PREVIEW UPCOMING PRODUCTS
July 30, 2010 | In Behind the scenes, Products
We have been on the lookout for a couple of new products and will be having a lot of wonderful leather accessories coming in during the next few weeks. Our objective was to find basics every man/woman needs on a daily basis, that are unique, simple and therefore timeless, yet still modern. We have especially set our focus on those items that somehow seem to be so difficult to find. So if you are not planning to spend your money on a new Bottega Veneta wallet, we might just have found you the perfect alternative. Made out of one piece of leather, held together without any seams, these leather wallets are so simple, but perfect at the same time. Also, we have never been proponents of phone cases, but have discovered what we believe is the perfect iPhone case. Again, simple, raw and beautiful. We might even think about getting rid of our BlackBerries just to be able to use these leather cases. Our belt supplier in Parma will also be producing new leather belts for us to complement our cotton belt range this fall. We are further working on special pouches in three different sizes for a more organized travelling experience to keep all of your electric components, toiletries and documents. These are just a couple of our novelties that will be available at Townhouse soon. Subscribe to our newsletter to be further informed.
TOWNHOUSE FOR KAUFHAUS KRONE
July 28, 2010 | In Behind the scenes
Kaufhaus Krone opened its doors one year ago in Olten and is owned and run by mother and daughter team Susan and Lea. Their objective is to dress women of all ages in style and to offer an interesting mix of established brands such as Closed, En Soie, Drykorn as well as a couple of smaller, upcoming brands. When they asked us about the possibility of working together, we were quickly convinced and the result is a special edition of the Townhouse T-shirt, handprinted in Zurich exclusively for Kaufhaus Krone. Click below to see some making of pictures. If you are looking for unique T-shirts for your own small business, simply write an e-mail to info@ilovetownhouse.com and we will get in touch with you.
Kaufhaus Krone | Solothurnerstrasse 8, 4600 Olten | +41 62 213 08 88
OUR FAVOURITE SUMMER READS
July 21, 2010 | In Culture, Products
If your summer break is still upcoming, here a couple of our favourite summer reads that we highly enjoyed while lying by the pool and on the beach. We can’t remember the last time we saw a book get a poster campaign plastered all over Zurich, but One Day by David Nicholls did and this will probably already be hint enough about the international success of the book. The story follows Emma and Dexter over a period of twenty years, always on the same day and it really is a great book, funny and moving at the same time. After reading One Day we weren’t ready to let go just yet and thus further read The Understudy by the same author. The story is about an unsuccessful actor with an unfortunate name, a hopeless agent, a daughter he barely knows and a incredulously boring job as understudy to the 12th Sexiest Man in the World. Highly enjoyable as well, but with much more cynism and bitterness than One Day. If you enjoy the mix of comedy and emotional sub-plots, we can further recommend The Book of Joe by Jonathan Tropper. Another great novel about a guy who returns to his hometown after 17 years away and having written a hugely successful, but scathing book about his youth and the people he grew up with. If you prefer something a bit more classic, we also just read Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev’s Sketches from a Hunter’s Album, a series of observations and anecdotes of the author as he wanders through the vast area of his parental farm during the hot summer days. Another classic we can highly recommend is Denton Welch’s In Youth is Pleasure about the events in the life of fifteen-year-old Orvil Pym during a summer holiday in the rural English country side. For something a bit steamier, but just as classic, you can’t go wrong with Ian Fleming’s Quantum of Solace – Complete James Bond Short Stories. The stories have nothing in common with the latest movie of the same name but celebrate a Bond unseen on the screen. (Print above by Andrew Holder)
PALAIS DES PAPES AVIGNON
July 20, 2010 | In Culture, Travel
We are back in Zurich from our ritual summer break down south after having once again spent a couple of days at the beautiful Chateau de Massillan in the Vaucluse region of Provence. The neighbourhood offers many wonderful places to visit before spending lazy afternoons at the pool and enjoying seasonal meals in the hotel’s courtyard. Especially delightful to visit during the month of July is Avignon when the city is taken over by the Festival d’Avignon and the streets are filled with artistic venues. But the main reason to visit Avignon any time of the year is the Palais des Papes, the transitory resident of the popes during the 14th century and today one of the largest medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. Most frescos have disappeared over time, giving the palais a modern look almost as if having been built by John Pawson. We usually try to pass on highly touristic spots, but the Palais de Papes is definitely well worth a visit.
CAFÉ SISU ZURICH
June 23, 2010 | In Travel
When the lovely Marisa Pichler from Hope Hope invited to celebrate the third anniversary of her blog, we were delighted to finally have a look at Sisu, a recently opened Finnish café and bar. Being an event the place was probably more packed than it usually is, but we were very charmed by the atmosphere and interior. Sisu is run by the sibilngs Katrin and Johannes and offers Finnish specialities such as Pulla as well as Finnish beer in a wonderfully simple, but cosy setting. Being on the other side of the city, Sisu will probably not be the place we will hang out on a daily basis, but it is definitely worth getting on the tram for on the weekends. Sisu is the perfect place to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon.
Meinrad-Lienertstrasse 1, 8003 Zurich | 043 817 25 35 | Tue-Fr 9-24, Sat 10-24, Sun 10-18
MAKING OF THE TOWNHOUSE LAMP
June 11, 2010 | In Behind the scenes
We have been following the work of Zurich based design office Fries&Zumbühl long before teaming up for our first collaboration. After sitting down to discuss various options the idea of doing a modern bedside lamp that can be set up in different positions to regulate the light intensity was initiated. Our main objective before finalizing the project was however for the lamp not only to be designed but also produced in Switzerland and were delighted that Rieter (known globally as one of the leading suppliers to the automotive and textile industries) agreed to work with us. Inspired by Japanese Origami the lamp is folded from a singular sheet of metal and held together without any screws and can be used as a reading, mood or night light. The Townhouse lamp has been out of stock for a couple of weeks now but is currently in reproduction and will be available again very soon. Subscribe to the Townhouse Newsletter to be informed when the lamp is back in stock. Click below to view some making of pictures.
INTRODUCING LISSIE
June 3, 2010 | In Behind the scenes, Culture
We are always on the lookout for new singer-songwriters and therefore gladly accepted the invitation to the showcase of Lissie. Born and raised in Illinois, Lissie may look like the sweet Midwestern girl, but her big old voice will prove you wrong. She delivers powerful, emotionally charged ballads alongside more upbeat tracks, always with the occasional croak in her voice. Or put better into words in her bio: “There is, after all, a certain vocal quality that only a decade of beer and cigarettes can bring”. Fascination is inevitable when hearing and seeing Lissie perform live and it therefore doesn’t come as a suprise that the release of her debut album “Catching A Tiger” is highly awaited. Subscribe to our newsletter to be informed when the CD will be available at Townhouse. Click below to see Lissie perform live.
PERSHING HALL PARIS
June 2, 2010 | In Travel
When in Paris it has become a bit of a tradition for us to have dinner at Pershing Hall. We’ve tried Georges, Kong et al. but have never really been convinced enough to go back. Pershing Hall on the other hand with its vertical garden by Patrick Blanc and in our view slightly over-creative, but very enjoyable food is a lovely place to start your weekend. Located not far from Champs Elysées and only a step away from George V.
49 Rue Pierre Charron 75008 Paris | +33 1 58 36 58 00 | www.pershinghall.com
PRESS IN MAY
May 29, 2010 | In Behind the scenes
This month we were once again honoured with a lot of wonderful press. Tagesanzeiger did a lovely feature on Stefanie Thalmann’s map of Zurich that she exclusively created for the Townhouse Art Edition. HowdyHeidi is a new blog run by Tina Roth Eisenberg (Swissmiss) and Switzerland Tourism that celebrates all things swiss and we were delighted to read about Townhouse there too. We had clippings on Orlebar Brown in both NZZ am Sonntag as well as Weltwoche and both articles had an amazing impact. So if you are tired of baggy shorts and are looking to go swimming in style this summer, come by our shop soon. SI Style presented the Townhouse belt in their current issue as an essential element to combine with the classic Polo Shirt. Ioannis from Perfectlounge did a wonderul article on the Monocle x Townhouse collaboration and of course the boxer short was also featured in the current Monocle issue.
MAINE HUNTING SHOE
May 25, 2010 | In Products
When the traditional American outfitter L.L.Bean known for a more relaxed East Coast style asked Alex Carleton to design a younger line using vintage designs from their collection we were already more than interested. Carleton knows his Americana after stints at Ralph Lauren, Abercrombie & Fitch and his own label Rogues Gallery. One of our favourite pieces of the L.L.Bean Signature collection is the waxed canvas Maine Hunting Shoe, which is fairly priced at USD 129 and ships worldwide. The shoe is beautifully crafted in Maine and holds up to the task. Combine with an Oxford shirt and raw denim jeans for a sophisticated weekend outfit in the woods. One piece of advice, they are rather big in size so plan to wear them with thick socks or go one size smaller if you are in between sizes.
