personality how you deal with them. Do you dust yourself off and get back up or do you stay down? They say ‘what goes up, must come down’ – my motto is ‘what comes down, must go back up!’” And so he never stays down for long.

© Freddy Nock

The artist first drew international attention in 1994, when he won the silver medal at the international circus festival in Monte Carlo, performing as part of the White Angels. While this was a great achievement, the circus child had much bigger plans. He wanted to prove to his parents that “the impossible was possible.” At the tender age of 11, they had told him that it was imp ossible to walk up the cable car wire he had been eyeing up in St. Moritz. “I remember my father saying that the wire was just too greasy and slippery. Nobody had done anything like it before – he told me that it couldn’t be done,” Nock says. “Of course, I was going to take the challenge!” And so, years later, Nock became the first man to walk along the St. Moritz cable car wire.

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Beyond differences and dualism

By Tsitaliya Mircheva

Beyond

Complete com

THE OMNIA

kinds e dealing with different

to help peopl hospitals in their work iful and talented initiative of three beaut of problems.

Children Beyond is the people how music can help world the show to women, ned booklet, which peaceful lives is an elaborately desig and live more balanced, Accompanying the CD overcome difficulties of mantras and Dechen Shakbook – except it is full Turner, Regula Curti and resembles a children’s y. One free from prejudice. Tina from prayers and mantras ntration, intuition and energ conce twelve , of CD peace a d inner prayers for Dagsay have create feeling.” There Sikhism, is g and prayin Islam , sm, rating Judai is celeb Hinduism, quote reads: “Singing track.

Buddhism, Christianity, es. sound cultur nt differe composing your own unity side 30 children from are also guidelines for which they sing along rs and melodies,” most beautiful praye “Religion gave us the project to the platinum us prayers and “Singing these precio d comes as a follow-up Beyon en Childr Tina Turner explains. d in 2005, when a ct us with each ed in 2009. It all starte the potential to conne album Beyond, releas listening to them has Shak-Dagsay to ago, she years invited four deln King Einsie with Larry from the monastery in monk other.” In an interview rator, Dagsay later my refrige as and meditation. Shakall human beings – I need talk about Tibetan mantr commented: “We are ing takes care ss, the Dalai Lama, the chant Holine but r, His en shelte betwe my back, arranged a meeting I need the clothing on ng sparked into.” meeti tap I The that Order and Curti. subconscious mind monks of the Benectine of that spiritual side, that Christian prayers Buddhist mantras and the idea of combining was just the amongst hist, ially Budd espec – nate ness r, a passio to raise aware with music. Tina Turne The three artists want involvement the first more tolerance a project and with her they may grow up with right person for such young people – so that d followed.

Children Beyond years later, Children Beyon . The young choir of CD was produced. Two and empathy for others es includ it d, sional music stars. Instea rting does not consist of profes three foundations suppo - aged between seven to en ed childr donat ed be will select The proceeds a group of randomly explains, “Free ts for children and young Canton of Zurich. Curti l, peace-building projec ultura as interc well and twelve - from the as best the rch, e development, and resea ment, children can becom people in education, from prejudice and judge need. sees the project mothers and women in nce and respect.” She projects for children, ambassadors for tolera and s centre ent support schools, treatm as a vehicle that could

SWISS NEWS LAYOUT

All photos © Children

Info

CD The Children Beyond er in was released on 7 Octob le at Switzerland and is availab www.cede.ch, Exlibris, Mediamarkt, and for download on iTunes. please For further information, .com visit www.beyondsinging

fort

All photos © THE

By Emily Maw son Secluded, yet in the heart of Zerm att, access to THE no less modern OMN IA is than the hotel itself Little quirks .

A cand underground elev lelit cavern and ator take you to THE OMNIA, whic the main building, h means ‘the all-e situated on a ledg which is ncompassing’ in e above the villag celebrated its com Latin, e. The hotel’s publ pletion in 2006. Its have an open-plan ic spaces 30 rooms are labe layout, with leath Z, rather than havi lled A to er, stone and wood ng infinite numbers fittings in shad interior . es of coffee, crea m and taupe. understated chic It brea thes , but is cosy rathe Our favourite thing r than intimidati lobby-cum-library ng. The is not unlike a welc THE OMNIA’s loca oming living room tion – high abov open fire, deep , with its e the hustle and armchairs and shel village – offers unriv bustle of the ves filled with hard alled panoramic Service is top-notch backs. views of Zermatt but informal too, Matterhorn, and and the and the staff in their the possibility of designer uniforms swapping peace stylish pay attention to more and quiet for vibrant village life every wish: if you meal from the in minu tes. fancy a room service men u, but want to dine in restaurant, they the accommodate you.

Welcoming touc hes There is a complim entary third of a Inspired by the tradi decanter of bour tional American and home baked treat bon whisky mountain lodge, s from the restauran based architect New YorkAli Tayar designed t in each room. the hotel’s stylis from a freestand h interior – ing wooden bath Particularly suita tub ble in for one room, to bottl holders in the resta e urant and even Due to its calm atmo the polished inter sphere, soft lighting OMNIA car. Each ior of THE and sophisticated of the 30 rooms THE OMNIA is interior, feels solid, and particularly suita include Tempur® nice touches ble for couples memory-foam matt roma looking for a ntic geta way. resses, a mini bar with local beer, and stocked complimentary Kieh l’s toiletries.

Experience it for yourself Attention is paid to fine details – THE OMNIA has whether the subt 30 room with balc classical music le chords of onies, including played as you ente Prices start from 12 suites. r your room for the CHF 500 per nigh or the homema first time, t during winter seas de praline befo two people in a on, for re bed. It is easy double room with pampered here, THE OMN IA to feel brea kfast. It is important particularly eatin book well in adva g home-baked crois Auf dem Fels to nce, breakfast or gazi as man sants at y guests are repe ng at the Matterho Facilities include 3920 Zermatt at-vi sitors. rn from the outdoor a library, restauran marble whirlpool black t, lounge bar, sun W: www.the-omn . club, boardroom, terrace, ia.com or wellness centre T: 027 966 71 71 and complimenta rental from a choi ry DVD ce of over 700 titles .

OMNIA

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destination switzerland

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35 ‘What did the Romans ever do for us?’

Imagine steam rising against snow-topped mountains, the feeling of extravagantly warm water rejuvenating every muscle, or a bed of massage jets, during a winter’s evening gazing at the stars. These are just some of the experiences to be enjoyed at Switzerland’s thermal baths. And, because the water comes from natural hot springs with a high mineral content, thermal baths are not just revitalising, but therapeutic. Whether you have spent your day at a desk, or on pistes with planks strapped to your feet, a trip to the spa is the perfect ending to any day.

The Romans were certainly onto a good thing, when they took the idea of public baths from the ancient Greeks and expanded the concept. What started out as simple personal hygiene, developed into a complex social and therapeutic ritual that was enjoyed across the Roman Empire. And being such practical engineers, the Romans were quick to recognise the benefits of sourcing the water for their bathhouses from naturally occurring hot springs.

We now often term thermal baths as spas – a word that derives from the town of the same name in Belgium – but not all spas have curative waters, and this is important to remember. Spa’s itself dates back to Roman times – when the area was called Aquae Spadanae. The town’s modern name is thought to have

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evolved from the medieval Walloon word Espa, meaning ‘fountain’. As early as the 14th century, the town’s chalybeate springs (iron-rich water) were recognised as a remedy for all manner of ailments.

37 Lavey-les-Bains. Therme Vals is cutting-edge bathing personified, with its modern spa designed by Peter Zumthor. Or why not try Leukerbad, which in 2001 celebrated the 500th anniversary of bathing tourism. But Switzerland’s most venerable thermal bath town is Baden. Baden’s history dates back at least 2,000 years, and recently, a wealth of Roman remains were found there in ongoing archaeological digs.

But the European fashion for curative natural spring waters really took off in the centuries that followed. The Belgian town of Spa started the boom in the 17th century, when European nobility would ‘take the waters’ there – and such was its popularity that other European ‘spa’ towns soon followed.

Images of the time even show frivolousness in the waters, from playing cards to eating dinner. Perhaps this is the result of one 18th-century European doctor’s recommendation to spend a total of 200 hours in the thermal waters over a period of two weeks. Others believed a treatment was only beneficial once the skin started to split open.

Switzerland’s thermal waters also have a very different mineral make-up between them. The waters in Bad Zurzach are high in sodium sulphate, or Glauber’s salt, which is helpful to detox the body. Meanwhile, if you suffer from rheumatic disorders, Rheinfelden and its waters rich in sodium chloride, may be beneficial for you. Alternatively, the springs at Yverdon-lesBains contain sulphur, which is good for treating skin disorders.

Thanks to the temperature of most springs, they generally have a high mineral concentration, because hot water can hold more dissolved solids. The natural temperature of each spring – which is caused by geothermal heat – varies, too, with their temperature changing according to how close they are to the source of heat.

Switzerland’s thermal baths The popularity of hot springs certainly didn’t escape Switzerland, but nowadays, we enjoy thermal water in more modest doses. A plethora of thermal spa towns can be found within the country’s borders – both old and new. For rehabilitation, try Bad Ragaz, with its magical lighting effects and water heated to 36.5 degrees; for an even warmer experience, the hottest thermal water in Switzerland is found at

© Les Bains de la Gruyère

Charmey

With 30 Swiss thermal bath towns to choose from, and such a diverse range of waters, where do you start?

From one of Switzerland’s best-known spa towns, to another that is one of its best-kept secrets. Tucked into a gently rolling pre-Alpine landscape, Charmey is an aptly named spa town every bit as charming as many of its larger Swiss counterparts.

Charmey has just one spa – and ‘Les Bains de la Gruyère’ is inconspicuous, even when you are inside.

© Leukerbad Tourism

Leukerbad Leukerbad is the largest thermal baths resort in the Alps, with 65 natural hot springs. The water emerges at 51 degrees Celcius – after a 40-year journey through the ground – and is then used for heating buildings, or it is channelled along pipes beneath the roads to prevent ice in winter. Eight of these springs are cooled to around 36 degrees and used in the town’s 30 thermal baths, both public and private. the body by gradually heating it, before cooling it down again – the process includes thermal pools, saunas, and steam rooms of different temperatures, a soap brush massage, and – if you dare, a plunge into a tub of glacier water. Because tradition dictates nudity here, it is a relief to learn that only a few people can access the baths at any one time, and, as long as you are prepared to get into the s pirit, it is an exhilarating form of escapism.

The Lindner Alpentherme sits as if in a basin, surrounded by towering cliff walls; steam rises and lingers above the snow piled around the rim of the pool. Below is the town, where 1960s block architecture dominates, but quaint, antique wooden cottages nestle in between. Above, sheer rock faces reach towards the mysterious Gemmi mountain pass. Little wonder that this area was a favourite retreat for literary greats including Guy du Maupassant, and Mark Twain – who described its beauty in A Tramp Abroad.

Do as the Romans

A stone’s throw away from the Lindner Alpentherme is the Burgerbad – tourists clad in bathrobes can even be found wandering streets between them on some days. The only thing these public spa share, though, is the majestic view.

Characterised by laughter and fun, the Burgerbad is the largest of Leukerbad’s four public baths – and the loudest. Family friendly, it has 10 pools; both indoors and outdoors, offering treated and untreated thermal water, as well as two giant water slides. There is even a pool for babies. In most areas, you tend to compete for space, but one calmer spot, and definite highlight, is the ‘grotto’. Untreated thermal water – at a toasty 44 degrees Celcius – enters a subtly lit cave from a fountain in the ceiling. Sitting on the floor, you can actually run your fingers through the mineral residue.

But the setting is not the only thing that’s spectacular; with its high, arched windows and ceilings, the elegant building offers a quiet haven to sink into natural thermal waters, both within its walls and outdoors. But it is by no means the only way to wellbeing in the town.

By Emily Mawson

If you are prepared to shun your inhibitions, you can visit the Linder’s Roman-Irish bath – the only bath in town where nakedness is compulsory. Beneath a domed ceiling and symmetrical archways is a large circular pool, and the 11 stations comprising its two-hour circuit. Invented by a doctor – to cleanse

© swiss-image.ch

Green-tiled walls reach towards wooden-beamed ceilings, and large windows offer panoramic views of the snowy surroundings; so it is hard to tell where the spa ends and nature begins. With a choice of both an indoor and outdoor pool, the latter is surely magical on a winter’s day. Its main feature is an invigorating, mineral-rich waterfall. Installed throughout the pool are various nozzles and gushes of water, some vigorous enough to make you feel you could become lost in the warm bubbles. However, the warm water is not as natural as it seems. Charmey’s springs are not hot; rather, they emerge at around 11 degrees, before being heated using an environmentally friendly wood-burning boiler. The spring used by the thermal bath contains healthy, mineral-bearing salts, so the water is beneficial for cleansing.

Indulge your senses at Leukerbad

Leukerbad also has several private baths. The five-star hotel, Les Sources des Alpes, has its own hot spring that feeds into an indoor pool, where you can float to ethereal music; and an outdoor pool with Jacuzzi. “People often turn up very tense from the city,” says hotel Manager Joelle Berclaz. “But they quickly start to feel relaxed.” To complement the thermal waters, a purifying aromatic peeling with crystal salt of the Swiss Alps is recommended to guests. It feels rough, but during my treatment, therapist Angèle is attentive and explains how it helps the body flush out impurities, improve circulation and relax the muscles after a day’s activity. However, the thermal water alone can be a soothing remedy. So much so that Berclaz explains how one Olympic athlete, who recently stayed at the hotel, refused massages in favour of just being in the pools.

Burgerbad E: info@burgerbad.ch W: www.burgerbad.ch Lindner Alpentherme E: info@alpentherme.ch W: www.alpentherme.ch Les Sources des Alpes ***** E: hotel@lsda.ch W: www.sourcesdesalpes.ch

Despite a relatively large volume of visitors, the spa’s atmosphere is calm and modest. Nothing is overdone, including its Oriental and Nordic areas, which contain classically designed Turkish baths and Finnish saunas at a range of temperatures. Also on offer are a number of oriental treatments, such as the traditional Ottoman massage to release muscular tension. They are complemented by thoughtful details, like a relaxation room with light therapy, a plunge pool that automatically cleans itself after use, and simple, Zeninfluenced interior design. During my conversation with spa director, Beatrice Ambühl, I learn that one aim of the spa is to help people ‘de-stress’.

To get your fix of wellness this winter: A range of wellness packages is available, combining access to the thermal baths with accommodation at hotels

Home to a Swiss Olympic team medical centre, the benefits of Leukerbad’s thermal water can hardly be denied. It is high in calcium and sulphate, making it beneficial for healthy bones and treating conditions such as rheumatism. And 100-year-old Mrs Martha Thudium, from Wollishofen, says of her longevity, “It is because I have been going to Leukerbad every year for the last 35 years, to enjoy the use of the thermal waters and the fresh air.”

For more information: Leukerbad Tourism E: info@leukerbad.ch W: www.leukerbad.ch

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business

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Rudolphe Lindt

Early advertising (1880)

By Matthew Beattie

Nobody eats chocolate because it’s good for you. Chocolate is an indulgence; a treat; a sensory pleasure. And when it comes to indulgence and sensory pleasures, few companies are better at providing them than Lindt & Sprüngli. This company, based on the left bank of Lake Zurich, has been tempting the city’s (and the world’s) taste buds since 1836.

Satisfying demand

The Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortéz might have brought the first cocoa to Europe in 1528, but we have 19th century Swiss ingenuity to thank for the chocolate we know and love today.

And of Switzerland’s many chocolate innovators, few names are more recognisable – or more important – than that of Lindt.

Formed from two successful companies – Chocolat Sprüngli AG of Zurich and Lindt of Berne – the first part of the business started life in 1836, when two confectioners, David SprüngliSchwarz and his son Rudolf Sprüngli-Ammann, took over a small shop in Zurich. Naming their business Sprüngli & Sohn, the partners found no shortage of customers for their confectionary. But it was in 1845 – when they began producing high-quality solid chocolate in the style of the Italians – that their business really took off. Such was the demand for their new product, father and son soon had to switch to mechanical production at a new factory in Horgen. Even then, the growing clamour for their chocolate saw the company move several times, to ever-bigger premises, simply to satisfy demand.

The early chocolate produced by Sprüngli – and every other chocolate-maker at the time – would have been very different

from the product we know today. For a start, there was no milk chocolate – that wouldn’t come until 1875, when the recipe was developed at the Cailler factory near Vevey, by another Swiss chocolate-maker, Daniel Peter. But it is in terms of appearance, taste and texture where the differences would be most apparent. In those days, chocolate was dull in appearance, with a crumbly, sandy texture and a rather bitter taste. It would take until 1879 – with the invention of a revolutionary new manufacturing process – before chocolate would develop its modern characteristics.

The chocolate revolution When Rodolphe Lindt opened his factory near Berne in 1879, his intention was to make chocolate that was finer than that of the competition. His brother, a pharmacist, identified that the slightly gritty quality of solid chocolate was a result of liquid in the mixture causing the sugar to crystallise. He suggested that by extracting this liquid during processing, and adding some cocoa butter for good measure – the texture could be improved.

Lindt followed his brother’s recommendations, and after three days and nights of uninterrupted mixing (whether this was the result of accidentally leaving the mixer on over the weekend, or just Swiss thoroughness, has been lost to history), the resulting

competitors to recreate the consistency of Lindt’s chocolate, the Bernese chocolate-maker kept his conching process a closely guarded secret.

Rudolf Sprüngli

mass was vastly different from conventional chocolate paste. It had a matte gleam, was easy to mould, and once set, it melted on the tongue. Gone too was the bitter taste – which came from agents produced during the fermentation that raw cocoa beans underwent during processing. By allowing these bitter agents to disperse into the air, Lindt’s extended churning process helped chocolate develop its pleasing flavour.

The machine Lindt developed to replicate those early results became known as a conche, because early machines contained a vessel that resembled the shell. The ‘conching’ process works by mixing and churning the dry ingredients with cocoa butter. The mixture gradually heats up as a result of the friction this creates, eventually producing what Lindt called Chocolat Fondant (literally, melting chocolate). By experimenting with his new process, and varying the types of cocoa bean and quantity of cocoa butter he used, Lindt was able to fulfil his ambition. His chocolate was in a league of its own for quality and taste, and his conching process earned his company – and Switzerland – a worldwide reputation for chocolate-making expertise.

Success at a price Despite

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While Lindt enjoyed his success, Sprüngli’s business in Zurich was also thriving. By the time Sprüngli junior finally retired in 1892; his company had grown so successful, he could divide it between his two sons. The younger son, David Robert took control of the family confectionery business – while the more senior Johann Rudolf was given the chocolate factory. Each brother would go on to enjoy great success – but their businesses have remained separate entities ever since.

By 1899, when Lindt was looking to sell his company and the rights to his secret process – Johann Rudolf Sprüngli had the money to buy it. The ambitious Sprüngli paid 1.5 million gold francs (around CHF 100 million in today’s money) – a hefty price that reflected Lindt’s success as much as the value of the conching process. Unfortunately, just two years after Lindt & Sprüngli was created from the two companies, a German outsider described Lindt’s conching process in detail, in his book Die Schokoladefabrikation (The Manufacture of Chocolate). Suddenly, Lindt’s secret was known to chocolatemakers around the world – and the chocolate they produced was irrevocably changed for the better as a result.

Nowadays, Lindt & Sprüngli still enjoys global recognition – if not for the revolution Rodolphe Lindt brought to chocolate manufacture – certainly for the quality of its chocolate. Lindt chocolate can be found in shops around the world: whether in the form of (addictive) soft-centred Lindor chocolate balls; red-

ribboned Easter bunnies, with their golden foil wrapping, or the distinctive chocolate bars that still carry Lindt’s original design on their packaging. Yet, despite the global popularity of its chocolate, Lindt & Sprüngli remains a Swiss company at heart.

Zurich heritage Nowhere is this more apparent than in Zurich, where Lindt & Sprüngli has maintained its headquarters and factory in the Kilchberg district for over a century.

In the city where Sprüngli and son first established their confectionery business 175 years ago, the Sprüngli name still carries as much weight as Lindt does for chocolate – in part thanks to the Confiserie Sprüngli, the Zurich institution that David Robert Sprüngli built up from his half of the family business. The most venerable and famous of these Sprüngli shops – on Zurich’s Bahnhofstrasse – is as much a part of the city as the fabled ‘banking gnomes’ or Sechseläuten. And nothing is more likely to get you re-invited to a household in Canton Zurich than presenting your host with a treat, carefully wrapped in a package bearing the confectioner’s distinctive blue and white logo. From the famous Luxemburgerli – sweet, flavoured cream, sandwiched between two crunchy, bite-sized macaroons – to all manner of breads, cakes, gateaux and biscuits, as well as hand-made pralines, any visit to a branch of Sprüngli is as much as a feast for the eyes, as it is for the palate.

But despite Lindt & Sprüngli and Sprüngli Confiserie being separate companies, it is refreshing to know that neither has lost touch with their shared origins – nor with the city where it

Did you know…

Rodolphe Lindt’s conching process wasn’t just adopted by chocolate-makers across the globe; it is also critical in determining the quality of the chocolate they produce.

Good quality chocolate can require conching for 72 hours, sometimes even longer – whereas low grade chocolate (as used in cheap cooking chocolate) can be conched for as little as six hours.

To find out more about Lindt & Sprüngli, visit: www.lindt.com Lindt & Sprüngli also operates a chocolate shop from its Kilchberg site in Zurich.

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 10:00 – 18:00 Saturday 10:00 – 17:00 Lindt & Sprüngli (Schweiz) AG Seestrasse 204 8802 Kilchberg Tel. +41 (0)44 716 2233

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To add to the relaxation, another aspect of Charmey’s charm can be enjoyed here too: chocolate. The famous Cailler chocolate factory is located nearby, and is if in tribute, the spa introduced a new treatment this year. The ‘chocolate massage’ combines two indulgences. Gooey, melted, and satisfyingly warm chocolate is smoothed onto your skin after an application of cocoa butter. Breathe in, and you feel like you’re in a chocolate factory; breathe out, and the urge to smile is irresistible.

I was even offered the chance to taste the chocolate goo beforehand, proving it to be ordinary, edible chocolate. It may strike you as a bizarre concept, but its benefits should not be underestimated. Cocoa contains anti-oxidants to combat the signs of ageing. Thanks to active components, it revitalises the skin and, by causing the body to release serotonin, it can make us feel happy as well – perhaps even more so, when you realise the treatment provides a chocolate indulgence without the calories. The risk that you’ll smell like a giant chocolate bar for a while afterwards is high, though!

I am told that in the past, Charmey’s people – who mostly worked in farming and the cheese industry –were too busy to care for wellness. Perhaps this is why the spa was only built in 2007, transforming the historic village into a wellness wonderland of chocolaty goodness and natural springs that deserves its position among Switzerland’s best places to unwind and relax.

The Romans recognised the potential of thermal springs; more recent generations have developed them; and who knows how they’ll look in the future. This winter though – whether for rehabilitation or sheer indulgence – it would be rude not to take advantage of one of Switzerland’s natural treasures ...

Chocolatey goodness in Charmey Les Bains de la Gruyère: T: 026 927 6767 E: info@bainsdelagruyere.ch W: www.bainsdelagruyere.ch Hotel Cailler**** T: 026 927 62 62 E: reservation@hotel-cailler.ch W: www.hotel-cailler.ch This hotel is connected to the spa by a long tunnel, and guests have free access.

For more information: La Gruyère Tourisme T: 0848 424 424 E: info@la-gruyere.ch W: www.la-gruyere.ch

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NO AGE

By Emily Mawson

Up and coming Swiss fashion designer, Sara Vidas, is taking the fashion world by storm with her eclectic sartorial ideas – but her main source of inspiration is anything but fashionable. Between preparing collections for international catwalks, she tells us why, for her, beauty is not a question of age.

Swiss fashion designer Sara Vidas A model on the runway during Vidas’ show at Paris Fashion Week in March “It is seeing the smiles on people’s faces that gives me the power to move forward each season,” says 28-year-old Sara Vidas of the public response to her debut collection at Paris Fashion Week in March this year. She describes the show, which attracted an international audience, as “really fun and special,” and being backstage afterwards as one of the proudest moments in her career so far. It also led to contact with fashion editors and an exclusive design contract with an Antwerp boutique.

When I visit Vidas at her studio in sleepy Männedorf, she is basking in the sunshine, looking out across Lake Zurich. The young designer couldn’t be further removed from the glitzy world of fashion. In fact, in a society where throwaway fashion is the norm, her ideas are refreshing. Her award-winning diploma collection LILI is all about breaking down social norms by mixing old with new.

Elderly elegance

femininity.” Vidas insists that for her, beauty is certainly not a question of age. She says, “I don’t want to work with [stereotypical] fashion models – they don’t belong in my clothes.” Instead, the models she took to Paris were aged up to 78 years. And her designs are for women who have fun getting dressed, because they are comfortable with their beauty, regardless of their age.

“Before working with him, I was designing clothes for men. I thought I couldn’t do women’s wear, because I was too close to it,” she explains. “But [he told me] you need to be close to your designs. [He said] if you wouldn’t wear something, then you shouldn’t design it.” She even keeps a picture of him close to her sewing machine, just as a reminder.

Vidas’ personal style is refreshing too. She points to a button missing on her stylish stripy blue shirt and laughs, “In the mornings, I decide very quickly what to wear and I don’t get changed. If I’m going out in the evening, sometimes I’ll just change my shoes or my handbag.”

In this collection, Vidas experiments with her admiration for the rich repertoire of clothing that elderly people possess: “Worldwide, I have noticed them to be the best-dressed age group,” she says. “They are open-minded and do not follow conventions. And I love how they combine their favourite pieces from different decades.” She frequently takes photos of elderly passers-by – and many of them now adorn the walls of her studio. With glee, she tells me of one man who utterly inspired her: “He was in his seventies, and wearing short orange trousers, with silk knee-high socks in pink. Oh, and sandals!”

Thanks to her take on the style of the elderly in LILI, Vidas won the Swiss Federal Design Award 2010, and the Apolda European Design Award 2011; she also had a solo exhibition at the Swarovski Flagship Store in Vienna and was the 2010 testimonial for the design fair, Blickfang. Add two collections shown at Paris Fashion Week in March and September this year to the list, and it seems the young designer is on a roll.

She continues, “I also love the femininity of elderly women. It is such a shame that young women don’t play with their

It is therefore surprising, when she explains that fashion just happened for her. “It was never a dream,” she tells me. Initially,

she worked as a window dresser. Following style and design studies at the ZHdK Zurich, she completed a placement at Loyd Maish Handbags in Florence – because at that time she enjoyed designing accessories. But it was during an exchange programme at the FADU Universidad de Buenos Aires that she discovered her true love was designing clothes.

British chic

Model wearing items from KIKI in the streets of Paris.

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She says, “I realised that I really wanted to pursue fashion as a craft and work on the ‘whole thing’.” Following her visit to Argentina, Vidas, immediately transferred to a course at the Institute of Fashion Design in Basel. Following her graduation in 2010, she worked as an assistant for designer Peter Jensen in London. He gave her some of the most important advice in her career.

All photos © Oliver Rust

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So why did she return to Männedorf to pursue her career? “It is so quiet and down-to-earth here,” she explains. “I can be more productive.” It also allows her to be close to her family. In fact, she works in the same building as her father, an artist. She is keen to emphasise how great an inspiration he was to her, when she was growing up. “He has a big wardrobe and I enjoyed playing with all his clothes. We used to visit flea markets together at the weekend,” she says, full of admiration for him. “I have a great wish to be not just a designer, but an artist.”

Her artistic creativity is colourfully displayed in KIKI (for Autumn/Winter 2011/12). With its fruity accessories, it is reminiscent of warmer seasons. This collection is also inspired

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“We went to watch The Avengers last night – and nobody in the cinema recognised Amy,” chuckles Sarah Erasmus of Amy Macdonald’s production label, Melodramatic Records. This seems a remarkable feat in a busy auditorium in Switzerland – a country where Macdonald has sold five-times Platinum, won Best International Album Rock/Pop at the 2011 Swiss Music Awards (as well as two more awards at the same ceremony in 2009) and has three concerts scheduled this year.

However, it is altogether plausible. I smile at the discrepancy between the ‘rock chick’ on-stage (all smoky eyes, shimmering mini dresses and commanding voice) and the understated, doe-eyed Gaelic beauty who enters the room for our interview with a quiet knock.

All about the music “People never believe me when I say I could walk down the street and nobody would even look twice,” says the 24-year-old Scottish songstress, today clad in a fine knit sweater and skinny black jeans. “But it’s always the way it’s been for me and I’m very grateful for that.”

In fact, this is exactly the way she likes it. Listen to any of her songs, and it quickly becomes apparent that the celebrity thing doesn’t appeal to her. In the aptly titled ‘An Ordinary Life’ (A Curious Thing, 2010) she sings, “I don’t care about the cameras, I don’t care about the lights. All I wanted was an ordinary life.” The song was inspired by the behaviour of a flurry of fans around actor Gerard Butler at a party.

During a 2010 interview with Sky News, Macdonald rebuffed the reporter’s suggestion that she and her fiancé, footballer Steve Lovell, could be the next ‘Posh and Becks’, saying that their lives were far from being that glamorous. Certainly, she doesn’t see herself as a star. For her, it is all about music.

Crossroads

“I want people to know me for my music rather than the shoes I was wearing.” Amy Macdonald

Brought up in East Dunbartonshire near Glasgow, Macdonald learned to play her Dad’s guitar having been inspired by watching British act Travis perform live. She was only 12 at the time. “I don’t know where [my talent] came from. My parents aren’t musical,” she admits. And her sister is a doctor. “I was just into guitar music and I wanted to play along with the songs so badly.” A year later, she began writing songs and, by the age of 15, she was gigging.

The compact studio – an obstacle course of clothing rails, fabric rolls, trinket boxes, and mannequins wearing halffinished garments – becomes very cramped in the run-up to a show. Vidas eventually had to steal some space from her father’s end of the building. A solitary tailor’s table now stands amidst jars and jars of paint.

A colourful jacket from KIKI

Live and

profile

By Emily Mawson

All photos © Universal Music

Preparing a collection takes Vidas about six months – and each includes some 70 to 100 garments. There is no typical day in her line of work, and she explains that tasks can range from drawing, to finishing production of the previous season, and creating prototypes for the next. “Whilst the beginning is not so hard, the end is manic,” she says. “There are about ten people here helping out – my mum making cups of tea, elderly women doing the knitting.”

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by the haphazard nature of elderly chic, which is recreated in beautiful, forgotten techniques, such as crochet. MIMI, for spring/summer 2012, is wonderfully cheeky. Inspired by suburban bakeries, Vidas has created a range of clothes, featuring bright shapes – such as hearts or polka dots – on a white background.

The British capital clearly made its impression on Vidas as well.

“I love London,” she enthuses. “There is so much going on; the people are diverse and there is an interesting mix of social layers,” she says. “The culture is open-minded. I find it all inspiring.”

But being a designer demands a feeling for current trends, and she gives me her predictions for winter: “Skirts will be very important – and femininity,” she says. “I see an outfit composed of a midi-length pencil skirt and an oversized knitted jumper.”

She adds that men’s jackets with wide cuts will feature highly too, as well as cheerful colours, like vivid orange or red.

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The tunes were described as “jaunty in a Celtic barroom kind of way” by music reviewer Paul Lester in The Guardian. “I’m never consciously trying to make songs sound a certain way,” she says, adding that she was not influenced by Scottish folk music, as many people think. On the contrary, she loves bands like Oasis and The Libertines – but insists you should never be “a carbon copy of everything you listen to.”

The natural performer Thanks to the success of her music, Macdonald spends a lot of time on the road. Around the release of Life in a Beautiful Light she was busy doing promotional work across Europe. Being interviewed by one journalist after another “makes [her] want to bang [her] head against the wall,” because it means repeatedly answering the same questions. “You’re lucky because you’re the first of the day,” she jokes with a giggle.

As for the highlights of the job, Vidas loves the beginning and end of the design process. She enjoys finding inspiration for first ideas and putting them down on paper (she sketches in biro). Finally, after months of hard work, she revels in people’s enthusiasm for the finished result.

“But the commercial part of design can be hard,” she says. “All eyes are on you, if it’s your own label. And as a designer, your view is different to the audience’s.” She admits it can be difficult to accept their opinion, whether they like a design or not.

So unsure was she of her skills in 2010, she deleted her online entry for the Swiss Federal Design Award a few minutes before deadline (only to be entered, and subsequently win, because her boyfriend uploaded it again).

Of her plans for the future, she says modestly, “I hope to be able to make a living from fashion – and to keep having as much luck as I have had so far.” But, look at any of her designs, and it becomes apparent that her success has little to do with luck. And the tape measure slung around her shoulders is a reminder that, despite the sunny day, she is working very hard.

Fact file

Sara Vidas founded her fashion studio in Zurich in 2010.

She was part of the Beijing international design triennial 2011.

She had her debut show at Paris Fashion Week in March 2011 with her autumn/winter 2011/2012 collection, KIKI. In September, she again showed at Paris Fashion Week: this time, with her spring/summer 2012 collection MIMI.

Where to buy

Sara Vidas’ designs are available at Antwerp boutique Ra: www.ra13.be Order online at: www.saravidas.ch

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Then, there are the festivals. This summer, she has already performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival (29 June) and upcoming, among others, are T in the Park in the United Kingdom (7 July) and Summerdays in Arbon, Switzerland (25 August). The voice she belts out on stage is so at odds with her delicate bone structure and slim frame, but the package works. She thrives on live performances – her favourite aspect of life as a musician. “It is the moment when the song is truly complete,” she says. Before a concert, she feels excitement rather than nerves. “I have read that so many people make themselves sick before they go on stage.

That wouldn’t be a pleasant existence for me.”

When on stage, she chats to her audience, musing that it is not very personal to go through a whole show without saying a word.

At Zermatt Unplugged in April, she joked with the crowd: “I love Switzerland. But the one thing I hate is that you all speak

different languages. I like to try to speak the local [language], but you come to Switzerland and you’re like, what is the local [language]?” Her comments met with laughter.

“People say they really like it when I talk to them,” she admits.

Indeed, her Scottish accent is lilting and lovely – it is the kind of voice you can listen to without registering anything for five minutes. “But I think I can be difficult to understand. I know when the audience can’t understand, because I’ll tell a joke and there will be silence!”

Love of Caledonia I wonder if she ever misses home, while flitting across the continent. “You always miss your home and your family and friends,” she says. “But I’m very lucky that I’m close to my band and crew, so I feel like I’ve got my own little family with me.”

Macdonald’s mother’s view is that if her daughter ever needs her, she will be there. In the meantime, she doesn’t want to impose herself. “She wants me to have memories of my own,” Macdonald smiles.

When Macdonald has time off, she returns to her home in Glasgow, where she had a “brilliant” upbringing. While there, she enjoys “an ordinary, normal life” and insists, “I have the same friends that I had when I was at school. N othing seems to have changed that much.”

Five years since she came under the spotlight, she reiterates, “I want people to know me for my music rather than [the] shoes I was wearing.” She is certainly still fulfilling this goal… but one thing is for sure, you should keep your eyes open next time you are at the cinema. You never know who might be sitting behind you.

Her life changed when, aged 17, she responded to an advert in NME magazine, stating: ‘new record company; all singers and songwriters send in your demos.’ The new company was Melodramatic Records and, behind it, were Erasmus and her husband Pete Wilkinson (who previously worked with Paolo Nutini). “I was really impressed by Amy’s unique, beautiful voice, her clear talent as a songsmith and her humility,” remembers Wilkinson. “I believed from the day we met her that she had the potential to sell millions of albums.”

Macdonald signed a production deal and subsequently travelled around London with Wilkinson (now her manager), being “wined and dined” by different record labels. Four major labels made offers and Macdonald, who had a place at Strathclyde University, thought: “I’m still young. If this all falls through, I can go back to university.” She signed with Mercury/Vertigo and states modestly: “If I hadn’t picked up that magazine, I probably would not be here at this moment.”

Lyrics of life Her first album, This Is The Life, went into the British charts at number two in July 2007 and hit the top spot shortly thereafter.

It was the tenth best-selling release of 2008 in Britain and charted at number one in five countries. A Curious Thing, released in 2010, has sold over a million copies worldwide.

What is the secret of Macdonald’s success? “Lots of people have said that I’m authentic and not gimmicky,” she says of her popularity. Indeed, there is an inherent honesty to her music.

Many songs on Life In A Beautiful Light, which was released in June and immediately hit number one in the German charts and number two in the U.K. charts, capture the emotions of events that have touched Macdonald. “I had time at home,” she says about writing the album. “I had so much inspiration and so many things to write about that people could relate to.”

‘Slow It Down’ is about her love of driving fast cars. Meanwhile, the hauntingly lovely ‘Left That Body Long Ago’ deals with the agony of Alzheimer disease, which affected Macdonald’s grandmother before her death. And ‘4th Of July’ contains all the joy of a childhood holiday to America on Independence Day. “When I feel inspired by something, I go and get my guitar,” she says. If the inspiration is vivid, she will concoct the piece within 25 minutes.

Her compositions are lively, catchy and sing along – for this she credits Wilkinson, who is “brilliant at building up [the melodies].”

Awards

Albums

2007 This Is The Life 2010 A Curious Thing 2012 Life In A Beautiful Light

2007 Silver Clef Award – Best Newcomer 2008 Daily Record – Scottish Person of the Year 2009 Swiss Music Awards – Best International Album and Best International Song 2009 Echo Awards – Best Newcomer International, Best International Female and Single of the Year 2009 NRJ Music Awards – International Album of the Year and International Revolution of the Year 2010 Tartan Clef Awards – Best Album 2011 Echo Awards – Best International Rock/Pop Female 2011 Swiss Music Awards – Best International Album Rock/Pop

Information

info@melodramaticrecords.com www.amymacdonald.co.uk

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1. Welcome back to Zurich. Do you have good memories of the city?

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Yes, I have great memories. Throughout the years, I have toured through different cities in Switzerland, Zurich being one of them, and I have always been very well received. People have been very cool, very polite and I have felt really well taken care of.

2. You are in the middle of a tour. What surprises do you have in store for your fans this year?

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The fact that my band and I are playing with Mötley Crüe is a surprise in itself! I haven’t done any concerts with them since 1988, but have been good friends with Nikki [Sixx, bass], Tommy [Lee, drums] and the others for years. It’s going to be a pretty interesting pairing. It will be a proper hard rock show. We will continue on from where we left off after our last tour and record. [Last time,] we did a whole year of touring to introduce the new band. [This time,] we will cover some Guns N’ Roses, some Velvet Revolver, some songs from the first solo album – and we will be playing all the new stuff. We play Basel now and then we may be back in Switzerland in October or November.

3. Are there any differences between fans in the United States and fans in Europe?

Slash

QUESTIONS WITH

By Christos & Christos

There are huge differences between American and European audiences – and huge differences between various countries.

People look at things differently and have different ways of appreciating things. Audiences in the United States are great but less appreciative than European crowds, who really value a good live show. I like travelling through Europe, because rock ‘n’ roll is still very much alive here and people consider it a little bit more special.

4. Tell us about your new album Apocalyptic Love.

I met Myles [Kennedy] during the last record, Slash. We wrote two songs together and discovered a strong creative chemistry.

When we then went on tour together, I realised that as well as sharing this great collaborative energy, we worked really well together on stage. We were an amazing band and I thought – why not do my next album with them? And so I started writing while we were still on the road. I would give my ideas to Myles and he would come up with a melody – we did this for the entire tour and by the end of it, the album was basically done! Back home, we got together with Brent [Fitz] and Todd [Kerns]. We finalised all the songs, rehearsed and recorded them.

5. Do you have a favourite song on the album?

When British-American musician and songwriter Saul Hudson aka Slash joined Guns N’ Roses as lead guitarist at the age of 19 in 1985, little did he know that one day he would become a guitar hero of his generation. Penning one hard rock anthem after the next, the band achieved worldwide success in the 1980s and 1990s, and was recently honoured with a place in the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2002, the superstar with the lion hair co-founded the group Velvet Revolver, before engaging in his first solo project in 2010. Following on from his debut solo album Slash, Hudson and his band released their second album Apocalyptic Love featuring Myles Kennedy (vocals), Brent Fitz (drums) and Todd Kerns (bass) on 22 May 2012.

We meet Slash ahead of his concert with Mötley Crüe at Basel’s St. Jakobshalle for a little tête-à-tête.

· Martina Hingis · Griesbach · bs · No y ph de ra au og Cl ape phot Macdonald · spots · Landsc ic · Slash · Amy cn pi & s ke ivals · La · Summer fest

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When you do a traditional rock record featuring a lot of material, you are really close to the entire body of work, so you don’t really have a favourite song. Having said that, one song that I think really reflects the good writing relationship between Myles and I, is ‘No More Heroes’. It was a collaborative effort from the beginning – I wrote a verse, an intro, a bridge; then Myles wrote a chorus on the guitar. When we put our ideas together, it turned into an amazing song. This is what showed me that we have a really special relationship.

6. Who was your biggest influence in music?

When I was a kid growing up, there was tons of music around.

Mostly rock ‘n’ roll, but also a lot of blues and classic. The bands of the 60s and 70s had a big influence on me – The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Kinks. When I was a teenager, I was big into Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy – the list of bands that had an impact on me is endless!

7. What do you think makes you so successful?

I am very tenacious. I have been through a lot of ups and downs, but I just kept on hanging in there. I think people really appreciate it when you are really making honest music that’s sincere. My music comes from the heart. It is pretty well known now that I am a rock ‘n’ roll guy. I have always been – I just always try to get better and have a good time. People seem to pick up on that.

8. What do you think about the big changes that the music industry has gone through since the 1980s, such as the move from CDs to music downloads?

This development has definitely changed the entire landscape of the music industry, but I saw it coming in the 1990s – unstoppable like a freight train. But modern convenience is what it is. You cannot really stop it. It’s a click of a button.

Unfortunately, the record industry was in complete denial about the reality of it – that it would take over the entire industry – but it did. I can see both sides. I remember the days of LPs and cassettes – in fact, one of my favourite eras were the days of analogue music, LPs… but I adjusted to CDs and appreciated the convenience. It is nice to be able to listen to your music in your car or on your laptop. I think the only thing that is really missing in this iTunes generation now, is the attachment to the package – the actual presentation of the album. You just move your cursor to a certain point and click, there no longer is the same emotion attached to it. It doesn’t feel like you just bought something really special and meaningful… but on the whole, you cannot argue with this development. It is what it is. And I still play my old CDs.

9. A few words on rock ‘n’ roll, politics and religion I have my own personal opinions on politics, but I don’t mix them with my professional life. I am not a political advocate on stage. Rock ‘n’ roll – in reality – is just a label, but to me it means much more than three words. To me, it is an attitude. It stands for freedom of expression, for anarchy. It is about being an individual and doing what you want, no matter what everybody else says. I just love the whole concept of it. As for religion – I am not a religious guy. I was born Catholic, but I don’t adhere to organised religion. I have my own little beliefs here and there – but that doesn’t mean that they are always true. I am flexible and open-minded when it comes to religion.

10. What do rock stars do after a gig?

The main thing you do after a show – and it’s been like this throughout my entire career – is wind down. The amount of energy that you put into a live performance – especially into the kind of shows that I do – makes your adrenaline level soar really high so afterwards, you really need to calm down. Sometimes, this can take two hours and after that, I don’t want to hear anything... I just want to chill.

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By Emily Mawson

© Bruno Alder

Freitag’s flagship store looks like it would topple, if you flicked it with your finger. Teetering above the trendy Zurich-West area, it consists of 19 freight containers piled upon one another. Inside, the industrial theme continues. Bright bags with bold designs peep from a mosaic of floor-to-ceiling drawers. The colourful tarpaulins the bags are made from evoke images of lorries roaring along motorways.

It is the bags’ smell that really reveals their trucking heritage: when you enter the store, an overwhelming rubbery scent fills your nostrils. While Freitag bags have become a modern fashion cult in Switzerland, their origins honour an ‘out with the old, in with the old ’ way of thinking.

Two brothers and a tarp “Our parents showed us how compost works,” says Markus Freitag, who founded the bag company alongside brother Daniel.

“We collected trash and old bicycle parts and made things from it.” The siblings’ ideas about re-developing waste were cemented during a family holiday to India, where they observed how very few resources and raw materials could be employed in production and manufacture.

Markus smiles as he tells me about the start of their creative journey in 1993. “We were looking for water resistant bags, which were unavailable in Zurich at the time,” the 42-year-old designer remembers. When he cycled to a nearby trucking company looking for some old tarpaulin to make these bags, he was met with incredulous looks.

Undeterred, the then-visual design student did not leave empty handed. At home, the bathtub became a makeshift industrial washing machine and the brothers set about finding a durable sewing machine for the tough material. “That was the first – and in a way the biggest – investment,” Markus sighs. While admitting the first bag prototype was “not very beautiful or useful,” he saw potential in the tarp.

He surprised staff at the industrial zone when he returned a few days later for more raw material, and the bag’s design developed to include bicycle inner tubes and seatbelts. Not “afraid of trial and error,” the brothers learnt on the job.

“Friends began to ask about the prototype [a messenger bag called F13 Top Cat] and that’s how it all started,” Markus

explains in his endearingly soft voice. “There was no business plan and no money. The biggest challenge was just to get the material and do the handiwork.”

Friday’s child As the brothers acquired more tarp, the F13 Top Cat gained descendents. Today, Freitag’s FUNDAMENTALS line features 40 models – each one unique – including a F12 Dragnet with gold stars and a sunshine yellow F52 Miami Vice. Distinctly ‘grungy’ with their seat-belt straps and plastic buckles, the bags range in style from the recognisable messenger to shopper to iPad sleeve. Markus reveals that 30 to 40 bags can be made from one tarpaulin, with production lasting between two and three months.

The chicer side of tarpaulin revealed itself in 2010 in Freitag’s seasonal REFERENCE collection: it is like the porcelain ‘girl next door’ beside the acne-ridden teenager. Markus describes the elegant bags (in yellow, red and white) as “intellectual” Freitag bags, because they are supposed to represent the role of a literal “messenger.” I ask if the feminine designs are an attempt to attract a different audience. “We are working more with classical

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© Peter Würmli

Five steps to a Freitag bag Truck tarpaulins must be replaced every five to

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1 eight years; Freitag pillages the unwanted ones 2 Straps, eyes and damaged materials are removed 3 The tarps are cleaned in special washing machines pieces are cut by hand from the tarps using a sharp 4 Pattern utility knife

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sections, bike inner tubes and seat belts are sewn together 5 Tarp using industrial sewing machines, each to create a unique design

© Courtesy of Freitag

© Bruno Alder

styles,” admits Markus. “But [as in the FUNDAMENTALS line] almost every bag is unisex.”

The Freitag brothers, Markus (seated) and Daniel

© Stefan Rappo

Freitag is so popular it has spawned copycat products. One of the most successful was Donnerstag (Thursday), launched by supermarket empire Migros in 1997. “It’s always a good sign, when people start to copy you,” laughs Markus. “Migros only does copies of really good, original products. Anyway, there is no better copy than the original,” he adds wryly.

Covetable enough for copies, but Markus insists Freitag is anything but fashionable. “We have our own definition of fashion,” he says. “We work with old tarp, which is different to the fashion industry, where you make new look old.”

Looks aside, Freitag has an inherent honesty, too. “We want people to pay for good quality,” insists Markus and admits that for him – as a perfectionist – nothing ever seems good enough.

Quality control comes in the form of brotherly love. “Daniel is [interested in] details, whereas I prefer to get an overview, work with people and bring in staff with new skills,” he adds. “We call each other to get the other’s opinion – which is good for the quality, because we challenge each other.”

“The bags are individual because of the way we produce them,” Markus continues, “The factory is here, and that is different to

other brands.” Freitag bags are washed, cut, stored, packaged and dispatched in Zurich, where the brothers grew up. “It’s difficult to get away, because it’s so comfortable here.”

Logistically, it makes sense, too: the truck tarps they use come from all over Europe.

© Courtesy of Freitag © Bruno Alder

On y’er bike Freitag’s factory is called NOERD and named after its location in the NOrth of Zurich – in OERlikon – and its 115 staff. “The name is also about the people working here: the freaks and the nerds,” says Markus lovingly. The company moved into the 7,500 square metres factory in 2011 – a vast improvement on the 80 square metres they started with in 1993.

Completely self-sufficient, the factory reveals the Freitag brothers’ compassion for the environment. Rainwater collects in a huge underground tank and the tarps are then washed in it. Meanwhile hot, used water goes into exchangers to heat the rainwater and the cycle begins again. “If you think about working in cycles, you don’t have to save,” explains Markus.

“It’s the way nature works.”

Markus doesn’t have a car – or even a driving licence. “I like to go by train or bicycle,” he smiles. “I think it’s really good to travel and [at the same time] read, talk or work.” This philosophy extends to Freitag company culture. “We encourage our staff to

bike to work,” Markus continues. “We have wardrobes and bike stands in the offices, so you can hang your bicycle next to your jacket.”

Out of the bag

Discover Freitag

FREITAG – Out of the Bag will be held at the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich from 4 April to 29 July 2012 www.museum-gestaltung.ch www.freitag.ch

Freitag’s commercial success – the company is regarded as a model of the Swiss creative industry – is now being documented in an exhibition entitled Out of the Bag at Zurich’s Museum für Gestaltung. Curator Renate Menzi says, “The company started ‘out of a bag’ in 1993, because the brothers began with one product rather than a business model.”

That one product – the F13 Top Cat – is available to view in the exhibition. “It’s funny about the number,” laughs Markus.

“Maybe 13 is in a way lucky – because of Friday!” He stifles another chuckle as he tells me about the challenge for Menzi in setting up the exhibition: “Normally exhibitions are about dead designers. Freitag was developing faster than she could investigate us!”

The exhibition uncovers how Freitag connects corporate design to product design. “We think it is interesting to have designers as leaders in companies with a design output,” says Menzi. “In most companies, the design department is outsourced or controlled by marketing.”

Inside Freitag • Freitag was founded in 1993, when graphic designers

Markus and Daniel Freitag created a functional, water resistant and robust bag for their designs: the first Freitag bag • Freitag has two bag lines: FUNDAMENTALS, which has around

40 models, and REFERENCE, with seasonal collections Markus agrees: “I think the big impact of Freitag is not our company, but the way we do it. Daniel and I can still develop whatever we want.” He explains that he and his brother still wear Freitag bags every day; they do not have to work for shareholders; and they re-work design drafts again and again searching for even better products. “I hope young designers will be able to pick up the way we think,” he continues.

• Freitag employs 130 staff (115 of whom work in Zurich) and

As Markus smiles at the memories the exhibition has evoked, I wonder whether there is a limit on the amount of designs you can concoct from tarpaulin. “I think it’s a big playground,” he replies adamantly. “There are still a lot of bags – not in the collection, but in our minds!”

• The company has won awards including Distinction in the

produces approximately 300,000 products per year in NOERD • To ensure longevity and sustainability, Freitag takes 50 per

cent of the heat for its factory from waste power plants, has a roof garden for insulation and uses hydro-and solar electricity • Annually, Freitag uses 390 tons of truck tarpaulins, 36,000

bicycle inner tubes and 80,000 car seat belts • Freitag has nine stores and over 400 retail partners worldwide

1997 Design Preis Schweiz and the Golden Pencil at the 2007 D&AD Global Awards in the category Environmental Design/ Retail & Services, and Merit in the 2011 Design Preis Schweiz © Nadja Schmid and Linda Suter

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All photos © Robert Bösch

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A carpenter by trade, the man with crystal-clear blue eyes from Langnau in Emmental had a conventional life mapped out in front of him. But he was destined for greater things. Deep within him burnt a passion for adventure and, one day, it would make him one of the very best alpinists in the world – and one of the fastest. base camp quickly, he would die. “The most important thing is to have a strategy to get out of the situation you are in. I had to think clearly and get down the mountain as quickly as possible,” recalls Steck. With great difficulty, the experienced mountaineer dragged himself back to base camp – with a concussion and covered in bruises.

Think Alpine Spiderman and you get an idea of the agility and staggering velocity with which Ueli Steck takes on some of the highest and most challenging peaks in the world. It is fitting that his ‘house mountain’ should be the notorious 3,970-metre Eiger, whose merciless north face has claimed at least sixty lives since 1935 and has been nicknamed Eigermordwand (Eiger murderous wall). Together with a friend, Steck completed his first ascent of the face at the age of eighteen. The feat, which had been preceded by months of tireless preparation, was a momentous achievement for the young alpinist: “There is so much history to this place and it was such a big dream for us...

I remember just how proud we were, when we reached the top.

We thought: ‘now we are real climbers!’”

A year later, as he was preparing for his second attempt, fellow alpinist Inaki Ochoa de Olza was not so lucky. Steck and his colleague Simon Anthamatten rushed to the Spaniard’s rescue at 7,400 altitude metres, but were unable to save him. These are sobering experiences.

The man ibex

Going it alone

“I don’t believe people are lucky or unlucky. I believe that we are all responsible for making our own luck,” Ueli Steck

Steck’s passion started when a family friend took him out climbing for a day at the age of twelve. Inspired by the experience, the boy quickly abandoned his childhood past time of ice hockey, the sport his brothers were hooked on. “I preferred climbing, because it is so simple. There are clear rules and strict boundaries. You don’t rely on anyone else. If you don’t reach the top, it’s your own fault.” This fed the competitive streak in Steck, who was always eager to seek out new challenges and to push himself to the limit.

Man of the

Yet, as ambitious as he was, the young climber was also a realist – and he was realistic enough to know that the passion he had chosen was unlikely to ever put bread on his table. After all, in the history of alpinism, only few had ever succeeded in living the dream on a full-time basis. And so he pursued a career in carpentry and lived from hand to mouth for many years, just so that he could finance his next vertical adventure.

mountain

By Carina Scheuringer

However, dreams die hard – and after a decade-long battle of heart over head, frivolity eventually took the better of him. In 2003, a 31-year-old Steck put aside his reservations and became a professional alpinist.

Living life to the full his mind, master of his body; his face, the image of pure concentration. It is as if someone has pressed fast-forward – and, before you know it, it is all over and David has come out on top.

Three years later, Steck was a ‘world champion’. He had discovered speed climbing and, reaching the top of the Eiger north face in a mere 3 hours 54 minutes, had clocked a new record. But the man, who competes only against himself, knew that he could do even better. “It was too easy. I knew, I hadn’t reached my limit and wanted to try and see what I could really do,” Steck justifies his decision to challenge the great Eiger once again in 2008. He was keen to find out how much faster he could be, if he shed some weight and climbed entirely without aid. Four kilos lighter in bodyweight and with five less kilos of baggage to slow him down, Steck free-climbed the Nordwand at a new record of 2 hours 47 minutes that very February. This silenced even his last critics, who had questioned whether the alpinist had used existing fixed ropes during his first speed ascent – a routine practice. The following May, the sportsman was presented with the inaugural Eiger Award for his outstanding achievements.

“Climbing is a school for life – you have to make decisions and take responsibility for them. The result is immediate.” Steck describes another facet of his passion, before turning to its darker side. “Climbing can put you in real danger and if you constantly live life on the edge, you are going to die one day. It is important to know exactly what the risks are and how to manage them. You have to take climbing seriously.” This is why the native Emmentaler plans each venture meticulously and is as prepared as he possibly can be every time. He loves control and structure – “like a typical Swiss German,” he laughs. Even his bodyweight is never an accident. Steck follows a strict nutrition regime, depending on whether he needs to lose or gain weight for any given venture.

A video of the historic climb shows a speedy Steck traverse the diminishing ice-fields with the light-footedness of an ibex. Fast and confident, he pushes on, as if it were a walk in the park. As the camera zooms out, the climber is merely a dot on a perpendicular wall of rock and ice – David against Goliath. But undeterred, the underdog blitzes hundreds of metres in altitude;

However, even the best preparation can never protect you completely. The Annapurna, a Himalayan mountain fraught with danger, could have easily taken Steck’s life in May 2007, when he was hit on the head by a falling rock. After a period of unconsciousness, the climber awoke 200 metres below where he had fallen, fully aware that if he didn’t make it back down to

Taught by nature

“But you have to move on,” says Steck. “One of the greatest challenges in life is to make the most of the little time you have. To do so, you need to keep on moving forward and to cherish every moment – those who live in the past, are dead.

And you never know what tomorrow will bring!” The sportsman is well aware that one day, he will no longer be able to push his body as hard he does now, but then “I won’t have any regrets. I will have lived my life to the full. And when it comes to it, I am sure I will find a new challenge.”

For now, he is still a man on an Alpine mission. But already, his list of achievements is long, including everything from a free climb of the ‘Golden Gate Route’ at El Capitan to bold speed climbs and solos in the Alps and Canadian Rockies. On his current wish list are the world’s fourteen 8,000-metre peaks.

Since 2009, he has already bagged the Gasherbum II in Pakistan, the Makalu in Nepal and the Shisha Pangma in Tibet.

It is a sign of more exciting things to come for the alpinist.

“What is it like to be living the dream?” I ask. “I don’t have to wait for the weekend or for the evening to do what I love.

Every time I climb, it’s like a holiday,” he says. And I believe every word of it.

Information

www.uelisteck.ch

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special

JAM SESSION WITH

By Christos & Christos

Famous for their song, ‘Everybody Changes’, Keane’s mix of alternative rock and iridescent pop has found great resonance in Switzerland, where both of their most recent albums debuted in the top ten of the national charts. On 4 May 2012, the Brit Award winners released their much-anticipated new album, Strangeland – eight years after their hit debut album Hopes and Fears and two years after their mini-LP Night Train. Recorded at Tim Rice-Oxley’s Sea Fog Studios, the new album represents a return to the artists’ roots in East Sussex. “In many respects, it feels like the completion of a circle. On the album, you have songs that draw upon the experiences we used to share as kids, growing up in Battle. You can never really go back, of course. […] Once in a while though, after a good day, we’ll go to the local pub and talk about everything and nothing until it’s time to go home. Whatever it is that makes us Keane – that invisible glue – is still there. And you can hear it all over Strangeland,” says drummer Richard Hughes.

We meet Richard Hughes and fellow team member and childhood friend Tim Rice-Oxley (piano and backing vocals) just before the release of Strangeland during a private ‘jam session’ in the Plaza in Zurich.

All photos © Courtesy of Keane/Alex Lake

Congratulations on your new expect from Strangeland?

album. What can we

Tim Rice-Oxley: We were determined to make a really great album and so we took our time to write the songs, rehearse them and refine them, to try and make them perfect – or as close as we could get them to being perfect. The result is a very emotional album. Strangeland is about our lives, about where we are in our lives. It looks at where we have come from, and where we are going. [It asks] whether we are happy, what we have lost and what we have gained along the way; [it looks] at what happens when you really are chasing a dream. It really is an album about being human and about being half way along the road. Trying to put that into words is quite difficult. Each song is like a little chapter in a story, [like a part of] a journey.

What inspired your new album?

Richard Hughes: Tim writes all the songs. ‘Strangeland’ and a song called ‘Sovereign Light Café’ really set the tone for the heart of the record that Tim just described. These songs really tap into something quite reflective, but are also quite optimistic.

I don’t think we could have made this record had we not been through the process of making the previous three records plus our mini-LP. In a way, with Strangeland, we are looking backwards and forwards at the same time – and, I guess, [doing that] is a good thing once in a while.

Do you have a favourite song on the album?

Richard Hughes: This is a hard question to answer. My favourite song seems to change a lot!

Tim Rice-Oxley: My favourite song is ‘Sea Fog’; it’s very quiet.

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It’s one of the very few sad songs on the album, which as Richard says has a lot of optimism and a sense of determination and resilience. However, I like ‘Sea Fog’, because it flows beautifully and I am very proud with what we have achieved with it.

What are your plans following the release of your album?

Tim Rice-Oxley: Going on tour... there already seems to be a lot of excitement around the new album. [Taking it around the globe] will take us months, which is great – it is what you are supposed to do as a band! I feel that we are very lucky that people are still interested in what we are doing and that we still have the opportunity to go on tour.

Richard Hughes: We like the idea of making a record and then touring it around the world, which is quite an old-fashioned way of doing things. A lot of people just do promotions nowadays and then get on TV and make videos, but we actually like to go out and play our songs to people.

You have a new band member with Jesse Quin on bass guitar. Why did you choose to go from three to four?

Richard Hughes: We have known Jesse since 2004 and he has been working with us since 2007. He was part of us anyway and it was strange for him not to have an equal part in the band.

So we just asked him, whether he wanted to join [us as a team member] – we are very pleased that he said yes. We don’t have quite as long of a history with Jesse [as we do with each other], but he grew up in quite a similar town to us – and, like us, he has music coursing through his veins.

Do you see your work as entertainment or as serving an informative role?

Richard Hughes: I don’t think we ever really think of it in those terms, but I guess we want our music to speak to people. Our

music has a lot of heart and a lot of honesty. We always hope that people will be able to relate to our songs in a certain way – after all, that’s when music is at its best! At the same time, we love getting up on stage and getting people to sing along and have a really good night out.

Beatles and U2. I remember listening to Oasis, Pulp, Radiohead and watching them evolve. The Brit Pop bands were certainly a huge influence on us. I saw Paul Simon last year and it was definitely on my list of ten things I wanted to do in my life – in everyone’s life, there should be one of those things.

When did you first start writing songs and playing music?

What do you hope to inspire through your music?

Tim Rice-Oxley: I started writing songs when I was twelve years old and I can still remember the first two. One was called ‘Refrained’ – and the other one’s lyrics kept on changing... but both of those songs were not too bad actually.

Richard Hughes: I can still remember ‘Refrained’!

Tim Rice-Oxley: I started with two really good songs and then I had about ten years of writing complete rubbish... we played our first gig in 1998 and were really scared. We came from this tiny town and the idea of going to London and playing in front of a huge crowd was very intimidating – and we were pretty bad although we had some good songs. But however messy your first gig is, it’s just an amazing feeling; it is such a rush – and then you are addicted to it forever. We are still here 14 years later – and we are still addicted to it.

Who has been your greatest inspiration along the way?

Richard Hughes: You get something from every piece of music you listen to. I remember listening to a lot of Paul Simon, the

Tim Rice-Oxley: I think we are quite 1970s; I think it’s like a Laurel Canyon Hippie philosophy... that spirit of peace and love.

I think in order to write good songs, you have to have a lot of empathy for other people, a love of humanity and a lot of passion. Most of our songs are full of love and emotion. I think the best thing we can do is to really inspire people to try and be positive and fill the world with love for other people. That’s how music has inspired us. It makes you reflect. The music that we heard as teenagers made us want to say something to the world, made us think about who we wanted to be and decided that it was musicians – you know rather than thinking ‘all I want is to make money’ and go and work in the City. Music made us think that maybe there is a bit more than that to life. And if our music inspires people to think about themselves, to think about the world and to think about others, that would be amazing. I love it when I hear people tell us what our music has meant to them; when a song of ours has changed the way they feel about themselves or about someone else. I think these are just special little things.

About Keane

Band: Tim Rice-Oxley (piano, backing vocals), Tom Chaplin (lead vocals, guitar), Richard Hughes (drums, percussion) and Jesse Quin (bass guitar, percussion) Records: Hopes and Fears (2004), Under the Iron Sea (2006) and Perfect Symmetry (2008) Strangeland, Universal Music, was released on 4 May in Switzerland. It was produced in collaboration with Dan Grech (e.g. The Vaccines, Lana Del Rey).

Keane is planning to tour Switzerland this autumn. www.keanemusic.com

Sanitas Troesch AG, Zürich

QUARTALS-NEWSLETTER

April 2011

Volltreffer

Führend wenn es um moderne Badezimmer geht

QUARTALS-NEWSLETTER

Topmoderne Ausstellungskonzepte und Ausstellungen sind das

Training

zentrale Marketinginstrument der Sanitas Troesch AG – und die

Mentales Training

Showrooms des Marktleaders gehören denn auch zu den besten der Schweiz. Neben einem Spektrum ausgewählter Lieferanten für alle Bereiche der Badeinrichtung und -ausstattung bietet Sanitas Troesch vor allem eines: Qualität von der Beratung bis zu Lieferung und Montage. Seit bald 100 Jahren steht Sanitas Troesch für diese Werte, für Fachkompetenz und Sicherheit. Darauf kann man bauen.

Badausstellung als Inspirationsquelle In den Ausstellungen von Sanitas Troesch sind stets die neusten

bis zum Regenhimmel können sich Bauherren und Planer zum Bei-

Kollektionen der national und international führenden Marken

spiel in der Sanitas Troesch Ausstellung in Zürich ein aktuelles Bild

zu finden: von Sanitärkeramik über Armaturen bis hin zu Einrich-

über das Angebot und die Möglichkeiten machen. Man kann

tungsprogrammen und Accessoires. Innenarchitektinnen planen

sogar die Unterschiede testen und spüren: Zahlreiche Duschen

die Ausstellungsbäder und geben damit Inspirationen und Ide-

haben Wasseranschluss!

en für die individuelle Badplanung. Die neusten Keramikplatten,

Bei Sanitas Troesch taucht man ein in neue Sphären und wird

gekonnter Farb- und Material-Mix, Lichtkonzepte und Ausstat-

überrascht sein, wie sehr Komfort, Funktionalität und Design das

tungsdetails sind jeweils ein zeitgemässer Spiegel der Gestal-

Bad von heute bestimmen. Ein Besuch ist allemal ein Erlebnis.

Im Fokus

Drei Trends im Bad Die Vereinigung Deutsche Sanitärwirtschaft e.V. hat auch zur diesjährigen ISH mit «Pop up my bathroom» wieder die wichtigsten Trends in der Erlebniswelt Bad vorgestellt. Waren es 2009 noch 10 Trends, die dabei formuliert wurden, sind es 2011 deren drei.

tungstrends. Dabei findet man sich ausgezeichnet zurecht: Vom Standardbad für Mietwohnungen bis zum exklusiven Designbad sind die entsprechenden Angebote und Planungsbeispiele in einzelnen Bereichen zusammengefasst. Das erleichtert die Auswahl und schafft auf Anhieb Transparenz. Neu gehört die «Showerworld» dazu, die eine gut assortierte Übersicht über die private

Sanitas Troesch AG, Hardturmstrasse 101, 8005 Zürich

Wellnessoase Nummer 1 gibt: die Dusche. Von der Handbrause

Tel. 044 446 10 10, www.sanitastroesch.ch

PR, BADEWELTEN

Pamela Weisshaupt trainiert konzentriert für den Wettbewerb nicht nur ihre Muskeln, sondern vor allem auch ihre mentale Stärke. Mentales Training ist äusserst wirksam und eignet sich zur Verbesserung der Leistungsfähigkeit und Motivation, zur Aneignung spezieller Techniken und Strategien, zur Erreichung von Zielen. Eine gute Sache also auch für den Alltag, fürs Geschäftsleben und überhaupt für vieles im Leben. An der letzten GV hat Pamela Weisshaupt sehr sympathisch von ihrem Training erzählt. Ein wichtiges Thema war dabei das Setzen von Zielen. Denn erst, wenn man genau und konkret weiss, was man will, kann man sich ein Bild, eine Vorstellung davon machen. Und dies ist zentral für das mentale Training: Durch Vorstellungsübungen stellt man sich im Geiste vor, wie man in bestimmten Situationen denken, handeln und fühlen möchte. Je öfter man diese Situation durchspielt und bewusst übt, umso mehr prägt sich das gewünschte Verhalten im Unterbewusstsein ein, und umso greifbarer wird das Ergebnis. Ausmalen, wie man gewinnt, ist der erste Schritt zum Ziel – das gilt auch für die tägliche Verkaufsarbeit.

Trend 1: Bathroom Interior – das Bad als ganzheitliches Raumkonzept.

Trend 2: Easy Bathroom (bereits 2009) – macht allen das Leben leichter, auch Senioren.

Trend 3: Green Bathroom (bereits 2009) – zeichnet sich durch Nachhaltigkeit aus.

Bathroom Interior beschreibt das neue Bild vom Bad: Die rechteckige Box mit an der Wand aufgereihten Ausstattungen ist definitiv überholt. Ganzheitliche Badkonzepte stehen im Mittelpunkt, die den Raum innenarchitektonisch gliedern. Das Bad wird zum Zimmer mit unterschiedlichen Zonen, die der Hygiene, dem Styling oder der Regeneration dienen können. Illustriert wurden die Trends mit Fotos, die in ungewöhnlicher Umgebung aufgenommen wurden.

GV 2011

Am 27. April findet die diesjährige GV BadeWelten bei P. + S. Christen, Effretikon, statt – Details folgen von der Geschäftsstelle.

Neuer Auftritt BadeWelten

April 2011 Das Re-Design des BadeWelten Logos und die Anpassung des gesamten Auftrittes haben sich gelohnt und sind auf überaus positives Echo gestossen. Die Modernisierung des bestehenden Erscheinungsbildes sowie die konkrete Angabe unserer Profession als Badarchitekten kam genau zum richtigen Zeitpunkt: Sieht man sich die Trends im Badbereich an, haben wir uns rechtzeitig als ganzheitlich denkende und geschulte Badarchitekten positioniert!

Auftritt Mitglieder Nach und nach wird es höchste Zeit, dass auch die Mitglieder BadeWelten das neue Logo übernehmen und entsprechende Anpassungen vornehmen: Priorität haben die Fahnen! In Kürze sind sie bei der Geschäftsstelle bestellbar – und sorgen für frischen Wind vor Ihrem Geschäftssitz.

Messespiegel

BadeWelten an der OFFA St. Gallen Die 35. Ostschweizer Frühlings- und Trendmesse zeigt an ihren fünf Messetagen eine breite Palette an Neuheiten, Trends und Spezialitäten – darunter in Halle 9/Stand 9.0.071 Badarchitektur vom Besten: von BadeWelten! Über 500 Aussteller füllen vom 13. bis 17. April 2011 die Messehallen mit einem vielfältigen Angebot, das den Streifzug durch die OFFA zu einer spannenden Entdeckungsreise macht. www.offa.ch

Möbelmesse Mailand Der«Salone» in Mailand feiert seinen 50. Geburtstag und präsentiert sich vom 12. bis 17. April in junger Frische. Neben den neuen Möbelkreationen spielt dieses Jahr das Thema Licht eine Hauptrolle: in den Hallen 9, 11, 15, 13 zeigen an der EUROLUCE internationale Labels ihre Neuheiten. www.cosmit.it BadeWelten in den Medien

3,5 Millionen Nein, kein Lottogewinn für BadeWelten – aber ein gewinnendes Ergebnis der Pressearbeit 2009.

Denn in rund 3,5 Mio Exemplaren von Zeitungen, Zeitschriften und Magazinen konnte man BadeWelten in Wort oder Bild im vergangenen Jahr begegnen. Rechnet man die Präsenz über Inserate hinzu, ergibt dies einen stattlichen Beitrag an den Bekanntheitsgrad der Badarchitekten und Badplaner von BadeWelten.

Agenda

Rudertag 2011

NEWSLETTER, BADEWELTEN

Der Rudertag 2010 mit Pamela Weisshaupt musste ja wegen schlechtem Wetter abgesagt werden.

Neu findet er am Samstag, 8. Oktober 2011 statt: Bitte Termin reservieren!

cosmit/Karin Sander

POSTCARD, ZURICH4YOU

POSTCARD, DUELL&DUETT

Kunden: Projekte: Kunden: Projekte:

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i m p r o v e m e n t s

Nicole Collins

Rieterhalde

8498 Gibswil

Tel. 079 582 02 10

www.nccreation.com

San Diego Museum of Art

LOGOS, ICONS

Kunden: Projekte:

Kunden: Projekte:

Laredic, USA , Swissmixer, USA Webseite, Flyer

FLYER LAREDICS

Michelina's, USA / Wines of America, CH / Self Promo Webseite ..

Verpackungen, Broschure, Webseite

PACKAGING MICHELINA’S