Stockholm: Another Round Please!

We all know what’s happening in Munich right now, but if you’re up for something a little higher brow than falling off tables with half a litre of beer in your hand, Nacka Strand is where it’s at.  The 19th Stockholm Beer and Whisky Festival is kicking off in Nacka Strand from the 30th of September, as a “manifestation to increase knowledge of beer and whiskey.”

Over 2 weekends 26, 000+ visitors and 1,300 beer, whisky, cider, and calvados exhibitors will be on hand to teach you everything you ever need to know about their products. The Taste Experience, new to the 2010 festival, will offer wine, cognac, and tequila tastings.  Schools, included in the price of the entrance ticket, offer something for novices and connoisseurs, with some of the countries top drink experts sharing their knowledge. Everyone knows it’s a bad idea to drink on an empty stomach, so there’ll be plenty of restaurants and cafes on hand to provide the nosh.  One of the top three festivals of it’s kind in the world, it’s not to be over looked.

Just moments from the festival crackling fires and peaceful gardens offer a respite at White Line member Hotel J.  Timelessly designed rooms overlook one of the world’s most beautiful harbours where you can soak up a few rays of autumn sun to go with all that new knowledge about the world’s oldest drink.

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Categories: Nacka Strand – Stockholm, Culture, Events

Contributing writer: Alicia Reuter

Original Beans: Chocolate to Feel Good About at Qi Global

White Line Hotels’ collaborator Original Beans was born out of two loves – chocolate and conservation.  The concept is simple yet brilliant: the world’s best cocoa beans come from their natural environment, equatorial rainforests, yet these rich and diverse environments are disappearing at an astonishing rate.  Therefore, for every bar of Original Beans chocolate that is purchased, local farmers plant a tree that will support the rich biodiversity of the local forest.  The consumer plays an interactive role and is able to track their contribution to the process because every bar comes with a unique tracking number.  With a strict set of principles, and a commitment to active participation, Original Beans is both an example of what a modern company should aspire to and the model that many see as the only way to maintain the environment. Finally, a chocolate we can feel good about eating in more ways then one!

Philipp Kauffmann, co-founder of the company, is dedicated to concepts of sustainability, conservation, and reforestation.  In the 90′s Kaufmann founded an Internet portal for volunteers in development, since then he’s worked with the WWF and on an investment portfolio of biodiversity firms.  He also initiated the reforestation of the deserted delta of the Colorado River with the world’s first saltwater forest.

If you’re planning on being in Singapore on the 9th of October, you’ll have the unique opportunity to hear him speak at Qi Global, the Annual Asian Summit for Sustainable Innovation.  With a line-up of 28 speakers in the field of sustainability, inspiration will be abound.

Need a place to crash in Singapore? Make the New Majestic Hotel your hub.

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Categories: Singapore, Collaborators, Food

Contributing writer: Alicia Reuter

Vienna Design Week

The expanded fourth Vienna Design Week has everything from exhibitions to tours, workshops, parties, and kids events. The goal of the event is to create “a city full of design” for the ten days of the festival, reaching out to everyone from local businesses to design professionals. The city becomes a showroom and a laboratory, from social networking to old-fashioned cocktail parties; it’s a time for experimentation and exploration. And what better way to see Vienna then through the eyes of the very people designing the cities around us and their contents? More than a few contemporary design stars will be on hand for the event, there to network, present new ideas, and develop critical concepts for the future. Read the rest of this entry »

Greulich Does It Again!

The Hotel Greulich in Zurich is always seeking to improve and innovate, and 7 years on is still winning awards for it. We’d like to give them our heartfelt congratulations on their recently awarded 4 Steinbock symbols from the eco label Steinbock and Greulich’s “suburb” in the field of accommodation from Ecolabel.  The Steinbock label is presented to hotels that seek to create sustainability in all areas of the hotel from management to regional values.  The hotels must be steadfast, persistent and powerful in their pursuit of sustainability in hospitality and tourism. Ecolabel gives distinguished designations, helping consumers find quality environmentally friendly goods and services.  Congratulations Greulich!

Additionally, the Greulich’s engaging series of cultural talks will continue when writer Petra Ivanov visits the hotel on September 22.  Author of numerous thrillers, as well as a few children’s books, she will be presenting her latest book “Tiefe Narben”.

The Greulich culture talks are a new interpretation on the traditional concept of a salon.  The evenings bring together the culinary and intellectual arts in an uncomplicated and inviting ambiance.  A 3-course menu is included in the event, prior booking is necessary. There’ll be more talks coming up in November and December, so check out the Greulich website, or check back on the White Line blog for more information.

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Categories: Zurich, Culture

Contributing writer: Alicia Reuter

2Unfold from hard graft

The new 2Unfolds from our Vienna based Collaborator friends hard graft are here and the most refined yet.

The premium leather laptop bags are priced from EUR 389 and are available now exclusively from the hard graft online store.

The new 2Unfold is now firmly integrated into the hard graft family with the combination of our two key materials – premium vegetable tanned leather and 100% wool felt.

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Categories: Vienna, Collaborators, Fashion, Stuff we like