East Eats West

Intriguing Swiss-designed hand-made jewelry

Picture: The Swiss jewelry-designer Laetitia (on the right) with her creations.

My friend Laetitia just came back from Bangkok where she participated in a jewelry and gemstones-program after working in the luxury goods industry. Coming from an entrepreneurial Swiss family Laetitia launched her own jewelry line called Laetitia Jewelry. The intrinsicate pieces are made by hand in Thailand by skilled craftsmen under fair-trade conditions.

She launched this week her new Jewelry line in Geneva and sells it through selected retailer in Geneva. She is about to launch her products in L.A. in the near future.

Find out more about here jewelry here: http://www.laetitiajewelry.com/

Picture: Opening of Laetitia's Jewelry exhibition in Geneva.

How the Swiss railway makes customers to shut-up

Picture: A no-noise coach of the Swiss railway.

Many visitors to Switzerland are amazed by how quiet Switzerland can be. Even big cities like Zurich tend to shut down after 10pm, except in certain night-life districts. A good example of how serious we Swiss are with avoiding noise are the “no-noise-coaches” of the national railway. In these specially marked coaches you are not allowed to speak, listen to music or use the mobile phone. No kidding!

The leading car-market in the world

Who are the big car-buyers in the world? Americans, Japanese, Germans? They are in certain ways but do not forget Russia. For example has the Moscow BMW dealer already in May sold his annual quota of cars and the absolute highest numbers of Lamborghinis, Bentleys and Ferraris are sold in Russia.

In a land where people drive tires with spikes during winter-time this might be astonishing. But with Russia’s economy booming and sitting on almost half of the world’s commodities, Russia is getting wealthy quickly. The Russians addiction to branded goods can nowadays also be felt in Swiss towns and jewelry shops. But not only the super rich buy cars, also the developing middle class. Chinese rip-offs of Toyota Landcruisers and RAV4s have a waiting list of six months.

PS: Rare license-plates are auctioned for up to 150’000$.

 

Sharia Law and Malaysia

Malaysia proclaims itself being a modern and advanced Muslim state especially compared to other Muslim nations like Indonesia. Nevertheless is Sharia Law a fact of life for all Muslims in Malaysia. For example can a Muslim man marry a Christian woman but a Christian man cannot marry a Muslim woman without becoming Muslim. This concept is currently under public scrutiny in Malaysia in the case of Lina Joy. Lina Joy, a Muslim woman in Malaysia, wants to become Christian in order to marry her boyfriend. Without a final verdict reached yet it looks unlikely that she is not allowed to convert. Nevertheless, it is an advancement that such cases are publicly discussed: in Saudi Arabia for example she could have been executed. Singapore in comparison is more advanced as Muslim can opt out of Sharia Law and opt for civil law.

Puzzle solved: it is a bus-stop

The object that looks like an UFO and actually changes colors at night is the new bus-stop in Rueschlikon: a truly bold statement in such a sleepy little town.

A view from the Haute

Picture: View on Zurich from the Haute restaurant. Private clubs are rare in Zurich but one is literary outstanding: Haute on Talstrasse. The club is located in the city centre and features a vast terrace and a restaurant with 360° view on the 14th floor. As with many private clubs is the restaurant extremely busy during lunch hours but almost empty at night. Membership is upon invitation only and often businesses pay the membership fees for their employees.

http://www.haute.ch/ 

Picture: A view of the terrace.

Autumn exhibition at the Bonsai Garden in Zurich

Bonsai actually means “in a container”. For over 25 years my friends Elisabeth Gutmann and Werner Schudel host their annual Bonsai exhibition at the Bonsai Garden Zurich. The exhibition is open every day from 12pm to 8pm until the 1st of October. The magical garden is located on Gablerstrasse 3, next to the Rietberg Museum.

What is it?

This picture I recently took near my parent’s house. What is it?

Make a guess and leave a comment.

Social entrepreneurism on the raise

Picture: Disadvantaged Indian women working as road workers.

Very poor and disadvantaged people are unwelcome customers and shunned by most companies: they do not get electricity, credit, house loans, healthcare or else. If they are lucky they receive benefits from the government or emergency aid by NGOs, and that’s about it. Really?

A few years ago an economic professor, Mr. Mohamed Usus, in Bangladesh started an experiment in giving loans to very poor Bangladeshi women for their small businesses. The loans were small ranging from around 50-100$ and they had to be repaid by 2$ a month. Mr. Yunnus was surprised to learn that the loans were diligently repaid by the poor ladies even though everyone told him beforehand that they will not be repaid. He then started without government aid Grameen Bank which gives out loans to very poor people. He started to give loans for sewing machines and finally loans for houses, as many houses are used by farmers also as storage. The bank has grown rapidly over the last few years and it is completely self-financed as it charges an interest. So far it has built 600’000 houses in Bangladesh for 300$ a piece and over 25 percent of all Bangladeshi households have received a loan from Grameen Bank. Mr.Yunnus is a social entrepreneur.

But what is a social entrepreneurs? They are people who have a vision of how to make the world a better place and use business models to make them real. Most often everyone else will tell them that their idea is not feasible, that the poor people will not pay for their services but despite the odds they prevail. The businesses range from selling solar panels in Brazil, providing mobile phones in India to establishing a help line in India, as David Bornstein, author of the book How to change the world told the audience at the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute in Rüschlikon.

Social entrepreneurs are not traditional NGOs as they do not raise funds for re-distribution. They use marketing to spread their idea and charge for their services and products. They compete for ideas and are not protected by the government. They tend to be small and nimble organizations and are working hard to become self-sustaining. Grassroots social entrepreneurs bridge the gap between big charities, the government and business. They compete for ideas and are exposed to market forces. No wonder that efficiency is familiar concept to them!

Or check out my friend's website http://www.myimpact.ch/

Read more on David Bornstein’s website: http://www.howtochangetheworld.org/

Where product quality meets customer service: Brogues & More in Zurich

We live in a branded world and this is particularly true in fashion: from branded handbags to luxury watches only brands matter as they are status beacons. Who cares if a Louis Vuitton bag is real or fake as long as it bears a big logo? If you venture into a Gucci or Louis Vuitton store only few customers care about the product quality and their inquiries are limited to sizes and prices. But what do you do if you have a special request and need good and honest advice?

As I do not only have problems with buying off-the-rack suits but I also have extravagantly shaped feet and therefore most off-the-rack shoes do not fit my feet. I recently was shopping around for shoes but no one could offer me good advice or service: no Bally, no Cheaney and no Church sales persons; not until I found Brogues & More shoes and accessories in Zurich, a little shop not far from Paradeplatz. The owner, Mrs. Schuler, is a commanding lady beaming with passion for her products. She has been operating for over ten years and is specialized in high quality foot-wear and accessories. I related to her my shoe-problem and she brought me two pairs of shoes to try. The second pair from Handmacher was a perfect match and I could not believe to have found so quickly shoes that fit me! The shoes are handmade in Austria and I just love them: not only do they look great but they are also comfortable and built to last. And last but not least one can have them made from different models, sizes and leathers to order.

In the end she sells something really rare: not shoes but customer service. If one buys a shoe from her shop, one not only gets a shoe but her full attention and knowledge. Customer service in her case is honest advice and the aim to satisfy the customer, not selling over-marketed brands. http://www.brogues.ch/