A bucket list worthy MOUNTAIN STAY in Lech am Arlberg

Last weekend, I was invited to spend a weekend in Lech, a mountain village I had previously known very little about. Excited for Schnitzel, funny dialects (look who’s talking…) and celeb spotting on the slopes, I quickly learned that the real stars in town were two private chalets overlooking the ski resort, and the same place that I was fortunate (read: spoilt) enough to call home for a few days. To say that I felt like a movie star from start to finish would be an understatement: We’re talking two private houses, 1800m2 and 800m2, with nine and four bedrooms respectively, a spa bigger (and better) than your usual hotel refuge, a staff crew of utterly friendly butlers, chefs (the home made Käsespätzle I shall never forget), spa therapists and drivers, 27/4 congierge service, an outdoor terrace with a steaming jacuzzi, a wine cellar, home cinema, gym, … the list goes on and on (need images to that? Here you go). It’s been three days since I’m back, and I’m still thinking about what exactly my favorite part was. Did I mention the Käsespätzle, though?
thearulachalets.com

Splurging on CUTLERY, or: when you know you’re getting old

Few things make me feel like a proper adult. Getting excited about cutlery is one of them. My interest was sparked sometime last year, when I discovered a set of squiggly spoons, knives and forks in the home of a trendy Danish girl (of course). I found out that they were the product of a highly exclusive collaboration between two Scandinavian jewelry houses, and that they cost a fortune (also: of course). Originally designed by goldsmith Arje Griegst in 1980, it took twenty-two years to put them into production, which was eventually done by silverware expert Georg Jensen. In 2021, the «Spira» collection was re-issued, and needless to say it’s as elegant as ever. Speaking about elegance: If you’re off to browse through the brands’ webshop, make sure to have a look at their fine jewelry, too. My favorite are the «Cosmos and Stardust» creations - simply divine.
griegst.com
© Griegst

A SNACK or a spectacle?
Well, both

Laila Gohar, the woman behind Gohar World, describes her brand as «a dream place where adults wear lace bibs, cauliflowers are candles, and every plate comes with beans». Working at the crossroads of art and food design, the 34-year-old New Yorker has become a household name in the creative scene: She frequently caters the hottest events around the globe (at a Nike dinner, Drake called her «the Björk of food»), sets up mesmerizing installations at Salone del Mobile, has collaborated with Gucci Vault and Hay on exclusive tableware collections and, together with her sister Nadia, recently launched her own brand. The latter is a perfect culmination of surrealist food fantasies: candles that look like cake (I was recently gifted the above «Charlotte» and it’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen), tablecloths with pearly chicken feet, plates with Trompe-l’œil effect, silk baguette bags and egg chandeliers. Gohar World is the things that you never saw coming, and that you never knew you needed.
gohar.world
© Gohar World

A trip down memory lane: PUZZLES for adults

Two years of my life I spent sitting next to a Shirana Shahbazi still life print that was almost as tall as I am: At the time I was working for a Creative Director, and just like everything else, he also preferred the photographs in his office to be larger than life. Fast forward a year, and I find myself sitting on my dining table puzzling my way through an almost identical image by the same artist, trying to fit 1000 pieces together, wondering how I had done it as a kid. But there was a full circle feeling to it: The high-end puzzle was published by Project Moirée, and the woman behind it is a former colleague at the creative office mentioned above. Edition #1 consists of three motives – alongside Shahbazis’s still life, there’s a photograph by Walter Pfeiffer and one by Larissa Hofmann – and once put together, they double as an art piece that can, thanks to a specific print material, be hung up on a wall. Puzzle, CHF 98.–.
projectmoiree.ch
© Project Moirée