12/11/2016 · 01:49

MOCA Taipei: Leigh Wen, Ronald Ventura, Ruan Weng-Mong

Although this is my third visit to Taipei I had never been to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). Like several of Taipei’s arts spaces, MOCA is located in a historic, colonial-style building: it was originally a school built by the Japanese in 1912. In 1996 the Second Taipei Fine Arts Museum moved in and in 2000, the museum was renamed Museum of Contemporary Art.

MOCA is centrally located in Datong district and I was actually on my way to somewhere else when I walked past the site. The two exhibition posters for Leigh Wen and Ronald Ventura immediately caught my eye so I went in. And I am very glad I did: MOCA is a nice, compact museum which is much larger than it looks like from the outside.

Tickets are priced at a reasonable NT50 (1.50 Euro), lockers are free and there is a museum shop and a café. Not to mention some fabulous contemporary art exhibitions! Click on the link below for more pics and info.

moca-outside-5

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06/11/2016 · 06:56

Tokyo Design Week 2016: [Show Report]

One of the highlights of this autumn’s Tokyo trip was the visit to Tokyo Design Week 2016. TDW is one of the biggest and most important design shows in Asia; it takes place each year in Tokyo’s Meiji Jingu-mae park in late October (this year, TDW took place from 26th October to 7th November) and it is – quite simply – fabulous.

Product design, robotics, arts and crafts, architecture, interior design, intelligent fabrics – off-beat, ingenious, weird, innovative logical and sometimes completely bizarre design ideas; from young creators and world-famous designers and architects, design school graduates from across Asia; big international exhibitors and niche companies. It makes the brain sparkle.

This was my third visit to TDW (here are my show reviews of TDW 2014 and TDW 2015) and in 2016, my personal favourites included a pair of robot carp, a stylish boutique skin care brand from Taiwan, an Ukiyo-e juke box and two dozen juice mixers that played “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” with different sounds. Click on the link for more pics of my favourite TDW 2016 exhibits!

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18/10/2016 · 09:23

Natural Cosmetics Conference 2016: [Show Report]

From 27th to 28th September 2016 the annual Naturkosmetikbranchenkongress (Natural Cosmetics Conference) took place here in Berlin.

This year, the conference focused on digitalization and its effect on the consumer: how the constantly growing connectivity is changing our society and altering consumer behavior and consumer expectations. The digital world is transforming existing retail structures, market dynamics and brand management, but it also creates exciting new opportunities for companies, brands and consumers. Excellent presentations, a great keynote speaker and interesting panelists and attendees made this one of my favourite Branchenkongress events so far.

Click on the link below for a review of the conference. Be warned though, this is one of my longer reports (I had my laptop with me so my notes are very detailed indeed)!

branchenkongress-2016_pics-2

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26/09/2016 · 07:50

Beautyjagd: Organic beauty news in English (Chapter 27)

And here is the latest Beautyjagd translation! Julia was travelling in the Provence this summer so News and Reviews from the World of Organic Beauty (Chapter 27) has a distinct French flair – you’ll find reviews of French organic beauty products (Emma Noel, Maison Laget, Melvita, Cattier, Clémence & Vivien et. al.), a feature on the natural science of Gemmotherapy, a review of Le Secret Naturel’s Baume du Hibou range of skin care balms, a visit to French rose brand Anne Felker’s store in Souspierre and two installments of the new Beauty Postcards series (Postcard 5: Heliotropic Sun Cream from US brand Kypris/Postcard 6: Rose Beauty Capsules from Bulgarian brand Alteya Organics). Enjoy!

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13/09/2016 · 08:48

Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki

My flight back to Berlin was on Sunday evening so I had most of the day left for sight-seeing. I wanted to visit Helsinki’s Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art because they are showing a temporary exhibition by Korean artist Choi Jeong Hwa – who is also the creator of the open-air “Sea Lives” exhibition that is currently displayed on Helsinki’s Senate Square: large-scale sea creatures constructed from colourful recycled plastic strips.

Kiasma is housed in a striking-looking building on Mannerheimiauko street in the middle of the city centre. Designed by American architect Steven Holl, the museum was officially opened in 1998. Kiasma is part of the Finnish National Gallery’s network of museums; they present cutting-edge Scandinavian contemporary art (no Warhol soup cans here!) with a strong emphasis on Finnish artists.

Helsinki_Kiasma (3)

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09/09/2016 · 09:18

Beautyjagd: Organic beauty news in English (Chapters 25 & 26)

Here are the next two Beautyjagd translations!

News and Reviews from the World of Organic Beauty (Chapter 25) features reviews of  German brand Annemarie Börlind’s and NZ brand Living Nature’s new summer gel masks and a post about the new Sensitiv range from German household cleansing brand Sonnett. You can also find the first installments of a new blog series – Beauty Postcards – which introduce the soaps of Korean-German brand Binu Beauty and French brand Douce Angevines brand new summer body oil L’Èté.

And News and Reviews from the World of Organic Beauty (Chapter 26) reviews German fragrance brand Taoasis’ two new deo sprays and the latest limited edition makeup from German brands Dr. Hauschka, Alverde and Alterra. This chapter also includes two new Beauty Postcards about the Perfume Oil Beet & Yarrow from US brand R.L. Linden and Eyeshadow Crazy Octopus from Lithuanian brand Uoga Uoga and a feature on the new fox-themed body care gift set from UK brand Green People. Plus all the usual organic beauty brand news from Germany, Europe and around the world. Enjoy!

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05/09/2016 · 08:22

Retail notes from Tallinn: [Store Profile] Pillerkaar

During my weekend in Helsinki I also visited Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. From Helsinki, Tallinn is just 2-3 hours by ferry and there are hourly connections so it is the perfect day trip. It was my first visit to Estonia and after walking around the beautiful Old Town for a bit, I started on my must-visit list of local retailers, including a Stockmann outlet, a couple of supermarket chains and, most importantly, a store specialising in organic beauty: Pillerkaar!

Tallinn_Pillerkaar (1)

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31/08/2016 · 09:20

Retail notes from Helsinki: [Store Profile] Ruohonjuuri

One of the retailers on my must-see list in Helsinki was organic supermarket chain Ruohonjuuri. Ruohonjuuri (the name translates as “grass roots”) is one of Finland’s organic food retail pioneers; their first store in Helsinki was opened in 1982. Today Ruohonjuuri has five stores in Helsinki and four outlets in other Finnish cities; they also operate an online store.

I had googled Ruohonjuuri prior to my trip and decided to visit their flagship store on Salomonkatu 5 in Helsinki’s Kamppii district: a very large and beautiful retail space, vis-à-vis from Kampii metro station. The store offers an extensive selection of fresh and dried organic foods, fruit and vegetables, frozen and chilled products and a spectacular organic beauty department, plus a treatment room where you can book a variety of face and beauty treatments.

Helsinki_Ruohonjuuri (28)

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28/08/2016 · 22:36

Off-Topic: Moomin Museum pop-up exhibition at Helsinki-Vantaa airport

I just returned from a weekend in Helsinki. It was my first visit to Finland and I had a great time: went to a couple of museums, took a day trip to Tallinn (capital of Estonia) and spent many hours in various stores  and supermarkets checking out beauty brands and products. Stay tuned for more articles about retail and art in Helsinki/Tallinn! The first installment is a bit off-topic: whilst waiting at Helsinki-Vantaa airport for my return flight to Berlin, I came across a Moomin Museum pop-up exhibition.

Helsinki_Moomin Pop-Up (3)

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22/08/2016 · 13:28

Osmodrama Festival Berlin [Event]: The art of olfactory storytelling

A few days ago I finally visited Osmodrama, a crowd-funded interdisciplinary art project which is currently taking place in cooperation with Berlin-based arts space Radialsystem V and the International Literary Festival. Osmodrama – illustrating/telling soundscapes with scent – is an new art form developed by Austrian multimedia artist Wolfgang Georgsdorf who is also the inventor of the world’s first electronic olfactory organ, the Smeller 2.0.

Osmodrama (33)

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