Saul Taylor
50 things to improve your life
Our 2009 global round-up of the people, pursuits, places and pets to improve the way you live, work, rest, commute and communicate.
The world’s top 25 most liveable cities – 2009
Monocle’s researchers tested the world’s leading cities to find the best places to make your base. While Copenhagen won last year, the 2009 award for most liveable city goes to Zürich.
Shop idols
It can take just one retailer to unite a neighbourhood and restore a sense of old-fashioned community. Monocle has found 10 independent shops doing just that, from Barcelona to Tokyo.
Inventory no.24
Things we've got our eye on this month: Pijama sleeves for sleeping laptops, nice white footwear from Sweden and Mallocran salty treats.
Ebneter & Biel
For almost a century, a family-run business in St Moritz has embroidered napkins, tablecloths and bed linen. A personalised item can take up to a year, carefully stitched by a septegenarian seamstress.
Inventory no.23
Things that we cover this month: a wooden scooter for pootling about, Minimalux desk sets that are brass acts, new vintage Repsol guides and pilot inks for every season.
Buoyed up
The world’s second largest container transporter, the Mediterranean Shipping Company, has managed to sidestep the global slump in trade by diversifying into pleasure cruises.
Pleasure as business
Since his appointment as CEO of MSC’s pleasure cruise business, Pierfrancesco Vago has seen passenger numbers rocket. He explains what makes his company revolutionary and outlines his predictions for economic recovery.
Variety show
Gumpendorferstrasse in Vienna’s Mariahilf area offers a diverse shopping experience. Let the late 19th- to mid-20th-century signage that crowns the shop windows be your guide on this stand-out street.
Expo 22: Ship wrecked
Viking Line’s ferries ply the route between Helsinki and Stockholm. The 48-hour round trip is used for one chief purpose: the intensive sale and consumption of tax-free alcohol on the Baltic booze cruise.
