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WINTER <strong>2012</strong><br />
THE MAGAZINE
A Daimler Brand<br />
Occasionally, a headline is unnecessary.<br />
The new 6.3 litre V8 SLS AMG Roadster.<br />
Official government fuel consumption figures in MPG (Litres per 100km) for the SLS AMG Roadster: Urban 14.2 (19.9),<br />
on the road including optional Sepang Brown paint at £1,755.00, 19"/20" AMG forged wheels – 10-spoke design at £1,715.00 and two-tone designo Exclusive leather, Sand/Black, at £2,140.00
Extra Urban 30.4 (9.3), Combined 21.4 (13.2). CO 2 emissions: 308 g/km. Model featured is a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster at £182,505.00<br />
(price includes VAT, delivery, 12 months Road Fund Licence, number plates, new vehicle registration fee and fuel). Prices correct at time of going to print.
IMAGE©MARIANOHERRERA<br />
Printed top by Diane<br />
von Furstenberg;<br />
co on printed skirt by<br />
Moschino; scarf by<br />
Antik Batik; leather<br />
wedges by L.K. Benne ;<br />
hand-painted necklace<br />
by Pebble London<br />
INTHISISSUE<br />
PRIVATSTYLE<br />
Get jungle fever with this season’s bold<br />
prints and tropical colours
Tom Kundig<br />
builds houses<br />
continuous with<br />
the landscape,<br />
page 42<br />
Burma – ‘quite unlike<br />
any land you know’,<br />
page 70<br />
WINTER <strong>2012</strong><br />
THE MAGAZINE<br />
PRI_01_privat_coverFJ.indd 1 16/12/2011 08:39<br />
Cover: Polar Power<br />
by ‘Joe Bunni, one of<br />
the winning photos<br />
from the Veolia<br />
Environnement<br />
Wildlife Photographer<br />
of the Year 2011<br />
exhibition at London’s<br />
Natural History<br />
Museum,which runs<br />
until 11 March<br />
Eight<br />
PRIVATDIARY <br />
Steve Handley talks to David Hockney<br />
ahead of his Royal Academy exhibition<br />
PRIVATHOTELS <br />
Get away from it all in the Grenadines<br />
on a private island retreat<br />
PRIVATYACHT <br />
Frances and Michael Howorth uncover<br />
the best alternative moorings in the Med<br />
PRIVATCOLLECTOR <br />
Anwer Bati heralds the benefi ts of<br />
collecting cigars, rather than smoking them<br />
PRIVATSELECTION <br />
Keith W. Strandberg showcases the most<br />
exclusive multi-time zone watches<br />
PRIVATDINING <br />
Savour creative cuisine in Paris’s edgy but<br />
chic new restaurants<br />
PRIVATARTS <br />
Jennifer Sharp meets Konrad and Blanca<br />
of Munich’s art-dealing Bernheimer dynasty<br />
PRIVATDESIGN <br />
Jonathan Bell talks to Tom Kundig about<br />
his beautiful homes in isolated landscapes<br />
PRIVATPERSON <br />
Jo Craven speaks to Lady Serena Linley –<br />
entrepreneur, shop owner and style icon<br />
PRIVATESCAPE <br />
Teresa Levonian Cole journeys to northern<br />
Canada to see polar bears in the wild<br />
PRIVATTRAVEL <br />
Adrian Mourby follows in his family’s<br />
footsteps to Mandalay, Burma<br />
PRIVATAIR <br />
News and developments at PrivatAir
A. W. www.
CONTRIBUTORS<br />
JONATHANBELL<br />
Jonathan is a writer and editor. Since 2005 he<br />
has been Wallpaper* magazine’s architecture<br />
editor and has also contributed to numerous<br />
international publications. His books include<br />
Penthouse Living, Concept Cars, Th e 21st<br />
Century House and Th e New Modern House:<br />
Redefi ning Functionalism. Tom Kundig is one<br />
of his favourite architects.<br />
JOCRAVEN<br />
Jo is a journalist who writes about fashion,<br />
women, luxury and lifestyle for publications<br />
including Th e Times Magazine, Wall Street<br />
Journal Magazine and Vogue, where she was<br />
features editor for fi ve years. In this issue she<br />
profi les Lady Serena Linley. Jo loves following<br />
the way brands chart economic change and show<br />
us where tomorrow’s business opportunities lie.<br />
PRIVATCONTRIBUTORS<br />
ADRIANMOURBY<br />
Adrian is a novelist, travel journalist and<br />
international architectural correspondent for<br />
Opera Now magazine. Twenty years on the road<br />
have taken him to America, India, China, Africa,<br />
Antarctica and most of Europe. However,<br />
Adrian has yet to fully explore South-East Asia,<br />
which is why visiting Burma and meeting Aung<br />
San Suu Kyi was such an appealing assignment.<br />
MARIANOHERRERA<br />
Photographer Mariano lives and works in<br />
Barcelona, which was perfect for our fashion<br />
story, shot in the city’s botanical gardens. He has<br />
worked for many magazines, including Monocle,<br />
Spanish Esquire, and El País Semanal (the<br />
newspaper’s weekly supplement). He has recently<br />
had exhibitions of his work at La Santa,<br />
Barcelona, and Havana, Cuba.<br />
Ten<br />
WINTER<br />
EDITOR<br />
Michael Keating<br />
ASSOCIATEEDITOR<br />
Claire Martin<br />
DESIGNDIRECTOR<br />
Julia Murray<br />
PHOTOGRAPHYDIRECTOR<br />
Alex Ortiz<br />
FASHIONDIRECTOR<br />
Nino Bauti<br />
SUB-EDITOR<br />
Steve Handley<br />
PRODUCTION<br />
Helen Grimley<br />
REPROGRAPHICS<br />
KFR Reprographics<br />
PRINTING<br />
Taylor Bloxham<br />
LOGISTICS<br />
www.goferslogistics.com<br />
SALESMANAGER<br />
Sonja Müller<br />
+44 (0)20 7613 8166<br />
sonja.mueller@ink-global.com<br />
GROUPPUBLISHER<br />
Stefan Bartsch<br />
PUBLISHINGDIRECTOR<br />
Simon Leslie<br />
CHIEFOPERATINGOFFICER<br />
Hugh Godsal<br />
CHIEFEXECUTIVE<br />
Jeff rey O’Rourke<br />
PUBLISHED BY<br />
Ink, www.ink-global.com<br />
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Magazine are not necessarily those of PrivatAir<br />
ILLUSTRATIONS©STUARTWHITTONATHANDSOMEFRANK
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Financial Services Centre.<br />
confidence, reliability<br />
Personal consultancy and advice in the trust and<br />
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www.artha-trust.com
your partner<br />
In the Principality of Liechtenstein<br />
Financial Services Centre.<br />
confidence, reliability<br />
Personal consultancy and advice in the trust and<br />
fi nance sectors. Services custom made to your requirements.<br />
discretion<br />
Inheritance and successor planning.<br />
family office<br />
Establishment and administration of Foundations<br />
and Trusts. Back-offi ce services.<br />
Brochures are available in German, English, Spanish and Russian language.<br />
Please contact: postmaster@artha-trust.com<br />
artha trust reg.<br />
Pfl ugstr. 7 - P.O. Box 1221 - FL – 9490 Vaduz,<br />
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WOLDGATEWOODS&NOVEMBER©DAVIDHOCKNEYPHOTORICHARDSCHMIDT<br />
PRIVATDIARY<br />
‘I get intense pleasure from my eyes’<br />
David Hockney talks to Steve Handley about his<br />
exuberantly colourful landscapes at London’s Royal Academy<br />
‘ANYARTISTWILLTELLYOUTHEWORKTHEYDID<br />
yesterday was their best,’ says Hockney of his exhibition of<br />
recent landscapes at London’s Royal Academy. Th e artist is<br />
on sparkling form as ever: dour, wry, supremely northern.<br />
Nevertheless, these vast, luminous canvases of unassuming<br />
English lanes, woods and fi elds need no hard sell; they’re his<br />
fi nest work since his 70s heyday. Some 150 pieces – from<br />
wall-fi lling oils on multiple canvases to blow-ups of sketches<br />
done on his iPad – are on display as part of the London <strong>2012</strong><br />
Festival, the city’s cultural side dish to the Olympic Games. ‘I<br />
couldn’t give a monkey’s about the Olympics,’ says Hockney<br />
with fl at disdain and fl atter vowels. It’s heartwarming that<br />
nearly a lifetime in the Californian sun hasn’t weakened the<br />
Yorkshireman’s propensity to call a spade a spade.<br />
Despite making his home among the swimming pools<br />
and palm trees of the Hollywood Hills, Hockney has always<br />
spent a good bit of time at his mother’s home in Bridlington,<br />
on England’s fresh north-east coast. Since 2004 he has made<br />
the surrounding countryside the focus of his work. ‘It’s the<br />
landscape I know from my childhood. It’s mainly hidden<br />
small valleys, few rivers in them. Not many people would<br />
Thirteen<br />
think it’s that unique – but then there’s not many people. At<br />
my age, it’s a terrifi c subject. People leave you alone.’<br />
At 74 Hockney is immensely charming and self-assured,<br />
as you would be after over 40 years at the very top of your<br />
game, but he has succumbed to at least two of the faults of age:<br />
hobby-horses and deafness. He bats away questions with wellrehearsed<br />
maxims on how to live well, principal among which<br />
is the pleasure of looking. ‘Most people don’t look very hard,’<br />
he says. ‘To see colour you have to look, to think about it. I love<br />
looking at the world. I get intense pleasure from my eyes.’<br />
Th e heightened colour of his work is pleasing and uplifting,<br />
a world of rich pinks, vivid greens, blues and mauves. Hockney’s<br />
landscapes nod to Matisse and Rousseau in their intense fantasy<br />
colours and love of pattern and rhythm, but it’s his English<br />
artistic forebears who provide the emotional history: Spencer’s<br />
dainty pictures of the leafy lanes and red-brick country cottages<br />
of Cookham; Sutherland’s iconic natural forms. He is the<br />
greatest living painter of pleasure – the everyday pleasure to be<br />
found in looking. It’s a gift we could all benefi t from learning.<br />
David Hockney RA: A Bigger Picture, Royal Academy of Arts,<br />
London W1, 21 January – 9 April
VZAGATO<br />
On the 50th anniversary of the iconic DB4GT Zagato,<br />
Aston Martin (in collaboration with Italian design consultancy<br />
Zagato) unveils the hand-crafted V12 Zagato. With its<br />
aluminium and carbon body, this racer is based on the acclaimed<br />
V12 Vantage, but the Zagato is faster, more dynamic, more<br />
modern and utterly gorgeous. With a six-litre V12 engine and<br />
510bhp and 570Nm of torque, it’s one of the most powerful<br />
vehicles on the market. But creating such a groundbreaking car<br />
was no easy feat, says Aston Martin’s CEO, Dr Ulrich Bez.<br />
PRIVATDIARY<br />
Fourteen<br />
‘Th e task for us has been to create a concept that is a natural<br />
successor to iconic cars that have gone before. Matching the<br />
technology of the age with the traditional skills vital to deliver<br />
such a bespoke and exclusive sports car will lead to a strictly<br />
limited run of road-going V12 Zagatos.’ Indeed. Only 150 are<br />
being produced and due to go on sale later this summer, priced<br />
at £330,000. See it in the fl esh at Geneva’s prestigious motor<br />
show (www.salon-auto.ch) on 8–18 March.<br />
www.astonmartin.com<br />
EDGEOFARABIA<br />
It’s been all around the world, in London, Berlin, Istanbul and<br />
most recently, at the Venice Biennale. Finally, the pan-Arab art<br />
collective, Edge of Arabia, is coming home.<br />
Th e month-long exhibition in Jeddah is the most highprofi<br />
le platform for contemporary Arab art the Kingdom has<br />
ever seen. Twenty Saudi artists including Abdulnasser Gharem,<br />
a colonel in the Saudi army turned performance artist (he<br />
cocooned himself in bubblewrap around a tree for a day) will<br />
take part in the exhibition at the newly opened Al-Furusya<br />
Marina gallery, overlooking the Red Sea.<br />
Jeddah is already one of the region’s creative hubs, with an<br />
ambitious public art programme pioneered by the city’s former<br />
mayor. ‘Th is exhibition will be a true homecoming for Edge of<br />
Arabia,’ says curator Mohammed Hafi z. ‘It’s geared towards<br />
encouraging constructive discussion and dialogue between<br />
Saudi contemporary artists and the local community.’<br />
Edge of Arabia Jeddah: We Need to Talk, Al-Furusya Mall and<br />
Marina, Corniche Road, Jeddah, 20 January – 18 February,<br />
www.edgeofarabia.com<br />
WORDS©CLAIREMARTINSAKHRAL-MAKHADHI
PETITSTVINCENT<br />
Sweet Escapes<br />
Sixteen<br />
PRIVATHOTELS<br />
Whether you are looking for black runs,<br />
high culture or just a little peace and<br />
tranquillity, there’s a room here for you<br />
THEGRENADINES<br />
You may not be able to quite get away from it all<br />
on the private island resort of Petit St Vincent,<br />
but you can at least get away from most of it. Th e<br />
115-acre island in the Grenadines prides itself on<br />
being ‘unwired’, with no wi-fi access, telephone or<br />
television in any of the 22 cottages, many on the<br />
beach. Just reopened after refurbishment, Petit<br />
St Vincent has been subtly improved by its new<br />
owners with a few concessions to modernity, such<br />
as air conditioning and room service phones –<br />
previously you had to raise a fl ag to get attention.<br />
Now you need hardly leave your bed to have<br />
food delivered to you, but if you’re feeling more<br />
gregarious you can eat at the new beach bar and<br />
restaurant, where local grilled lobster has been<br />
enjoyed by visitors such as Steven Spielberg and<br />
James Dyson. Alternatively, head to the main<br />
restaurant and savour the cuisine of the new<br />
Belgian chef and indulge in the contents of the<br />
excellent wine cellar.<br />
Rooms from $1,050 per night, all-inclusive, excluding<br />
alcohol. Exclusive use of the whole island is $60,000<br />
a night, minimum fi ve nights. www.petitstvincent.com WORD<br />
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BIGHORNLODGE<br />
BRITISHCOLUMBIA<br />
Revelstoke, an old mining town in<br />
British Columbia, has long been an elite<br />
heliskiing hotspot. However, the launch<br />
of Revelstoke Mountain Resort in 2007<br />
placed it fi rmly on the international ski<br />
map, making it the world’s only resort to<br />
off er lift, snowcat, heli- and backcountry<br />
skiing from one village base.<br />
Th is winter’s hottest ticket in<br />
Revelstoke (‘Revy’ to those in the know)<br />
is Bighorn Lodge. Named after the local<br />
sheep, the palatial timber-framed lodge<br />
is located in an exclusive enclave on the<br />
resort’s lower slopes. Not content with<br />
ski-in/ski-out access, Bighorn’s owners<br />
built a helipad in the back garden, so<br />
guests can heliski from their doorstep.<br />
Probably the most sumptuous ski<br />
lodge in British Columbia, Bighorn<br />
aff ords unbroken views across the<br />
Columbia River and Monashee<br />
Mountains from its triple-height<br />
Great Room, eight spacious suites and<br />
outdoor hot tub. Th e property boasts<br />
snazzy contemporary design and is<br />
home to a private cinema, extensive<br />
spa and wellness area, games room<br />
with pool table and bar, and even a<br />
teppanyaki chef ’s table in the kitchen.<br />
Bighorn is available for exclusive use for<br />
16 people from Can$64,500 including<br />
seven nights’ catered accommodation,<br />
with house wines and in-resort transport.<br />
www.bighornrevelstoke.com<br />
ILSALVIATINO<br />
FLORENCE<br />
With more fi ve-star hotels than any other city in Italy, Florence<br />
is no stranger to luxury. However, even the Florentines are<br />
raving about the city’s newest fi ve-star off ering: Il Salviatino, a<br />
much-remodelled 15th-century palace in Fiesole.<br />
Famous for its sweeping views over Florence, hillside<br />
Fiesole is just 15 minutes’ drive from the magnifi cent Duomo<br />
and its surrounding churches and palaces. After a busy day’s<br />
sightseeing, you can retreat to Il Salviatino’s terrace or sink into<br />
the swimming pool to savour the views and cool breeze.<br />
While the Ojetti and Marcello suites vie for the best views<br />
in the house – the former boasting a private rooftop balcony<br />
and the latter, 360-degree views from its second-fl oor dining<br />
room – the Aff resco Suite features a frescoed ceiling painted<br />
by Bruschi in 1886, best contemplated while soaking in the<br />
Roman bath discovered in Il Salviatino’s gardens.<br />
Deluxe bed and breakfast from €450 per night. www.salviatino.com<br />
Seventeen<br />
DWARIKA’SHOTEL<br />
KATHMANDUNEPAL<br />
Named after its founder, Dwarika<br />
Das Shrestha, Dwarika’s Hotel is the<br />
embodiment of his determination to<br />
preserve Nepal’s rich yet threatened<br />
cultural heritage. While jogging<br />
one morning in 1952, the hotelier<br />
rescued some intricately carved<br />
wooden pillars from ancient Newar<br />
buildings, which were being replaced<br />
with concrete blocks. By 1977,<br />
Shrestha was able to construct<br />
a small hotel from his rescued<br />
timber frames, fascias and shutters,<br />
furnished exclusively with locally<br />
crafted tiles, terracotta, wooden<br />
furniture and hand-woven linens.<br />
Today, Shrestha’s family continue<br />
his legacy – the hotel now boasts 79<br />
rooms and suites, all constructed,<br />
furnished and decorated by local<br />
craftsmen. Hand-carved 15thcentury<br />
window shutters open out<br />
onto a secluded courtyard, in which<br />
terracotta and wood carvings of<br />
Hindu gods overlook fountains,<br />
refl ecting pots overfl owing with<br />
vivid bougainvillea, azaleas and<br />
marigolds. Dwarika’s is also home<br />
to an award-winning spa and three<br />
restaurants, including Krishnarpan,<br />
which showcases the best Nepali<br />
cuisine in the country.<br />
Double room from $225 per night.<br />
www.dwarikas.com
PRIVATYACHT<br />
PORTS OF CALL<br />
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MARINASINTHESOUTHOFFRANCETHESPANISH COSTAS<br />
and the Balearics are all suff ering from a similar problem. In<br />
recent years, a chronic shortage of dock space has forced up prices<br />
to the point that, in some cases, it has actually prevented the very<br />
purchase of the yacht the owners planned to dock there.<br />
‘Undoubtedly one of the best investments a yacht owner could<br />
have ever made in the past decade is a superyacht berth in some<br />
of the more popular Mediterranean marinas,’ says Patrick Coote,<br />
marketing director of Fraser Yachts in Monaco. Th e company<br />
currently has for sale the 16 remaining years of a lease on berth<br />
number six, a 50m berth in the harbour outside Monaco at Cap<br />
d’Ail, for €4.5m. A second berth for a superyacht up to 80m with a<br />
16-year lease is available nearby in Italy selling at just under €8m.<br />
With dockage in the Med so expensive, no wonder the savvy<br />
yacht owner is looking elsewhere. Inside the EU, Malta tops the list<br />
for value for money, but countries outside the clutches of VAT are<br />
also attractive. In Tunisia, Marina Bizerte, a 40-minute drive from<br />
Tunis airport, is well on its way to completion. Closer to the Côte<br />
d’Azur than Malta, this purpose-built complex, currently under<br />
construction, will off er 42 superyacht berths, 11 for vessels between<br />
70m and 110m. Morley Yachts are central agents for the sale of<br />
these berths and CEO Tim Morley is off ering 30-year leases on<br />
50m berths for €1m with an 80m berth available at €3.2m.<br />
Morley is a passionate proponent of Bizerte’s future as a true<br />
superyacht port. ‘Unlike some projects that off er a marina as a<br />
catalyst to attract buyers into a real estate development, ours is fi rst<br />
and foremost about yachts,’ he says. ‘Th e modern apartments that<br />
are being built next to the marina are there to support the marina,<br />
not the other way around. Th e port is the vision of an experienced<br />
Eighteen<br />
yachtsman, and is being transformed into a reality by leading<br />
companies in marina development.’<br />
In the historic city of Limassol, Cyprus, a €35m waterfront<br />
development is under construction that will off er yacht owners the<br />
chance to buy residences as well as dock space inside the marina.<br />
Designed by Atelier Xavier Bohl, the project is just a stroll away<br />
from the old harbour in the town’s historic centre, overlooked by a<br />
medieval castle. With Camper & Nicholsons Marinas appointed<br />
as operators, it will, when open, accommodate superyachts up<br />
to 100m. On the same island but across the border in northern<br />
Cyprus, Karpaz Gate Marina has just opened. Owned by an<br />
international group of investors, it is the country’s fi rst-ever luxury<br />
marina. Located on the Karpaz Peninsula in the north-eastern tip<br />
of the Republic, the marina has 300 berths available including 12<br />
berths for yachts of up to 55m in length.<br />
Inspired by the successful Porto Montenegro project, Princeza<br />
Jadrana, based in Zagreb, Croatia, was founded in 2008. It<br />
independently analyses, designs and implements projects that<br />
have the potential to signifi cantly improve the quality of life on<br />
Croatian islands and is planning to open 12 new marinas, worth<br />
€350m in total. Th e fi rst four will be fi nished before the end of<br />
2013, and the whole project completed in 2017.<br />
Turkey off ers 20 ports suitable for cruising yachts, off ering over<br />
6,500 berths with a further 16 marinas in development. Buying<br />
or leasing berths on this diverse coastline makes sense to yacht<br />
owners. It off ers unspoiled waters that are still close to a skilled<br />
workforce that can economically maintain their yachts.<br />
Th e Med’s new marinas may not have the same cachet as the old<br />
guard, but they are not short on exciting sailing in beautiful surrounds. IMAGE©BLUEGREENPICTURES
Nineteen
ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE<br />
A FINE LINE<br />
Cohiba introduces the most exclusive lines Habanos has ever produced<br />
Since 1966, Cohiba, a Habanos brand, has made<br />
some of the most prestigious cigars in the world.<br />
Originally, these valuable cigars were made solely<br />
to be presented as gifts of the Cuban government, while<br />
today they are the choice of afi cionados around the world.<br />
To celebrate 40 years of the Cohiba cigar, Habanos<br />
launched a limited edition of 100 humidors containing<br />
40 Habanos each, made by cigar roller Norma Fernández<br />
and labelled ‘Behike’. A few years later, in 2010, Cohiba<br />
released its best-kept secret – the most exclusive cigar line<br />
yet, called ‘Cohiba Behike’.<br />
Produced in extremely limited quantities, the Behike’s<br />
blend is the fi rst to incorporate ‘Medio Tiempo’, a rare<br />
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including the BHK 52 (20.64 4 x 119mm),<br />
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in quantities limited by the<br />
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Each is presented in an exclusive, 10-cigar lacquered<br />
box, and for the fi rst time the Behike band incorporates an<br />
embossed holographic paper and<br />
exclusive hologram to authenticate<br />
these Habanos.<br />
Cohiba is already known as<br />
a vanguard brand in the world<br />
of cigars, and the prestigious<br />
Behike is set to cement this<br />
reputation with the ultimate<br />
expression of Habano.<br />
www.lacasadelhabano.com<br />
Below: the Cohiba<br />
Behike 10-cigar box
Four generations of Cellar Masters have crafted twelve hundred eaux-de-vie to establish<br />
Louis XIII as the most prestigious spirit on Earth. A closely guarded secret since 1874.<br />
ONE CENTURY IN A BOTTLE<br />
www.louis-xiii.com
ONAFREEZINGCOLDNIGHT<br />
in November 2010, the smoking<br />
terrace of the Boisdale restaurant<br />
in London’s Belgravia was packed<br />
with high-spirited cigar afi cionados,<br />
all desperate to snap up a rare set of<br />
10 Romeo y Julieta double corona<br />
Cuban cigars. After frenzied bidding<br />
by shivering buyers from around the<br />
PRIVATCOLLECTOR<br />
Th e Big Smoke<br />
Th ey say successful people smoke cigars – but the<br />
really clever ones collect them. Anwer Bati lights up.<br />
Illustrations by Ruben Ireland<br />
world, a Japanese collector fi nally beat<br />
a rival from Hong Kong, and paid<br />
the princely sum of £13,225 for the<br />
cigars dating back to the 1950s. It<br />
was a record price per cigar at public<br />
auction, and showed just how much<br />
money heavyweight cigar enthusiasts<br />
are willing to spend to acquire<br />
extremely rare cigars.<br />
Twenty-Three<br />
Handmade cigars have always been<br />
a symbol of luxury, but the boom in<br />
collecting took off in the mid-1990s,<br />
largely thanks to buoyant western<br />
economies. Several new cigar books and<br />
magazines glamorised and popularised<br />
the pastime, raising the experience of<br />
smoking a cigar to that of savouring a<br />
fi ne wine. Imports of premium cigars to
the United States – the largest cigar market in the world – rose<br />
fi ve-fold in four years as smoking cigars became fashionable<br />
with a younger, moneyed set. Seeing the demand, in 1999<br />
Christie’s in London started holding exclusive cigar auctions<br />
twice a year. Many records were broken at these sales, including<br />
the sale in October 2000 of three Partagas Lusitania cigars<br />
made before the Cuban revolution. Th ey went for £3,000,<br />
and were the most expensive cigars in the world at the time.<br />
Th ough the Christie’s auctions stopped around four years ago,<br />
many others have since fi lled the vacuum.<br />
One organiser is Mitchell Orchant who, as well<br />
as hosting vintage cigar auctions, also owns C.Gars<br />
(www.cgarsltd.co.uk). He says that cigar sales are still high,<br />
even in the current tough economic climate. ‘Sales have<br />
been growing annually, as have prices for good-quality<br />
vintage cigars, particularly with clients from China,<br />
Hong Kong and Japan,’ he says. ‘I’m not sure quite how<br />
to quantify the market as a whole, but we sell around<br />
£2m-worth of vintage cigars a year.’<br />
Th e most prized collectors’ items have always been Cuban<br />
cigars. Th e island’s temperate climate, the skill of its cigar<br />
makers and the low acidity of its soil make Cubans stand<br />
out against cigars from anywhere else in the world. And<br />
of course, the 1960 American embargo adds an element of<br />
mystique and exclusivity. Before Castro’s revolution in 1959<br />
there were more than 1,000 diff erent brands and sizes of<br />
Havana cigars. When the industry was nationalised, many<br />
factory owners fl ed and many of the country’s fi nest cigar<br />
brands ceased to exist. Today there are only 27 handmade<br />
types of Cuban cigars.<br />
Other paraphernalia, such as humidors, that are either<br />
rare or have historical associations are also highly desirable<br />
for cigar devotees. In 1998 a nine-carat gold cigar case given<br />
to Sir Winston Churchill by Aristotle Onassis as a birthday<br />
present in 1960 – estimated at £15,000 – was sold to a<br />
private collector for £43,300 at Sotheby’s. Th e inscription<br />
read: ‘Happy Birthday from Ari.’ And a mundane typed<br />
letter inviting an MP for lunch sold for £3,000 because<br />
it was framed with one of Churchill’s cigars. In an earlier<br />
PRIVATCOLLECTOR<br />
sale, a battered single-cigar case used by Churchill when he<br />
was a soldier on the Western Front in World War I fetched<br />
£4,830. Fidel Castro’s signature on cigar boxes and humidors<br />
also attracts high prices, and if ever a cigar or smoking<br />
artefact linked to Che Guevara came on the market, you can<br />
bet it would snapped up for a ridiculous price.<br />
‘People buy rare cigars for several reasons,’ says Mitchell<br />
Orchant. ‘Many connoisseurs will typically buy one box<br />
to smoke and one box to stash away to age and sell at a<br />
later date. Usually they end up having smoked the fi rst box<br />
for free with the proceeds of the second box.’ Others buy<br />
them as curiosities to be kept, maybe sold again, but never<br />
smoked. Many cigars, maybe the majority, will improve with<br />
a few years’ ageing, but unless they’re maintained in suitably<br />
humidifi ed conditions, they can only deteriorate – losing<br />
their bouquet and drying out. Th e best bets are fuller-bodied<br />
and fatter cigars, such as the stubby robusto size. As with<br />
fi ne wine, even very old cigars can sometimes be surprisingly<br />
good to smoke. ‘It’s all down to the way they’ve been kept,’<br />
‘Connoisseurs will buy one box to smoke, one to sell at<br />
a later date. Th ey usually end up smoking the first box<br />
for free with the proceeds of the second’<br />
Twenty-Four<br />
says Orchant. ‘I’ve just received some from the 1930s which<br />
are very good.’ Of course, very wealthy cigar lovers can<br />
aff ord to buy rare cigars to smoke, not keep. One such fan is<br />
Sir Terence Conran: ‘I bought two or three hundred Monte<br />
Cristos at an auction in Havana a couple of years ago, and<br />
now there are only around 50 left,’ he says.<br />
Whether a collector chooses to smoke or save his<br />
handmade bounty, there’s a topic that causes plenty of<br />
debate between cigar connoisseurs: what will happen when<br />
the American embargo on Cuba is fi nally lifted? Whenever<br />
this might be (possibly in the next few years), there will be<br />
a huge new demand for Havana cigars from the United<br />
States. Of course, one can only speculate, but the consensus<br />
is that annual sales in America could well exceed 40 million.<br />
Cuba currently exports around 150 million cigars each<br />
year. For some, this is a cloud on the horizon – the worry<br />
is that the increase in demand could aff ect quality – but for<br />
those canny investors with large, well-kept collections, it is<br />
almost certainly a cause for celebration, as they will see their<br />
carefully stored-away cigars start to rocket in value.
THOMAS MANN, SIGMUND FREUD, WINSTON CHURCHILL<br />
… and many other great personalities, despite all their dissimilarities had one passion in common: They all knew how to appreciate<br />
a good cigar. Nothing but the best was good enough for them. And the best calls for plenty of time, love and care. Only in this<br />
manner a cigar can mature like a good wine to become the top in its class. We design humidors that live up to these high standards.<br />
FIRST CLASS HUMIDORS BY GERBER<br />
SPS-CONTROL WITH iHUMIDOR-APP: control your humidor from all over the world by a web-interface – www.gerber-humidor.de
A RACING MACHINE ON THE WRIST<br />
www.richardmille.com<br />
CALIBER RM 003-V2<br />
DUAL TIME TOURBILLON<br />
BLACK EDITION<br />
EXCLUSIVELY AT RICHARD MILLE BOUTIQUE<br />
Carbon nanofiber baseplate<br />
Hand-wound movement<br />
Power reserve<br />
Torque indicator<br />
Variable inertia balance<br />
Fast rotating barrel<br />
Second time zone<br />
Function selector<br />
Case of titanium with black DLC treatment<br />
Limited Edition available in 10 pieces
ASATRUEJET-SETTERYOUWILLUNDERSTANDTHATKNOWING<br />
the time where you are, where you are going and where you have been can<br />
be a real challenge. Time is essential to travel: aircraft slots are scheduled to<br />
the minute and it’s vital to know when to call your wife in Los Angeles,<br />
make dinner reservations in Baku and contact your offi ce in London.<br />
Trying to do all that with an ordinary, single-time zone watch is a headache,<br />
involving mathematics and mental gymnastics not so easily accomplished<br />
when jet-lagged. Th at’s where multi-time zone watches, also known as<br />
GMT/UTC, dual-time or world-time watches, come in. Th ese watches<br />
display at least two time zones, doing all the complex calculations for you,<br />
meaning the hardest decision you have to make is which one to buy.<br />
Before the advent of standard time in 1918, every city and region in<br />
the US operated on local solar time, independent of any other city. Noon<br />
on the clock was when the sun hit its zenith wherever you were – but that<br />
moment changed with your longitude. So when it was noon in New York<br />
City, it was 12:12pm in Boston, Massachusetts; 11:30am in Cleveland,<br />
Ohio; and 11:14am in Indianapolis, Indiana. In a metropolis like New<br />
York, local time could vary as much as a minute or more between the east<br />
and the west side of the city. Sun time even diff ered by about 30 seconds<br />
between the two ends of the San Francisco–Oakland Bridge.<br />
PRIVATSELECTION<br />
Clocking In<br />
Want a goodnight chat with the kids in Cleveland when you’re doing business in Bombay?<br />
Keith W. Strandberg explains how you can time that bedtime call to perfection wherever<br />
you are in the world with a multi-time zone watch<br />
Th e US government offi cially adopted standard time on 19 March,<br />
1918, just as Great Britain had given GMT the force of law in 1880. Within<br />
a decade, most of the world was keeping time by this system. In 1972, the<br />
majority of the world adopted Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and now<br />
offi cial time zones are indicated by +/- UTC, rather than GMT. While that<br />
plus or minus usually refers to a diff erence of whole hours, there are parts<br />
of the world that have fi nessed the system into fractions of an hour.<br />
Newfoundland, India, Iran, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Burma and the<br />
Marquesas as well as parts of Australia use half-hour deviations from<br />
standard time, and some nations such as Nepal, and some provinces, like<br />
New Zealand’s Chatham Islands, use quarter-hour deviations.<br />
Th e United States has nine standard time zones, the same now as<br />
Russia, which used to lead the world with 11 zones across its 2,000km<br />
until it simplifi ed them two years ago. Two of the world’s largest<br />
countries, China (which should have fi ve time zones) and India, have but<br />
one time zone. When’s lunch? Well might you ask.<br />
With a world time/dual time/GMT watch, you have a much better<br />
chance of mastering the time zones, no matter how many you cross.<br />
Unfortunately, your watch can’t help you with jet lag. For that, you’re<br />
on your own.
GMT/UTC<br />
GMT watches use a<br />
separate pointer hand<br />
to indicate the second<br />
time zone or GMT/<br />
UTC, which you can<br />
then use to calculate<br />
any time zone in the<br />
world if you know<br />
the UTC off set.<br />
New York, for<br />
example, is UTC<br />
minus fi ve hours.<br />
DUALTIME<br />
Dual time watches<br />
use two displays,<br />
sometimes one above<br />
the other, or a small<br />
subdial on the main<br />
dial, which indicates<br />
your home time,<br />
allowing you to set<br />
the bigger display<br />
to the time in the<br />
country where you<br />
are staying.<br />
WORLD<br />
TIME<br />
If you are a serious<br />
globe-trotter, consider<br />
a world-time watch.<br />
Th ese display the<br />
standard 24 hour time<br />
zones; a few even<br />
display the half-hours.<br />
Make sure the one<br />
you choose is readable;<br />
you need a magnifying<br />
glass to read some.<br />
BREITLING<br />
CHRONOMAT<br />
GMT<br />
Breitling Chronomat 44<br />
GMT is a chronograph h<br />
with a GMT pointer hand,<br />
using Breitling’s own innhouse movement, which ch<br />
is certifi ed by COSC, the<br />
exacting Swiss standards rds<br />
body. Th e watch comes s in a<br />
44mm stainless steel case, ase,<br />
water resistant to 500m. m.<br />
PRICE<br />
FRANCKMULLER R<br />
MASTERBANKER R<br />
LUNAR<br />
You don’t have to be a banker anker<br />
to appreciate the Master r<br />
Banker Lunar from Franck nck<br />
Muller, a triple-time zone ne<br />
marvel that comes complete plete<br />
with moon phase indicator tor<br />
and date. Th e time zone<br />
displays can be set to the e<br />
half hour.<br />
PRICE<br />
PATEKPHILIPPE<br />
WORLDTIME<br />
A watchmaking legend,<br />
the Patek Philippe World<br />
Time features a beautiful<br />
handmade cloisonné<br />
enamel map of the<br />
globe on the dial. Th is<br />
39.5mm timepiece is<br />
available in either yellow<br />
or white gold.<br />
PRICE<br />
INYELLOWGOLD<br />
INWHITEGOLD<br />
Twenty-Eight<br />
SEIKOANANTA<br />
SPRINGDRIVEGMT<br />
Seiko’s high-end line uses<br />
the revolutionary Spring<br />
Drive movement, shown<br />
here in the GMT version.<br />
Th e Spring Drive, in<br />
development for 28 years,<br />
features a host of innovations<br />
that produce a more effi cient<br />
and accurate mechanism.<br />
PRICE<br />
Timepieces display<br />
more than one time<br />
zone in a number<br />
of ways. Th e one that<br />
suits you best depends<br />
on how many<br />
zones you traverse<br />
VACHERON<br />
CONSTANTIN<br />
PATRIMONY<br />
TRADITIONNELLE<br />
WORLDTIME<br />
Th e complexity of the Geneva<br />
Seal movement allows this<br />
elegant world-time watch to<br />
display several 30-minute time<br />
zones. Th e movement is made<br />
up of 255 components and the<br />
world map is made night or<br />
day via a shaded sapphire disk.<br />
PRICE
LOUISMOINET<br />
GEOGRAPHRAINFOREST<br />
Th e Louis Moinet Geograph<br />
Rainforest is a chronograph that<br />
indicates the second time zone with<br />
an elegant serpentine hand, while<br />
using petrifi ed wood over a million<br />
years old in the subdial. Th is 45.5mm<br />
timepiece is made of 5N 18K rose<br />
gold and 316L stainless steel, and is<br />
water resistant to 50m.<br />
PRICE<br />
PIAGETPOLO<br />
FORTYFIVE<br />
DUALTIME<br />
Th e Piaget Polo is an iconic<br />
watch which at 45mm is quite<br />
large enough to accommodate<br />
a dual-time display. Th is model<br />
is also a fl yback stopwatch,<br />
which is one of the most useful<br />
chronographs around.<br />
PRICE<br />
LANGETIMEZONE E<br />
Th e A. Lange & Söhne Lange nge<br />
1 is an icon, made even more e<br />
interesting by the world-time me<br />
movement powering it. Made de in<br />
Glashütte, Germany, the Lange nge<br />
1 Time Zone also features the he<br />
brand’s signature big date.<br />
PRICEINPLATINUM UM<br />
INPINKOR<br />
YELLOWGOLD<br />
FPJOURNEOCTAUTC TC<br />
Master watchmaker François-Paul -Paul<br />
Journe off ers the UTC function on in<br />
this beautiful Octa timepiece, all<br />
hand-assembled in his workshop hop<br />
in Geneva, Switzerland. Th e Octa<br />
UTC shows the second time zone<br />
with a second gold hour-hand, d,<br />
but also features a unique colourful ourful<br />
earth subdial divided into 24<br />
time zones.<br />
PRICEINPLATINUM M<br />
INREDGOLD<br />
BLANCPAINVILLERET<br />
BL<br />
DUALTIME<br />
DU<br />
Classic Cla and elegant at 40mm, the<br />
Blancpain Bla Villeret Dual Time<br />
6665 666 off ers the convenience of<br />
a second se time zone with a day/<br />
night nig indicator. Th e second time<br />
zone zon can be set for half-hour<br />
time tim zones. Th e display between<br />
four fou and fi ve o’clock is the power<br />
reserve res indicator.<br />
PRICE<br />
PR<br />
MONTBLANCSTAR<br />
MON<br />
WORLD-TIMEGMT<br />
WOR<br />
Th e Star S of Montblanc’s collection tion<br />
is the the very handy Star World-<br />
Time GMT. Th e world time and nd<br />
GMT functions are accessed via ia<br />
the three-position th<br />
screw-down n<br />
crown. crown Th is 42mm watch comes es<br />
in stainless stai steel with a black or r<br />
white dial, and on a steel bracelet let<br />
or blac black alligator strap.<br />
PRICEONSTRAP<br />
PRICE<br />
ONSTEELBRACELET<br />
<br />
Twenty-Nine<br />
T wenty-Nin
RINO<br />
Giovanni Passerini is the chef and proprietor of this<br />
small, friendly restaurant that reinvents Italian food<br />
for a savvy modern gourmet. Rino is the chef ’s<br />
boyhood nickname and though Passerini was born in<br />
Rome, he moved to Paris because ‘Romans only want<br />
to eat their own traditional food and there’s very little<br />
room for creativity or experimentation’. He worked<br />
for Alain Passard and then at Le Chateaubriand. Out<br />
of this experience, Rino was born.<br />
Th e room holds about 20 and of course it’s full every<br />
night, despite being situated in the no-man’s-land far<br />
to the east of Bastille. You sit on red leather banquettes<br />
or on tall wooden stools at high tables, and there are a<br />
few tables outside on the pavement for hopefuls who<br />
turn up without a reservation. Th e kitchen stays open<br />
late and people often arrive at 11pm.<br />
Along one side of the restaurant is a cramped open<br />
kitchen and serving counter where Passerini and his<br />
assistants prepare remarkable food. Th e chef is<br />
constantly dashing out to serve the food himself,<br />
chatting to customers, sharing the experience. And<br />
interestingly, though the Italian quarter of Paris is<br />
traditionally the fi fth arrondisement, Rino attracts<br />
many Italians prepared to make the journey.<br />
Milan-based Paolo Marchi, an infl uential food and<br />
PRIVATDINING<br />
Th e New French Revolution<br />
Never big on funky chic, Paris was left behind when London and<br />
New York colonised grimy districts with hip eateries. Not any more.<br />
Jennifer Sharp takes a look at the city’s cool new restaurants<br />
Thirty<br />
restaurant writer, recently hailed Passerini as the best<br />
Italian chef working outside his homeland.<br />
Th e menu changes frequently in step with seasonal<br />
products and the chef ’s whim, and the cooking is full<br />
of surprising textures and fl avours. He off ers just two<br />
set menus: four courses at €38 and six courses at €55.<br />
Th e food is so light and delicious and beautiful to<br />
look at, you’d be mad not to go for six.<br />
You might be off ered ravioli fi lled with succulent<br />
onion confi t and served with oysters, green herbs and<br />
mushrooms. Or there’s a tranche of sea bass with<br />
lightly cooked sweetcorn, courgette and tomato and<br />
the bitter herb purslane. Tiny thimble shapes of<br />
gnocchi are served with baby squid, baby leeks and the<br />
savoury umami hit of a smoky pork emulsion. Th e<br />
cheese course is basic, without cutlery or bread, and you<br />
may feel a bit bourgeois to ask for it, but no-one minds.<br />
Th ere are lots of Italian wines, many by the glass,<br />
along with artisanal fruit juice and very good coff ee.<br />
Th e house white is a refreshing Verdicchio from the<br />
Marche, the red a luscious Barbera from Piemonte.<br />
Th is is a very enjoyable place with captivating<br />
personal service and a great atmosphere.<br />
46 rue Trousseau, 75011 Paris, +33 (0)1 4806 9585,<br />
www.rino-restaurant.com<br />
IMAGE©STANISLASLIBAN
Thirty-One<br />
Just desserts: ricotta fi g tart<br />
with jasmine sorbet at Rino
CAFÉSALLEPLEYEL<br />
Th e Salle Pleyel is an art deco concert hall designed by Gustave Lion which<br />
opened in 1927 and has hosted artists including Stravinsky, Otto Klemperer,<br />
Louis Armstrong and Ravi Shankar. On the mezzanine fl oor is a light and airy<br />
space built around a vast atrium which looks down into the foyer. It’s here that<br />
Hélène Samuel – not a chef but a food entrepreneur who has worked with the<br />
great Alain Ducasse – has created Café Pleyel.<br />
Samuel had the brilliant idea of inviting visiting chefs to inspire the season’s menu<br />
and work with her in-house team. Recently Mauro Colagreco, who is based in<br />
Menton at his highly regarded restaurant Mirazur, was the guest chef. His menu was<br />
inspired by the Mediterranean and brought the warmth of the south into a chilly<br />
Parisian winter’s day. We tried a tartare of fresh crevettes with peaches and a green<br />
lemon vinaigrette, red mullet served with carrots and orange sauce, and a veal chop<br />
served with unctuous mashed potato laced with vanilla. At one side of the room<br />
stands a magnifi cent orange machine, like a work of art. In fact it’s a slicer, ready to<br />
serve Parma ham and other delicacies, supervised by Samuel’s business partner, the<br />
irrepressible Michael Eisenbaum, who also manages the short but excellent wine list.<br />
Th e colour scheme of the room is black and white with fl ashes of red, and the<br />
easygoing atmosphere clearly appeals to the lunchtime crowd of local hedge funders<br />
and pretty women.<br />
252 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris, +33 (0)1 5375 2844, www.cafesallepleyel.com<br />
LES GRANDES TABLES DE L’ÎLE SEGUIN<br />
While architect Jean Nouvel transforms the old<br />
Renault factory into a museum, this pop-up, set on<br />
an island in the Seine just outside the city, has<br />
been created from scaff olding and containers.<br />
Jardin de l’île Seguin, +33 (0)1 4610 7972<br />
PRIVATDINING<br />
MOREQUIRKYDININGDESTINATIONSINPARIS<br />
SATURNE<br />
Wonderfully simple food, natural<br />
wines, clean sparse interior, some say<br />
deplorable service but we loved it.<br />
17 rue Notre-Dame des Victoires, +33<br />
(0)1 4260 3190, www.saturne-paris.com<br />
Thirty-Two<br />
LEDAUPHIN<br />
Zut alors! Is nothing sacred? Is this the end of the traditional<br />
French three-course meal? Ultra-fashionable Le Dauphin is<br />
serving food tapas-style and the Parisian public love it. Th e<br />
restaurant is owned by Fred Peneau and chef-of-the-moment<br />
Inaki Aizpitarte, the dark-eyed, self-taught Basque whose<br />
fl agship eatery, Le Chateaubriand just a few doors away,<br />
opened in 2006. Aizpitarte spearheaded the new bistronomique<br />
(bistro+gastronomique) movement to bridge the gap between<br />
high-priced gourmet destinations for a moneyed elite and tourists,<br />
and tired, formulaic restaurants for everyone else. Th e neo-bistros<br />
of Paris attract daring but accomplished young chefs, eff ortlessly<br />
cool waiting staff , and a buzzing bohemian crowd of all ages.<br />
Le Dauphin opened at the end of 2010 and was wildly<br />
successful from day one, despite the location in an old working<br />
class area. Th e interior, designed by Rem Koolhaas and Clément<br />
Blanchet, is a cool, minimalist cube of white Carrara marble with<br />
mirror, steel and exotic wood. Th e room is dominated by a<br />
marble-topped bar with tall stools, and set around the walls are<br />
tables simply adorned with stylish glasses, napkins and chairs.<br />
Th e dinner menu contains about 50 diff erent items grouped<br />
by category: cooked meat dishes; cheese; salads, pasta and rice<br />
dishes; fi sh; sausage and cured meats; and desserts. Many dishes<br />
are familiar but prepared with a light modern touch. You can<br />
tuck into suckling pig, gigot of lamb with haricot beans, melon<br />
gazpacho with almonds and lemon verbena, or octopus served<br />
with robust tandoori spices.<br />
Th ere’s a list of well-priced wines with an emphasis on<br />
biodynamic natural labels that don’t appeal to everyone, but who<br />
cares? Th is place is pure joy.<br />
131 avenue Parmentier, 75010 Paris ,+33 (0)1 5528 7888<br />
VIVANT<br />
Natural wines again and precisely sourced<br />
ingredients served in enchanting room that<br />
used to be an exotic bird shop with walls<br />
covered with art nouveau tiles.<br />
43 rue des Petites Écuries, +33 (0)1 4246 4355
IMAGE©MICHAELLEIS<br />
A FAMILY PORTRAIT<br />
For more than 150 years, the Bernheimer family<br />
has been among the world’s foremost art dealers.<br />
Today, Konrad Bernheimer and his daughter,<br />
Blanca, lead the fi rm with undimmed enthusiasm.<br />
Jennifer Sharp visits them in Munich<br />
meet Konrad, the fourth generation<br />
of Bernheimer, in his Munich offi ce,<br />
and I am immediately fascinated by<br />
the range of intriguing clutter in the room<br />
– oil paintings and water colours, family<br />
photographs, a tiny marble replica of<br />
Canova’s Th ree Graces, books and catalogues,<br />
a bronze head of grandfather Otto<br />
Bernheimer. Th ere is also a statue of Franz<br />
von Stuck’s mounted warrior, Th e Amazon,<br />
with her spear pointing precisely at<br />
Konrad’s head as he sits at his vast desk. ‘I<br />
always have her in my offi ce,’ he says<br />
cheerfully. ‘She keeps me on my toes.’<br />
Konrad insists that every picture he<br />
buys refl ects his own taste. ‘I have never<br />
bought for the market,’ he says, ‘I always<br />
buy for myself. And the clients understand<br />
that, they appreciate the harmony of a<br />
Thirty-Five<br />
PRIVATARTS<br />
single point of view.’ As always, wealthy<br />
newcomers to the art market appreciate the<br />
expertise that Bernheimer Fine Old<br />
Masters can off er. ‘Over several generations,<br />
we have become developers of taste,’ he<br />
says, with no false modesty.<br />
Th e founder of this art-dealing dynasty,<br />
Meier Bernheimer (1801–70) hailed from<br />
south-west Germany and had a modest<br />
business in fabrics. By the mid-19th century,<br />
he and his son Lehmann (1841–1918) were<br />
established in Munich and had expanded<br />
into textiles, furniture and porcelain. Before<br />
long, Lehmann and his own three sons were<br />
supplying the royal families of Europe,<br />
aristocrats, diplomats and wealthy<br />
industrialists in the New World and the<br />
Old. One royal client wrote: ‘Whether<br />
antique chest, carpet, relief or bronze,
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Previous page:<br />
Konrad and Blanca<br />
Bernheimer at their<br />
Munich gallery;<br />
Blanca holds a 1955<br />
Lucien Clergue.<br />
Above: Nature morte<br />
à la vanité (2008) by<br />
Guido Mocafi co.<br />
Above right:<br />
Dahomey Children<br />
(1967) by Irving Penn<br />
PRIVATARTS<br />
behind these works there usually stood Bernheimer Munich.<br />
Bernheimer, Pope among art’s true believers.’<br />
Otto Bernheimer (1877–1960), the youngest of Lehmann’s<br />
three sons, built up magnifi cent collections of Italian renaissance<br />
artefacts including tapestries, furniture and decorative wood panels,<br />
coff ered ceilings and imposing doors, sculpture and fountains.<br />
Otto became the prime mover within the company, surviving<br />
WWI, the Depression, Nazi oppression and expropriation, and<br />
WWII in a fantastical move which saw the family relocate to<br />
Venezuela and then after the war return to Munich. Otto’s son<br />
Kurt (1911–1954) had married while in South America but he<br />
died tragically young and his family moved back to Munich<br />
under the care of Otto. Th en in 1977, Kurt’s only son, Konrad<br />
O. Bernheimer came into the business at the age of just 26.<br />
Konrad had worked at Christie’s in London and was<br />
determined to make his mark. Th e company was thoroughly<br />
modernised, changing focus from furnishings and decorating to<br />
art and specifi cally old master paintings. Given that the<br />
Bernheimer name is now synonymous with old masters<br />
(paintings from the 15th to the 19th century), it’s hard to<br />
believe that this side of the company is scarcely more than 30<br />
Thirty-Seven<br />
‘I always buy for myself.<br />
Th e clients understand<br />
that, they appreciate<br />
the harmony of a single<br />
point of view’<br />
years old. Today Bernheimer Fine Old Masters occupies an<br />
elegant neoclassical building in Briennerstrasse, Munich, and at<br />
Old Bond Street in London where, in 2002, Konrad acquired<br />
the legendary fi ne art dealership Colnaghi in partnership with<br />
Katrin Bellinger, the eminent specialist in fi ne art drawings.<br />
Colnaghi celebrated its 250th anniversary last year and the<br />
combination of Bernheimer, Bellinger and Colnaghi has<br />
created an unparalleled concentration of expertise.<br />
Konrad Bernheimer has inherited the family business sense<br />
along with an ultra-refi ned taste and artistic sensibility. He has<br />
an enviable network of contacts in the art world from private<br />
individuals to museum curators, and he generally knows which<br />
pictures are for sale and who may wish to buy them. I ask how<br />
work comes onto the market and he quotes Peter Watson, former<br />
head of Sotheby’s: divorce, debt and death. But the three Ds<br />
aside, the relationship between dealer and client is very close and<br />
confi dential, and many works come back to Bernheimer if the<br />
owner, or the owner’s family, needs to resell them.<br />
Th e international centres for old masters remain London,<br />
New York, Munich and major international fairs such as TEFAF<br />
at Maastricht (16–25 March) and the new summer event in
www.lloyd.de<br />
И н о г д а в ж и з н и п о д х о д и т<br />
б у к в а л ь н о в с ë .
IMAGES©JENSBRUCHHAUS©STAATLICHEMUSEENZUBERLIN–GEMÄLDEGALERIE<br />
COURTESYOFTHESTIFTUNGPREUSSISCHERKULTURBESITZPHOTOJÖRGPANDERS<br />
PRIVATARTS<br />
‘Jeff Koons, best known for his playful, provocative pop<br />
art which sells for millions, spends his own money on old<br />
masters such as Poussin and Fragonard’<br />
Thirty-Nine<br />
Below: the Bernheimer gallery<br />
and last year’s exhibition,<br />
Mirella Ricciardi, Vanishing Africa.<br />
Bottom: Th e Glass of Wine by<br />
Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675)<br />
London, Masterpiece (28 June – 4 July), which has replaced the now<br />
defunct Grosvenor House Fair. Konrad is enthusiastic about Masterpiece<br />
as for him London is the number-one city for all art, both historical and<br />
contemporary. ‘London is the only real international metropolis,’ he<br />
insists, ‘and for old masters it is number one and always will be.’<br />
He reminds me that even in a downturn, old masters rarely lose their<br />
value. Indeed, some of modern art’s most high-profi le artists, such as<br />
Lucien Freud, Damien Hirst and George Baselitz, are or were collectors.<br />
Even more surprising is Jeff Koons, best known for his playful, provocative<br />
pop art which sells for millions, who spends his own money on old<br />
masters such as Poussin and Fragonard.<br />
Down the corridor there’s an offi ce that’s very diff erent to Konrad’s<br />
– white, calm and modern. Th is belongs to Blanca Bernheimer, 29, the<br />
only one of Konrad’s four daughters to enter the business. She has<br />
created her own niche with Bernheimer Fine Art Photography and is<br />
making a signifi cant name for herself. Initially Blanca had quite diff erent<br />
career plans. She studied philosophy and literature at King’s College<br />
London, deliberately choosing an English university for its rigour and<br />
coherence. She fl irted with media, journalism, publishing and PR in<br />
London and Germany, but nothing felt quite right. She became involved<br />
with the edgy modern art movement and while living in Berlin in 2004,<br />
was asked to curate two photography shows featuring young artists
Right: Passion 11 / One of the<br />
People (2010) by Christopher Th omas.<br />
Below: Cuzco Children<br />
(1948) by Irving Penn<br />
Nick Brandt and Silke Lauff s. Despite an enticing off er to<br />
open a gallery in Berlin, she decided to join Bernheimer<br />
Munich and develop the photography business. Her father is<br />
thrilled that his daughter has joined the fi rm.<br />
‘Th ere was never any pressure on any of us girls to go into<br />
the art world,’ she says. ‘My father was very clear about that,<br />
especially as, as an only son, he never had any choice. He has<br />
been very generous with his contacts, advice and experience,<br />
and Munich is a wonderful centre for high-quality art<br />
photography. Th e city attracts a wide market of German and<br />
foreign visitors and of course our prices are much lower than<br />
paintings so customers can easily make a spontaneous purchase<br />
without blowing the budget.’<br />
Blanca has mounted exhibitions in London and Munich<br />
with work by Robert Mapplethorpe, Lucien Clergue, Toni<br />
Schneiders and Julian Schnabel. She’s a great supporter of<br />
up-and-coming artists such as Mat Hennek, and one of her most<br />
eff ective ideas is to juxtapose modern photographers with old<br />
master paintings. One such exhibition showed limited-edition<br />
photography by Guido Mocafi co who recreates in minute detail<br />
the great still-life paintings of the Dutch old masters. It is<br />
unnerving and exhilarating to see them hang side by side.<br />
Last autumn, Blanca’s main focus was Paris Photo, the<br />
most prestigious photography fair in Europe, which is held at<br />
the Grand Palais. Each year, photography becomes a more<br />
important part of the modern art scene and Blanca tells me<br />
that major galleries like Gagosian and Pace MacGill from<br />
New York now have a presence there. Gagosian, a giant of the<br />
contemporary art world, recently bought the whole estate of<br />
photographer Richard Avedon. ‘Larry Gagosian is very astute,’<br />
says Blanca. ‘He could obviously sense a new demand for the<br />
cool, classical aesthetic that Avedon was famous for.’<br />
Constant change is clearly part of the Bernheimer identity<br />
and success. Just as her father Konrad changed the direction of<br />
the great enterprise he inherited, so Blanca is forging her own<br />
interpretation of the Bernheimer name. ‘I would like to think<br />
that one day we’ll be better known for photography than old<br />
masters,’ she says cheekily, ‘but I think that’s some way off .’<br />
Her proud father would probably applaud her ambition.<br />
www.bernheimer.com<br />
PRIVATARTS<br />
Forty<br />
‘ I would like to think<br />
that one day we’ll<br />
be better known for<br />
photography than<br />
old mast ers’<br />
IMAGES©CHRISTOPHERTHOMASCOURTESYOFBERNHEIMERFINEARTPHOTOGRAPHYCONDENASTPUBLICATIONS
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PRIVATDESIGN<br />
Native Son<br />
Architect Tom Kundig’s boyhood love of<br />
the great American outdoors gives his<br />
cool country homes an elegant harmony<br />
with the landscape, says Jonathan Bell
IMAGE©TIMBIES
Th e Pacifi c North West is home to some of<br />
North America’s most dramatic scenery,<br />
scoured by glaciers with deep valleys and<br />
lakes, with the Cascades rising up to the<br />
west and the densely wooded shores of<br />
Puget Sound creating endless beautiful<br />
vistas. But this is also a working landscape,<br />
and ever since the industrial revolution, its<br />
communities have interacted with nature on<br />
an epic scale, whether they were gouging<br />
minerals from the earth or stripping trees<br />
from the ground.<br />
Th e architect Tom Kundig, 57, grew up<br />
in the region. Although his background<br />
wasn’t in mining, logging or farming, he<br />
trained initially as a geophysicist before<br />
switching to architecture, his father’s<br />
profession. As a teenager, he worked in<br />
sawmills and spent time learning to weld<br />
with a family friend, the sculptor Harold<br />
Balazs. And all the while, he drank in his<br />
surroundings, climbing, skiing and hiking<br />
among some of most panoramic<br />
wildernesses on the planet. ‘I experienced<br />
being relatively humble in the landscape,’ he<br />
once said of this early passion, ‘and<br />
mountaineering and architecture have many<br />
parallels – they’re about solving the problem<br />
in as clear and economic means as possible<br />
– it’s not about getting to the top.’<br />
It’s fi tting that Kundig should now fi nd<br />
himself one of the most feted residential<br />
architects in the world, a designer of houses<br />
with a strong cultural resonance thanks to<br />
their rich combinations of skills, infl uences<br />
and approaches. Kundig is a modest man,<br />
and would be fi rst to admit that these houses<br />
are not the result of individual eff ort, but a<br />
creative collaboration between himself, his<br />
studio, the client and skilled contractors and<br />
craftspeople. ‘Architecture has never been a<br />
single source of genius,’ he says.<br />
His practice, Olson Kundig, is based in a<br />
former garment factory in the southern<br />
Previous page and<br />
opposite: house-studio<br />
Outpost (2007) is<br />
built of concrete blocks<br />
and similarly rugged<br />
materials to withstand<br />
Idaho’s harsh high desert.<br />
Above: Montecito<br />
Residence (2008) in<br />
California’s fi re-prone<br />
Toro Canyon shields<br />
the house from the sun<br />
while allowing cool<br />
breezes to waft through.<br />
Right: the Pierre<br />
(2010) in Washington’s<br />
San Juan Islands is a<br />
luxury bunker built into<br />
a stone outcrop<br />
Fifty-Six
IMAGES©NICOLASKOENIGTIMBIES<br />
PRIVATDESIGN<br />
‘Mountaineering and architect ure have<br />
many parallels – they’re about solving the<br />
problem in as clear and economic means as<br />
possible – it’s not about getting to the top’<br />
Forty-Five<br />
Left: outdoorsman and<br />
architect Tom Kundig is<br />
a believer in collaborative<br />
eff ort rather than<br />
individual genius<br />
Seattle suburbs. Set up in 1968 by Jim Olson<br />
(Kundig joined in 1986), the fi rm is now<br />
90-strong, and combines a disarmingly<br />
modest approach to networking and a<br />
no-frills approach to hiring. ‘We’re not a<br />
meet-and-greet kind of fi rm – we don’t do<br />
the country club scene, we’re not golfers,<br />
we’re not the socialising type,’ Kundig says,<br />
and his fi rm explicitly ‘only hires people<br />
willing to do everything from design through<br />
to construction’. Arranged as a collection of<br />
small ateliers, Olson Kundig has dozens of<br />
jobs on the board, ranging from tiny cabins<br />
to sprawling estates, apartment buildings,<br />
stores and galleries. Each project is in the<br />
hands of a small team who will see it through<br />
from design sketches to the fi nal nail.<br />
Retreats, vacation homes and cabins<br />
loom large in Kundig’s portfolio; the spirit<br />
of the frontier, the beauty of isolation and,<br />
above all, a sense of getting away from it all.<br />
Th ese range from the modest Gulf Island<br />
Cabin in British Columbia to the expansive<br />
Highlands House in North Carolina, which<br />
stalks through a wooded site on a forest of<br />
precise steel columns. Th e cabin on Gulf<br />
Island is a single room, secured by a sliding<br />
sheet of steel taken straight from a mill,<br />
with an outdoor shower and a kitchenette;<br />
it’s pared down but still luxurious in its<br />
generous relationship with its surroundings.<br />
Kundig drew early inspiration from a<br />
small project designed by his father’s<br />
employer, the Seattle architect Royal Alfred<br />
McClure, in 1960. Th e McClure Cabin<br />
stands on the shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene,<br />
stark in its wall-less simplicity, like a<br />
defenestrated, rusticated version of the<br />
Farnsworth House, or Th oreau housed by<br />
Pierre Koenig. ‘I was an outside kid and this<br />
was literally just a small platform basically for<br />
going outside.’ In more recent times, he has<br />
developed a strong affi nity with like-minded<br />
architects around the world. ‘Th ere’s a sort of
PRIVATDESIGN<br />
Below: the Pierre almost<br />
disappears into nature from<br />
some angles. Inside, bare<br />
rock extrudes into the openplan<br />
living space<br />
Th ese houses go beyond<br />
framing a landscape – they<br />
remove the building altogether<br />
Forty-Six
IMAGES©BENJAMINBENSCHNEIDER<br />
PRIVATDESIGN<br />
Left and below<br />
left: the Slaughterhouse<br />
(2009) in Maui, Hawaii,<br />
is a high-tech surf shack<br />
with walls made of<br />
compacted earth.<br />
Below right: opening<br />
the window at Chicken<br />
Point Cabin, Idaho (2002)<br />
world wide web of folks that seem to connect,’ he says. As a<br />
result, the architect uses the phrase ‘pragmatic regionalism’ to<br />
describe his approach, adding in the importance of Japanese<br />
architecture, ‘the Zen Buddhist philosophy behind the purity of<br />
the simple. As a kid I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle<br />
Maintenance, of course, and Alan Watts’ Th e Wisdom of<br />
Insecurity, they were all about the simple being complex. Classic<br />
Zen.’ Did he feel under pressure for his early works to arrive<br />
fully formed? ‘Th ere was very little architecture that really<br />
resonated with me, especially when I was younger,’ he recalls. ‘I<br />
was in architecture, and I knew there was something about it<br />
that I found fascinating but that really didn’t start to coalesce<br />
until I started seeing some of Carlo Scarpa’s work, and Pierre<br />
Chareau’s work – the references you can see clearly.’<br />
Many of Kundig’s houses are characterised by their very<br />
visible gizmos and gadgets, all of which have a satisfyingly hefty,<br />
handcrafted feel. It’s the diff erence between the American<br />
defi nition of craft – which post-dates the industrial revolution<br />
– and the European one, which pre-dates it. Kundig’s craft comes<br />
from the hands of boilermakers and blast crews, of machine<br />
workshop obsessives who like turning fl ywheels, levers, cranks,<br />
pulleys, governors and gears into amped-up versions of everyday<br />
objects like door handles and window winders. For the kinetic<br />
elements of these houses aren’t simple fanlights or ventilation<br />
slots, but massive, oversized components that entirely shift one’s<br />
perception of space and place.<br />
Th ese houses go beyond framing a landscape – they remove<br />
the building altogether. ‘Th at’s a nice way of describing it,’ says<br />
Kundig, adding: ‘I’d rather be there than here,’ and pointing a<br />
fi nger to the rocky shores a few hundred yards from the spiky<br />
horizontal angularity of the Shadowboxx. Th is house, in Lopez<br />
Island, Washington, is a technological tour-de-force, a showcase<br />
Forty-Seven
for Kundig’s avowed obsession with gadgetry<br />
and technology, yet it is still deferential to its<br />
prominent plot overlooking the Strait of Juan<br />
de Fuca. Shadowboxx features a facade of<br />
shuttered windows and sliding doors,<br />
allowing the living areas to be totally open to<br />
the outside world. Th row in the tilting roof of<br />
the bathhouse, a technical tour-de-force that<br />
turns alfresco bathing into an architectural<br />
performance, and you have a house that<br />
revels in the paradox of technology being<br />
used to enhance its relationship with nature.<br />
Th e Shadowboxx also contains a key<br />
piece of Kundig subversion, a direct riff from<br />
the outsider artists and hot-rodders he so<br />
admired in his youth. Push a button, and a<br />
cheeky sliver of decking pops out to extend<br />
beyond the designated building line – a<br />
means of frustrating a neighbour’s insistence<br />
on strictly following local codes. A similarly<br />
subversive idea underpins the Rolling Huts<br />
in Mazama, Washington, a group of six<br />
Corten steel and wooden wheeled structures<br />
that roam the client’s meadows. Offi cially<br />
classifi ed as recreational vehicles in order to<br />
skirt a prohibition on further development on<br />
the plot, they serve as vacation rentals, guest<br />
beds and extended living space.<br />
Over the past decade, Kundig and his<br />
team have spread out from Washington State<br />
to new environments, building in such<br />
far-fl ung locations as Hawaii, California and<br />
Spain. Th e latter project, in Sitges, was<br />
commissioned by a Norwegian living in Paris<br />
PRIVATDESIGN<br />
who was put on to the fi rm by a South African friend, testament<br />
to the internet’s ability to bring like-minded people together.<br />
Kundig says that his clients come from all walks of life, but there<br />
is a noticeable emphasis on art and artists, with his houses often<br />
serving as a bold backdrop to a lifetime’s collecting.<br />
Despite Olson Kundig’s size, the architect will stay focused on<br />
small projects. ‘I’ll be doing houses for the rest of my life. I meet all<br />
these interesting clients with all these diff erent histories. And then<br />
all these diff erent landscapes around the country and hopefully<br />
around the world,’ says Kundig. Like his architecture, the fi rm’s<br />
approach is pragmatic and low-key. ‘Our offi ce happens the way it<br />
happens,’ he says, ‘we “ski the trees”. You’ve got your skills, your<br />
talents and your equipment, and you don’t know where you’re<br />
going to wind up. You’re just following the space between the trees.<br />
I don’t know where it’s going to go. It’s exciting.’<br />
Forty-Eight<br />
Kundig is an architect<br />
of fi erce invention.<br />
Above left:<br />
Chicken Point Cabin’s<br />
window-wall opens<br />
the entire living space<br />
to the forest and lake.<br />
Above right: the<br />
main living space of<br />
the San Juan Islands’<br />
Shadowboxx (2010)<br />
contains six rolling<br />
platforms that serve<br />
both as sofas and beds.<br />
Above: Washington<br />
State’s Rolling Huts,<br />
(2007) are classed<br />
as RVs to get round<br />
planning restrictions<br />
www.olsonkundigarchitects.com IMAGES©BENJAMINBENSCHNEIDERTIMBIES
For many years now, Baufritz have been using nature as a role model to build homes<br />
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Der Ökohaus-Pionier seit 1896
PRIVATPERSON<br />
SWEET SCENT OF SUCCESS<br />
After years of planning, Lady Serena Linley has<br />
created a tiny corner of fragrant Provence in<br />
London’s Knightsbridge, says Jo Craven<br />
hen it comes to stylish royals,<br />
Viscountess Linley is arguably<br />
always the best-dressed in any<br />
British Royal family line-up. While<br />
other relatives so often get it wrong, Linley<br />
consistently gets it right: her cream Roland<br />
Mouret dress at Wills and Kate’s wedding is<br />
the perfect example. No crazy head pieces here,<br />
just a delicate fl oral headband. Discreet, subtle,<br />
yet so elegant that she stands out from the<br />
crowd, it is Linley’s innate sense of style that<br />
she has bottled in her new incarnation as a<br />
businesswoman and shop owner. On the bijou<br />
London shopping avenue of Walton Street,<br />
Linley has opened Serena Linley Provence, an<br />
elegant store selling scents, candles, and soaps,<br />
all made from lavender oil from the three<br />
lavender fi elds at her home in Provence, which<br />
were planted by Linley herself.<br />
Fifty<br />
As a member of the Royal Family – she is<br />
married to Lord David Linley, the Queen’s<br />
nephew, who is also a successful furniture<br />
maker – Linley does not have to work to make<br />
ends meet, so why did she make the decision to<br />
pour all her eff orts into a commercial venture?<br />
Her explanation is that she and her family love<br />
being in their house in France, so much they<br />
wanted to make the land there work too. ‘I love<br />
the small things, like cracking open a pine cone<br />
and smelling the scent, when I’m there.’ In<br />
terms of business she admits: ‘I’m new to this,<br />
and it has taken at least seven years to get this<br />
far. We’ve been working with a chemist to<br />
create the products, but the greatest leap has<br />
actually been opening the door of the shop.’<br />
At Serena Linley Provence you can buy an<br />
array of bespoke, luxurious beauty products. For<br />
example, only here can you fi nd lavender-scented<br />
IMAGE©PALHANSEN
Thirty-Five
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Previous page: Lady<br />
Serena Linley in the garden.<br />
Right: with husband<br />
David, Viscount Linley,<br />
who takes a keen interest in<br />
the lavender harvest<br />
soap suited to the softened water you fi nd on yachts (Tara<br />
Getty has chosen the soap for her yacht, Blue Bird), where<br />
you fi nd you can never rinse off the lather. Linley has also<br />
created a soap which works perfectly with the specifi c<br />
qualities of the water on a private jet, as well as products<br />
that complement the diff erent waters of diff erent countries.<br />
For example, Skibo Castle in Scotland commissioned her to<br />
create an exclusive soap that matched their needs. Linley<br />
can even personalise products with initials or a motto. In<br />
fact, she had just been to stay at Skibo with friends, who<br />
made her laugh when they asked her if she’d mind if they<br />
took her complimentary soaps and lotions from the hotel<br />
bathrooms. ‘Please do!’ she enthused.<br />
Th e bespoke soap and perfumery idea came about after<br />
a long lunch (and possibly a few glasses of rosé) at the<br />
Linleys’ French home, Château d’Autet in the Luberon part<br />
of Provence, with their neighbours, Sally Aga Khan and<br />
Philippe Lizop. Th e Linleys had been trying to decide what<br />
to do with their land; the soil was poor quality and the only<br />
good thing there was the lavender. Th e house was bought<br />
after a chance conversation with A Year in Provence author<br />
Peter Mayle, and is what they describe as ‘the smallest<br />
château in France’, but it suits them perfectly for being far<br />
away from everywhere, and it is here that they go to relax,<br />
have guests, and farm the ingredient for all their products.<br />
It took several years to bring to life the plan they made<br />
that day; three were solely spent summoning life from the<br />
‘I love the small things<br />
about Provence, like<br />
cracking open a pine cone<br />
and smelling the scent’<br />
lavender beds. ‘It was a rational use of<br />
everything there, and growing the<br />
lavender is the most wonderful process.<br />
You sit on a mini-tractor and feed the<br />
baby plants in upside down, then it puts<br />
soil on top. I love it – the excitement of<br />
seeing the lines come up – then there’s an<br />
artisan factory where the oil is distilled…’<br />
Linley has a palpable passion for her<br />
project. She was also lucky enough to fi nd<br />
an experienced chemist, and then more<br />
time was spent having the creams she<br />
makes tested around the world. ‘I’m now<br />
very proud of these products,’ she says.<br />
Th e brand has investment from sleeping<br />
partners. ‘It’s a great responsibility, but<br />
I’ve found it thrilling.’<br />
A particular high point was<br />
‘spending hours in laboratories in Grasse<br />
[the scent capital of France]’. Th ere her<br />
nine-year old daughter, Margarita, chose<br />
the ingredients for the perfume that was<br />
then named after her, which has gone on<br />
Fifty-Three<br />
to become the shop’s bestseller.<br />
Margarita’s enthusiasm for the project<br />
doesn’t stop there: she often steps behind<br />
the counter at the shop when she isn’t at<br />
school, while her brother, Charlie, who’s<br />
12, spent his holidays exploring new<br />
packaging options. ‘It is one of the<br />
biggest surprises to me, that all the<br />
family has been so involved and so<br />
enthusiastic about it.’ She remembers<br />
fi nding notes on her desk saying ‘come<br />
on mummy, you can do it’. Margarita is a<br />
tomboy – ‘I struggle to get her out of her<br />
combat trousers,’ smiles her mother – but<br />
a sweet-smelling one.<br />
On a personal note, Linley adds that<br />
she is ‘pushing myself quite a bit, which<br />
is fun, and pushing my nose (I don’t have<br />
a trained nose) to great lengths’. Th e<br />
most challenging part, she says, has been<br />
learning how to give an interview; her<br />
low-key persona means she has never<br />
interacted with the press if she could
Serena Linley’s lavenderperfumed<br />
products capture<br />
the essence of Provence<br />
PRIVATPERSON<br />
help it. Her husband David has given her<br />
advice, especially because she says he is<br />
particularly proud of her. But when in<br />
France, Serena takes charge, as she is the<br />
only fl uent French speaker, with David<br />
patiently awaiting her translations of<br />
what is going on.<br />
He also loves the lavender oil<br />
making, and ‘jumps into his red 2CV [it<br />
has their names embroidered onto the<br />
linen head rests] and chases the lorry full<br />
of the harvest to help unload at the<br />
nearby artisan factory to speed up the<br />
distilling as they only have an incredibly<br />
short period of time to get the best oil’.<br />
It sounds simple, but it’s obviously<br />
deceptively hard to create such a refi ned<br />
product. Th e attention to detail is superb at<br />
the soap factory: they discard all the waste,<br />
never reusing it as some soap factories do.<br />
Th e elegant grey-marl boxes are embossed<br />
with a dragonfl y – ‘A good luck symbol,<br />
they have a long life, and 70 per cent of all<br />
Fifty-Four<br />
‘We’ve been vigilant in<br />
making the very best<br />
quality; we’ve poured<br />
our energy into it’<br />
dragonfl ies in France live in Provence;<br />
they’re also strong creatures,’ says Linley.<br />
Th ere’s nothing shouty or bling about the<br />
business, and every eff ort is made to source<br />
ingredients and products locally, even<br />
commissioning the local basket-maker for<br />
kitting out the new shop. Th en Linley’s<br />
scented candles come in grey Murano glass<br />
holders and the soaps have a tiny dot of<br />
gold leaf on them. ‘We’ve been vigilant in<br />
making the very best quality; we’ve poured<br />
our energy into it,’ she says.<br />
So has Linley embraced business<br />
moguldom? Is she now planning global<br />
expansion? ‘I’m extremely tempted by the<br />
Far East, but I want to think it out and<br />
take my time. I’d love to have a place in<br />
Hong Kong.’ One thing is for sure, her<br />
knack for making ease and simplicity<br />
available to the rest of us is always going<br />
to turn heads; her style stands out from<br />
the crowd for all the right reasons.<br />
www.serenalinley.com<br />
IMAGE©AXIOM
PRIVATSTYLE<br />
WILD FLOWERS<br />
Rumble in the jungle with this season’s hot<br />
colours, bold prints and statement accessories.<br />
Photography by Mariano Herrera.<br />
Fashion director: Nino Bauti
previouspage: printed<br />
shirt by Paul & Joe Sister;<br />
printed co on trousers by<br />
Diane von Furstenberg; red<br />
lace-up shoes by Simone<br />
Rocha; embroidered bag by<br />
Antik Batik; white bangles<br />
by Pebble London; bone<br />
necklace by Antik Batik.<br />
thispage: leather and knit<br />
jacket and printed ka an<br />
by Missoni; patchwork<br />
trousers by DSquared2;<br />
beaded bag by Antik Batik;<br />
ethnic necklace and beaded<br />
bracelet by Pebble London
PRIVATSTYLE<br />
above:white co on shirt by Paul Smith; printed silk trousers by Roberto Cavalli;<br />
kni ed scarf by Missoni; long beaded necklace and shell necklace by Pebble London<br />
Fifty-Nine
Embroidered linen shirt by Paul<br />
& Joe; printed co on trousers<br />
by Just Cavalli; gladiator<br />
sandals by Jimmy Choo; suede<br />
bag by Diane von Furstenberg;<br />
Massai multi-coloured beaded<br />
cuff and feather headband by<br />
Pebble London; pendant and<br />
chain by Moschino
Long co on shirt by<br />
J. Crew; embroidered<br />
trousers by Diane von<br />
Furstenberg; raffi a shoes<br />
by L.K. Benne ; snakeskin<br />
and seashell bag by Antik<br />
Batik; circular shell<br />
pendant and shell bangles<br />
by Pebble London
PRIVATSTYLE<br />
above:printed top by Marc by Marc Jacobs at Selfridges; printed yellow leggings<br />
by Lucas Hugh at Browns; fl oral bag by Marc by Marc Jacobs at Selfridges; jewel wedges<br />
by Burberry Prorsum; necklace by Moschino; bangles by Pebble London<br />
Sixty-Two
Floral printed silk dress<br />
by Stella McCartney<br />
at Matches; long beaded<br />
necklace and bangles<br />
by Pebble London<br />
photographerMariano Herrera<br />
fashiondirectorNino Bauti<br />
photodirectorAlex Ortiz<br />
hairandmake-upManel Rosa<br />
using Dior make-up<br />
stylist’sassistantNormandie Hoche<br />
modelGenet Ogeto from<br />
Sight Management<br />
thankyouto<br />
jardíbotànicdebarcelona,<br />
www.jardibotanic.bcn.es
While on the trail of Ursus maritimus in<br />
Canada’s frozen north, Teresa Levonian Cole ponders<br />
the ethics of wildlife tourism just one week after a<br />
schoolboy was killed by a bear in Norway
e had been standing on a rocky promontory<br />
watching the bloody spectacle of two bears<br />
tearing at a whale carcass for over an hour.<br />
Th en with no apparent provocation, one<br />
suddenly wheeled round and charged. A 400kg<br />
polar bear, crimson in tooth and claw, was bearing down on us,<br />
full tilt. Th ere was a collective gasp. ‘Don’t panic,’ said Andy, our<br />
guide, quietly. ‘Stay together and stand still.’ Andy yelled at the<br />
beast and, at some 25 metres’ distance, he stopped. With a low<br />
growl he turned tail and returned to his meal.<br />
It was over before I could even feel scared. But it could<br />
have been very diff erent story. Earlier that same week, a British<br />
schoolboy had been killed by a polar bear in Norway and<br />
several of his companions mauled, an event that had made<br />
headlines and reached even this remote corner of Manitoba in<br />
north-eastern Canada. With the ease of travel and increased<br />
demand for exotic destinations and adventure holidays, animal<br />
attacks on tourists are on the rise: shark fatalities; frequent,<br />
unreported near-misses with elephants on walking safaris;<br />
riding safaris, in which gung-ho participants claim to be<br />
experienced horsemen, and prove to be nothing of the sort<br />
when confronted by a lion. Every year, we put our lives in the<br />
hands of strangers whom we trust to protect us, so we can<br />
experience the thrill of getting close to wildlife in its own<br />
Above: intrepid nature-lovers on the<br />
trail of Ursus maritimus.<br />
Right: playful moments are few and<br />
far between in the ferocious and solitary<br />
life of the polar bear<br />
PRIVATESCAPE<br />
Sixty-Six<br />
habitat. But when something goes wrong, questions are<br />
invariably raised about the responsibility of organisers, risk<br />
awareness of travellers and even the ethics of wildlife tourism.<br />
Can we justify trespassing on the territory of an animal for our<br />
pleasure, if it then kills in self-defence?<br />
It was with these thoughts in mind that I arrived at Seal<br />
River Heritage Lodge on the shores of the Hudson Bay, a<br />
lonely place inaccessible by road or rail. Th e journey from<br />
London required four planes of diminishing size, and my last<br />
stopover en route, Churchill in Canada’s barren north, proved<br />
sobering preparation. ‘Don’t wander out alone at night,’ I was<br />
warned. ‘And on no account go near the rocks on the beach.’<br />
Th is sleepy little one-horse town, which consists of little more<br />
than one desultory Main Street, is known as the ‘polar bear<br />
capital of the world’. Th e previous day, Rose, who met me at<br />
the airport, encountered a bear in her back yard, while a few<br />
days earlier, Gloria, the receptionist at my hotel, had fended<br />
one off with a shopping bag while delivering her children to<br />
nursery school. It sounded surreal. Do Churchillians live in<br />
permanent fear during the months when the ice melts in<br />
Hudson Bay and the bears come ashore? ‘Well, you certainly<br />
have to be aware,’ said Rose. ‘We take precautions. And no<br />
one here locks their houses or their vehicles in case someone<br />
has to make a dash for cover.’<br />
‘No one here locks<br />
their houses or their<br />
vehicles in case<br />
someone has to make<br />
a dash for cover’
IMAG MAG MA AG A ES© ES© ES© ES© ES© ES© ES© ES ES© ES© ES ES ES ES ES© S© S© S© S© S© S© S© S© S©<br />
© DE DE DE DE DE DE DE DEN DE D EN ENNIS<br />
NIS NIS NIS NIS NIS NIS NIS S FAST FAS FA ST STGE<br />
GE GE GE GE GE GE G G GE G ORGE ORG OR O RGE GE GELEP<br />
LEP LEP LEP LEP LE LEP LE LEP P/GE P /G / TTY TTY TTY TTY TTY TTY TTY TTY TTY TTY TY TY TY IMAG IMA IM I MAG MA AG A ES ES ES ES ES ES ES ES ES ES ES ESS BILL BIL BILL LL LLL<br />
BAC BAC BAC BAC BAC BAC BAC BAC BA BA BAC AC HMAN HMA HM HMMAN MA AN N N/SC N/S N/ N SC S IENC IEN I ENC EN EE EPH EPH EPH EPH EPH EPH EPH EPH EPH E PH P OTO OTO OTO OTO OTO OTO OTO OT O TO TOO<br />
LIBR LIB LIBR BR BRARY<br />
ARY ARY ARY ARY ARY ARY ARY ARY ARY ARY ARY ARY ARY ARY ARY AR ARY RY RY RYMOO<br />
MOO MOO MOO MOO MOO MOO MOO MOO MOO MOO MOO MO MOO DBOA DBO DB D BOA OA O RD/C RD/ RDD/C /C ORBI ORB OR O RBI RB R BI SF SF SF SF SF SF SF S SF SF S SF SF S S S F IRST IRS I RST RS R ST S LIG LIG LIG LIG LIG LIG LIG LIG LIG LIG LIG LI L HT/A HT H T/A T/<br />
LAMY LAM LA LAMY<br />
AM<br />
A two-man, round-the-clock team of conservationists is<br />
responsible for bear management in town. On sighting an<br />
errant animal, you call the dedicated Polar Bear Alert line.<br />
‘Ideally, we try to chase the bear out of town,’ said Bob, one of<br />
the conservationists. ‘But in the case of persistent off enders, we<br />
tranquillise them and place them in the polar bear holding<br />
facility for a month or so without food, so they do not associate<br />
the town with easy pickings. Th en we airlift them out by<br />
helicopter to a spot on the bay, some 80 miles to the north.’<br />
Th e holding facility, popularly known as ‘the polar bear jail’, is a<br />
large windowless edifi ce by the airport, whose air-conditioned<br />
cells were currently hosting fi ve inmates. Gloria’s bear, however,<br />
was not among them. He had displayed ‘aberrant’ behaviour,<br />
and had had to be shot.<br />
In the wilds where I was headed, however – at 59⁰ north,<br />
just seven degrees shy of the Arctic Circle – there was no such<br />
fallback. I boarded a tiny fl oat-plane for the 60km journey<br />
north west, fl ying over the region’s unique marriage of coastline,<br />
taiga and tundra, as evidenced by boulder-strewn tidal fl ats,<br />
stunted conifers and permafrost peat bogs. It was from this<br />
vantage point, as we banked low over the landscape, that I had<br />
the thrill of spotting my fi rst polar bear, sunning itself on a<br />
sandbank in the bay. All around, the ocean teemed with what<br />
looked like silvery Polaris missiles – the white beluga whales that<br />
migrate every August to these waters with their young.<br />
We landed on Swan Lake, where we were met by our two<br />
guides, Andy and Terry, who off -loaded provisions and ferried<br />
us by 4x4 to our temporary home. One of three wilderness<br />
retreats owned by Jeanne and Mike Reimer of Churchill Wild,<br />
Seal River Heritage Lodge sits on the site of a former<br />
fur-trapper’s cabin. Th is delightfully simple wooden lodge<br />
accommodating 16 guests, with a wood-burning stove as warm<br />
as the hospitality, is distinguished by wonderful views and<br />
exceptional cuisine using locally sourced ingredients, wild snow<br />
goose, perch, caribou and cloudberries among them.<br />
Guests’ safety is paramount for our hosts, experienced<br />
wilderness hands. “Churchill welcome mats” – wooden boards<br />
studded with nails – surround the lodge to deter unwelcome<br />
visitors, and picture windows in the communal areas are<br />
shuttered at night (‘Bears are learning to negotiate the mats<br />
Sixty-Seven<br />
Top left: a tundra<br />
buggy lets visitors get<br />
up close and personal<br />
with Manitoba’s<br />
polar bears.<br />
Above and top<br />
right: the Seal<br />
River Heritage<br />
Lodge on Hudson<br />
Bay allows guests to<br />
meet the local bears<br />
– and vice versa; the<br />
building is heavily<br />
fortifi ed against<br />
ursine visitors
and dive through windows,’ Rose had told me). Before we set<br />
off into the wilds, Andy and Terry, armed to the teeth with a<br />
battery of deterrents, gave a strict safety briefi ng. Polar bears are<br />
unpredictable, we were warned – forget the myth that they<br />
always attack from behind. If threatened, don’t run and don’t<br />
play dead. Th e fi rst line of defence is to shout at the bear, then<br />
to throw stones at it (apparently, they do not like to be<br />
touched). If that fails to stop an advance, ‘screamers and<br />
bangers’ are fi red at it. As a last resort, a shotgun is used. ‘It will<br />
not hurt the bear at a distance,’ explained Terry, ‘but at close<br />
quarters, if he keeps charging, it will kill him. It is a much<br />
better option than a rifl e, which would require a very accurate<br />
aim. A bear’s skull is thick and angled in such a way that it<br />
defl ects bullets.’ Happily, in their combined 20-odd years of<br />
experience with polar bears, neither Terry nor Andy have had<br />
cause to shoot one of these magnifi cent creatures.<br />
Th us briefed, we set out in hushed single fi le, over spongy<br />
ground fragrant with berries and wild fl owers, solid permafrost<br />
just 50cm beneath us, in search of bears. Th e distinctive bugle<br />
call of sandhill cranes accompanied us, while cheeky sik-siks<br />
– Arctic ground squirrels – stood sentinel on rocks, vanishing at<br />
our approach. Overhead, a bald eagle soared, surveying the<br />
scene as an Arctic hare made its escape, bobbing white tail a<br />
bull’s-eye for predators.<br />
From July to November, having swum ashore from the<br />
melting ice, polar bears are in a state of ‘walking hibernation’,<br />
their digestive systems switched off unless food (like the hapless<br />
whale) falls into their laps. ‘Th ey are conserving energy,’ said<br />
Andy, ‘but it is a state they can control.’ Sure enough, we soon<br />
PRIVATESCAPE<br />
Can we just ify trespassing on the territory of an animal<br />
for our pleasure, if it then kills in self-defence?<br />
Sixty-Eight<br />
reached a ridge where a furry white heap lay dozing among<br />
brilliant purple fi reweed, a huge paw batting away the noisome<br />
bugs. Sensing us, the bear sat up, stretched his neck to sniff the<br />
sky, and settled down again, legs in the air, unfazed by our<br />
presence 40 metres away. ‘He is quite relaxed,’ said Andy, ever<br />
alert for trouble. ‘Warning signs are yawns and fl attening of ears.’<br />
We came across a mother vigilant over her nervous cubs,<br />
and we followed the hairy rump of an adolescent male, making<br />
swaggering, pigeon-toed progress deftly over granite boulders<br />
where the tide had receded. One magical evening, a bear came<br />
snuffl ing up to the dining-room windows, drawn by the<br />
mouth-watering aroma of our barbecuing ribs. I watched him<br />
loiter hopefully, then swim away into the setting sun, a white<br />
speck in the silvery ocean, disappearing towards the horizon.<br />
Mother Nature is unbiddable, and we were fortunate to<br />
have had so many sightings. Th e sacrifi cial whale no doubt had<br />
something to do with it, and aff orded us the rare treat of seeing<br />
bears in action, successively sizing each other up in displays of<br />
dominance and eviction; or taking the path of least resistance<br />
and sharing the windfall. It was a primal scene, a gory banquet<br />
such as Sir David Attenborough might have waited months to<br />
capture on fi lm. Above all, it was a salutary reminder that these<br />
beautiful, alluring creatures are the world’s largest and most<br />
fearsome land carnivores, to be treated with the utmost<br />
circumspection and the respect they deserve.<br />
Teresa Levonian Cole travelled with Frontier Canada,<br />
+44 (0)20 8776 8709, www.frontier-canada.co.uk.<br />
Th e best time to see polar bears at Seal River is July/August and<br />
October/November. For further info: www.churchillwild.com
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hen I was young, my aunts would recite<br />
Rudyard Kipling’s poem Mandalay every<br />
Christmas. It was the done thing in those<br />
days to get together and read aloud, and as<br />
my great-uncle had served with the British Army<br />
out in Burma, Mandalay was their party piece. My<br />
family had always had a fascination with Burma, and<br />
the family connection made Kipling’s mythical<br />
landscape of the country with its pagodas and palm<br />
trees seem very much a part of our history. And yet<br />
in all my years of travelling, I never visited Burma.<br />
I knew Kipling’s breathless description of the<br />
country as being ‘quite unlike any land you know’,<br />
but the behaviour of the brutal military regime put<br />
me off going. Th en I heard last autumn that Aung<br />
San Suu Kyi – the democratically elected leader who<br />
was released from her 20-year house arrest in 2010<br />
– was asking tourists to visit, and I jumped at the<br />
fi rst opportunity.<br />
I was fortunate to briefl y meet Aung San Suu Kyi<br />
in Yangon. Th e woman who is known simply as the<br />
Lady, fi xed me with those strong, dark eyes and said:<br />
‘Tell people to come to Burma.’ Having now sailed<br />
the Irrawaddy River from Bagan to Mandalay I have<br />
no hesitation in endorsing her words, but with one<br />
rider. Go to Burma now. Go while Burma is unspoiled.<br />
Go while you can still travel the Irrawaddy for days<br />
and see nothing but fi shing boats, thatched villages,<br />
shorelines of green palm trees and hundreds of golden<br />
pagodas, suspended like tear drops between the sky<br />
THE ROAD TO MANDALAY
and the ground. Th is is the Burma I was fortunate<br />
enough to witness – the magical country of my<br />
family’s history and of Kipling’s stories.<br />
I fl ew into Yangon (the city Rudyard Kipling<br />
knew as Rangoon) and stayed at the Governor’s<br />
Residence, a colonial-era hotel run by Orient Express.<br />
Everything felt very safe and people talked openly<br />
about their hopes for the future. After two busy days<br />
touring the city by cycle rickshaw and meeting up<br />
with the Lady I fl ew north to Bagan. Here I joined<br />
my cruise on the Irrawaddy, the 2,200km river that<br />
fl ows from northern Burma to the Andaman Sea, and<br />
which is still central to Burma’s trade and transport.<br />
Old Bagan is a deserted, overgrown city<br />
seemingly built entirely of pagodas, sitting on a bend<br />
of the mighty river. I discovered straight away that<br />
pagodas sum up Burma more than anything else –<br />
more than rickshaw cyclists and lacquerware<br />
salesmen, more than ox-cart taxis and Buddhist<br />
monks with their furled umbrellas. It is believed<br />
there are over four million pagodas in Burma and<br />
more are being built all the time. A new pagoda is<br />
considered a fi tting end to a life well-lived. Indeed<br />
there is a saying that if you are standing in Burma<br />
and cannot see a pagoda, then you are not in Burma.<br />
As we drove through the Indiana Jones landscape<br />
of Bagan my driver explained that the city was<br />
founded as the Burmese capital in 874 by King<br />
Pyinbya. Most of its 2,000-plus pagodas and temples<br />
were built between the 11th and 13th centuries; at<br />
military regime, but now democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi is asking the<br />
world to visit. Adrian Mourby follows the ghost of Kipling to Mandalay<br />
IMAGE©CORBIS
MAURITIUS. LONGBEACHMAURITIUS.COM<br />
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RES<br />
TO<br />
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WATE<br />
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WALK
IMAGES©CORBISAXIOM<br />
Old Bagan is a deserted,<br />
overgrown city seemingly<br />
built entirely of pagodas,<br />
a landscape of trees, goats and<br />
huge, otherworldly buildings<br />
the height of Burma’s power it is estimated that there may have<br />
been over 5,000 pagodas and temples in Bagan, but many were<br />
destroyed in 1287 when the empire fell to Kublai Khan. Even<br />
more may have succumbed to the changing course of the<br />
Irrawaddy. Even so, today Bagan is all pagodas. Since only<br />
religious buildings were made of stone, only they remain.<br />
Everything else is gone; all the houses, shops and palaces have<br />
been eaten up by the forest. Bagan is a strange landscape of<br />
trees, goats and these huge, otherworldly buildings.<br />
A traditional teak ferryboat transferred me to Th e Road to<br />
Mandalay, a gracious old river-cruiser named after Kipling’s<br />
poem. It sat there at anchor, low and white in the middle of the<br />
Irrawaddy. Black smoke rose from the ship’s antiquated funnels<br />
but inside it was a fl oating fi ve-star hotel with a swimming<br />
pool on the top deck. Th e Road to Mandalay is operated by<br />
Orient Express, and my cabin had a writing desk facing the<br />
river, a brand new bed, exemplary room service and the best<br />
air-conditioning in all Burma.<br />
Th e roads in Bagan are rudimentary, just red sandy tracks<br />
through the dense foliage. Th e best way to explore is by slow<br />
horse-drawn carriage or bicycle. After lunch on deck I joined a<br />
party of cyclists from the ship heading off to get a proper look<br />
at all those temples and pagodas. Th ey are invariably dark,<br />
four-sided ambulatories structured around four golden statues<br />
of the Buddha, some reaching 10m tall. In their cool corridors<br />
we could rest and wipe the perspiration from our brows. We<br />
were also free to explore the hundreds of recesses where smaller<br />
statues illustrate incidents from the Buddha’s many incarnations.<br />
Th e only thing you must never do is sit with the soles of your<br />
feet facing a statue of the Buddha. Th e Burmese are the gentlest<br />
of souls and keep a respectful distance from visitors, but on the<br />
one occasion when, overcome by the heat, I made this<br />
monumental faux pas I was amazed at how quickly people<br />
appeared to ask me to please point my feet in another direction.<br />
Th e diff erence between a temple and a pagoda in Burma is<br />
simple. Pagodas are solid, towering structures – often covered<br />
in gold leaf – that may contain a holy relic but are not to be<br />
entered. Temples are for prayer and worship. Th e great<br />
advantage of some pagodas is that they can be climbed. I did<br />
this at the Buledi Pagoda, up terrifyingly steep steps that were<br />
cut into the outside of this square, tall structure. Th e view from<br />
the top was stunning. As far as the eye could see, pagodas and<br />
temples rose up in the light of the setting sun.<br />
At the end of the day we found ourselves at Hsin Phyushin,<br />
where we found a rare example of how people lived in Bagan<br />
Seventy-Three<br />
Previous page:<br />
the temples and<br />
pagodas of Bagan are<br />
best seen by balloon.<br />
Left: young monks<br />
among Bagan’s<br />
ancient stones.<br />
Below: the banks of<br />
the Irrawaddy are a<br />
landscape untouched<br />
by modernity
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IMAGE©LIGHTMEDIATION<br />
800 years ago. We followed a local woman who was carrying two<br />
fi ve-litre cans of water on a pole back to her family and came upon Min<br />
Nan Th u Village which had a roadside café made of wood and thatch<br />
and little open-sided houses on stilts. Th e villagers were amused to see<br />
us, sold us beer and let me look around. One old lady even off ered us the<br />
enormous cheroot she was smoking. Its fi lling of woodchips, tobacco,<br />
tamarind and maize smelled fi ne in the night air.<br />
Th at night I ate on the boat and gloried in the air-conditioning. Th e<br />
banks of the Irrawaddy were very dark but the stars above were a riot of<br />
light. Occasionally there would be a distant silent fl ash of lightning on the<br />
horizon, but otherwise it was incredibly peaceful. A balloonist called Lee<br />
came on board to talk about the fl ight we would take the following<br />
morning. We were at the end of the monsoon period so it was all<br />
weather-dependent, but at 5am, an old battered motor coach of the kind I<br />
remember from my childhood picked up the Road to Mandalay party and<br />
chugged to an open fi eld in front of a sandstone pagoda. Here Lee was<br />
preparing two balloons for a fl ight and in the blackness bursts from<br />
helium burners dazzled those of us waiting to clamber on board.<br />
Half an hour later we rose with the sun, the pagodas below us turning<br />
pink as we rose to 700m. On the horizon hammer-headed storm clouds<br />
were forming, but fortunately we drifted away from them and away from<br />
the river too. Th e best moment was the rare fi ve-sided Dhammayazika<br />
Pagoda complex, its crown and vane reaching up to us like a golden rocket.<br />
As we came in to land, children in the villages below abandoned their walk<br />
to school and joyously chased our balloon as we sailed over the peanut fi elds.<br />
PRIVATTRAVEL<br />
Th e best moment of the balloon trip was the<br />
Dhammayazika Pagoda, its crown and vane reaching up<br />
to us like a golden rocket as we sailed over<br />
Seventy-Five<br />
Five-sided<br />
Dhammayazika<br />
Pagoda is unusual<br />
in having four<br />
surrounding temples<br />
to the Buddhas who<br />
have already attained<br />
enlightenment – plus<br />
a fi fth to the future<br />
Buddha, Metteyya<br />
We returned to Th e Road to Mandalay, and the gracious old<br />
ship fi nally lifted anchor and chugged north up the<br />
Irrawaddy. People sat out on the top deck watching Burma<br />
pass slowly by. We are not used to landscapes untouched by modernity,<br />
and the shores of the Irrawaddy that day seemed timeless. Pakokku,<br />
Myingyan and the confl uence with the Chindwin river fl oated by, a<br />
landscape of pagodas, thatched villages and trees. Th e pattern repeated<br />
endlessly. No bridges, no power lines or telegraph cables. Th e occasional<br />
log drifted past and lapwings and wagtails fl ew overhead. Sometimes the<br />
best thing about a journey can be its slowness.<br />
Th at night the boat laid on a special treat for us as we moored in the<br />
darkness. It is a Burmese custom during Th adingyut (the end of Lent) to<br />
light candles. Our ship had arranged for local boats upstream of us to light<br />
2011 candles and release them down the river. We passengers were taken<br />
up to Captain Myo Lwin’s bridge and music played as this carpet of light<br />
came slowly downriver towards us, breaking up into individual clusters<br />
with the current and fi nally passing the ship in little fl oating baskets.<br />
Th e next morning I was awakened by the sound of small motor<br />
boats. Outside my cabin the river was full of families fi shing, working<br />
with nets and poles while tiny overloaded river boats took people<br />
upstream. Further north we encountered our fi rst sight of modern<br />
Burma, a great river bridge constructed of steel and brick by the British.<br />
We were arriving in the village of Shwe Kyet Yet. Th e eastern bank of the<br />
river was lined with a temple complex that rose up dramatically from the<br />
Irrawaddy and culminated in a large golden pagoda.
Right: Mandalay Hill is an<br />
old Buddhist pilgrimage site and<br />
gives the city its name.<br />
Below: a master carver turns<br />
out another image of the Buddha<br />
Shwe Kyet Yet means ‘the Golden Rooster Lands’, and<br />
legend has it that the Buddha in one of his incarnations fl ew<br />
here. It’s a delightful settlement full of temples and busy boat<br />
traders, and the ideal place to disembark for Mandalay. After<br />
lunch I took a bus that weaved through villages and along<br />
causeways to the last royal capital. On the way to Mandalay we<br />
paused at Th ein Nyo, a silk workshop where women still work<br />
on 18th-century looms, and got out to wander down Kyauk<br />
Sittan, or ‘Marble Carving Street’.<br />
King Mindon, who made Mandalay his capital in 1857,<br />
decreed at the same time that Kyauk Sittan should be where all<br />
the statues of Buddha in his kingdom would be carved and all<br />
these years later this is still the case. About 40 families have<br />
workshops along this narrow busy road and, as only the master<br />
carver from each workshop can carve the face of Buddha, the<br />
street is lined with nearly fi nished statues with just a rough-hewn<br />
marble block for a face, each waiting their turn for completion.<br />
Modern Mandalay is the commercial capital of Upper<br />
Burma, but the moated walls of its massive palace remain, as<br />
does the Shwenandaw Monastery, a beautiful teak building<br />
covered in carvings in which King Mindon died. At Mahamuni<br />
Temple we saw a carving of the Buddha that is specially<br />
venerated because it is supposed to have been carved in his<br />
lifetime and therefore a good likeness. Over the years pilgrims<br />
have applied so much gold leaf to the statue that he appears to<br />
be covered in gold feathers. Th ere was a festival of the full<br />
moon being celebrated at the Kyauk Taw Gyi Pagoda and the<br />
PRIVATTRAVEL<br />
streets were full of stalls selling sizzling food.<br />
Music played from speakers and a woman with<br />
a basket full of birds on her head tried to sell<br />
me one for luck. I broke away from the crowds<br />
and strolled through an old fairground that had<br />
been constructed next to the Kuthodaw Pagoda<br />
complex. Th is golden structure contains the<br />
entire canon of Th eravada Buddhism on 729<br />
marble slabs. For this reason the Burmese refer<br />
to it as the World’s Largest Book. It was here at<br />
the end of my trip that I caught sight of the<br />
moon rising as pink thunder clouds loomed<br />
over the golden pagoda. It was an eerie,<br />
beautiful sight that seemed to belong not just<br />
to another country, but another world. My own<br />
personal Road to Mandalay had shown me<br />
sights beyond anything I’d imagined all those<br />
years ago listening to family recitals of Rudyard<br />
Kipling’s famous poem. As I refl ected on<br />
Mandalay, I couldn’t help but agree. Burma is<br />
really quite unlike any land you know.<br />
Seventy-Six<br />
RUDYARD<br />
KIPLING’S<br />
MANDALAY<br />
THEFIRSTSTANZA<br />
By the old Moulmein<br />
Pagoda, lookin’<br />
eastward to the sea,<br />
There’s a Burma girl<br />
a-se in’, and I know she<br />
thinks o’ me;<br />
For the wind is in the<br />
palm-trees, and the<br />
temple-bells they say:<br />
‘Come you back, you<br />
British soldier; come<br />
you back to Mandalay!’<br />
Come you back to<br />
Mandalay,<br />
Where the old<br />
Flotilla lay:<br />
Can’t you ’ear their<br />
paddles chunkin’ from<br />
Rangoon to Mandalay?<br />
On the road to<br />
Mandalay,<br />
Where the fl yin’fi<br />
shes play,<br />
An’ the dawn comes up<br />
like thunder outer<br />
China ’crost the Bay!<br />
IMAGES©AXIOM
Photo: www.jimmynelson.com
THE LUXURY YACHT CHARTER SPECIALISTS<br />
Sydney +61 280 050 054 Florida +1 954 603 7830 London +44 207 193 7830 Cannes +33 970 408 889
Capturing<br />
the PrivatAir<br />
Identity<br />
Nathalie Beuchard, charter sales<br />
director for PrivatAir, gives a<br />
very personal take on customer<br />
service to Charlotte Pénet<br />
NATHALIEBEUCHARD still<br />
remembers the company slogan<br />
that captured her attention when<br />
she joined PrivatAir six years ago. ‘It<br />
was the term Service d’Excellence,’<br />
she says in her fast, jittery style,<br />
perched on the edge of her seat. ‘It<br />
was the perfect description of how I<br />
envisage customer service.’<br />
Th e words Service<br />
d’Excellence are certainly<br />
evocative, but in the luxury<br />
business aviation sector, both<br />
service and excellence are at the<br />
core of every client’s expectations.<br />
It takes more than slogans and<br />
assurances to win the clients’ trust,<br />
especially in the current jumpy<br />
market. Demand for private<br />
charters is still up despite a dip in<br />
September, but pricing is becoming<br />
more and more aggressive among<br />
operators. So how does Beuchard<br />
give real meaning to the phrase<br />
PRIVATAIR<br />
PRIVATAIR<br />
Service d’Excellence, in the face<br />
of all the competition? ‘Of course<br />
you have to negotiate your price,<br />
but there comes a point where you<br />
can’t devalue your service. We’ll<br />
go the extra mile on every other<br />
aspect, and we’ll put pressure on<br />
our operators and partners to be<br />
the very best. We’re known for that,<br />
and I believe that’s what makes the<br />
diff erence. It’s no longer enough<br />
to tick every item on each client’s<br />
list of requirements. In the current<br />
market, you have to off er an extra<br />
special ingredient: the personal<br />
touch. You have to really care.’<br />
To fi nd an account manager<br />
who is genuinely driven and<br />
tenacious enough to respond to<br />
every request is quite rare. It’s the<br />
person who thinks to arrange for<br />
two medical assistants and a special<br />
disembarking facility for a client<br />
in a wheelchair, so she endures<br />
Seventy-Nine<br />
minimum discomfort and stress<br />
when coming off the plane. It’s<br />
the one who answers the phone<br />
on a Sunday afternoon and pulls<br />
all the strings to rearrange for a<br />
late fl ight slot, so that a father can<br />
help his son blow out his birthday<br />
candles. It’s the account manager<br />
who forgoes her day off when<br />
a new client is passing through<br />
town unexpectedly, just so that<br />
he can put a face to the voice, and<br />
establish that personal connection.<br />
‘Th e recognition and the gratitude<br />
we receive from clients is the best<br />
reward,’ says Beuchard with a smile.<br />
Such ardent personal service<br />
inspires loyalty: one of Beuchard’s<br />
clients recently cancelled a prearranged<br />
trip with another operator<br />
to fl y with PrivatAir. Th ey had the<br />
right plane at the right time, and as<br />
the client stated: ‘We’re back, and we<br />
know the service will be top class.’<br />
‘At PrivatAir, we are a niche<br />
boutique out of choice,’ says<br />
Beuchard. ‘We want to keep<br />
off ering such responsiveness to our<br />
select clients. We make sure we are<br />
not just reachable, but physically<br />
present. Our new charter sales<br />
offi ces in Dusseldorf and London<br />
ensure that we are close to our<br />
clients.’ She talks with the same<br />
enthusiasm about plans for the<br />
future. ‘We want to go that step<br />
further and act as a personal travel<br />
agency, arranging special trips,<br />
excursions, journeys of discovery,<br />
always with the promise of our<br />
Service d’Excellence.’<br />
When such service is served up<br />
with that personal touch so deftly<br />
personifi ed by Beuchard, there is<br />
no doubt they will enable PrivatAir<br />
to continue to build long-lasting<br />
relationships with its fortunate and<br />
discerning clients.
THE POWER OF SPORT<br />
GENEVAISTHELITTLECITYTHATPUNCHESFARABOVE<br />
its weight. It is famous as the home of luxury watches and the<br />
birthplace of the internet. It’s celebrated as a city where diff erent<br />
countries and cultures come together: more than 20 international<br />
organisations have their base here, including the<br />
United Nations. It also has some 11 museums<br />
and is one of the greenest cities in Europe. But<br />
sport? While bursting with potential, Geneva<br />
has still to make it on the sporting stage. Until<br />
now. Hugh Quennec (pictured right), a Swiss-<br />
Canadian entrepreneur and fi nancier who grew<br />
up in Montreal, became president and co-owner<br />
of Genève-Servette Hockey Club (GSHC) in<br />
2006. With a wealth of business experience and<br />
a passion for ice hockey, Quennec has devoted<br />
himself to putting Geneva on the sporting map.<br />
But his goal isn’t just to give Geneva’s ice hockey<br />
team a shot at winning the championship. It is to give the city all<br />
the benefi ts that a strong sporting philosophy can off er.<br />
Before we met, I did a little background reading to get a taste<br />
of what Quennec has already achieved in the last six years. Since he<br />
took over at GSHC, average attendance at the games has almost<br />
P R I V A T A I R<br />
Hugh Quennec has injected his business philosophy<br />
into the Genève-Servette Hockey Club. As a result,<br />
the club’s mission is now about far more than just<br />
winning games, says Charlotte Pénet<br />
Eighty<br />
doubled and today regular sell-out crowds reach 7,200. Sales of<br />
season tickets rose by 70 per cent, the ice-rink at Les Vernets has<br />
been renovated and the project for a new bigger, better rink with<br />
increased capacity is expected to fi nish in 2015. Th e team’s<br />
performance has gone from strength to strength<br />
under the management of Chris McSorley, who<br />
co-owns the club with Quennec. Th ey have<br />
reached the play-off s seven times in the last eight<br />
years and have twice been the Swiss vice-champions<br />
in the last four seasons. Th ere’s a new<br />
consistency to the performance that is a sure sign<br />
of a solid structure. Home games are no longer<br />
just sporting events; they have become huge<br />
spectacles that keep pulling in the crowds. Fans<br />
no longer come just for the game alone, they<br />
come for the experience, the music, the giant<br />
screens, the animations and the mascots Calvin<br />
and Calvina. Th ey come to see the live eagle, Sherkan, soar above the<br />
rink at every game. Th ere’s real, palpable emotion and GSHC has<br />
become an environment fi lled with positive energy where politicians<br />
and business executives sit alongside working-class fans. Quennec<br />
and McSorley have managed to completely transform the club.<br />
IMAGE©GETTY
I was surprised when I fi rst met Quennec to discover that his<br />
manner was discreet and his tone was soft. But once he started<br />
talking about GSHC his voice was charged with passion and pride.<br />
‘Our core values are excellence and customer service,’ he began. ‘You<br />
have a philosophy, then what makes the diff erence is execution,’ he<br />
told me, before divulging some of his sound business acumen – and<br />
telling me how he’s managed to take his principles from the offi ce<br />
to the ice rink.<br />
THE GSHC APPROACH TO EXCELLENCE<br />
GSHC has always felt it has a duty to its fans, but Quennec has<br />
taken it to the next level. Every aspect of a game has been analysed<br />
and improved to create an unforgettable experience for every<br />
spectator. For fans who worry about security at big games, GSHC<br />
has thrown its weight behind its security staff to make sure<br />
everything runs smoothly. For women, who were never previously<br />
considered a target audience and think ice hockey is a rowdy,<br />
boys-only sport, GSHC has launched special events for women<br />
which, in turn, has helped to make games even more appealing to<br />
families. For supporters who want more than just a hot dog and a<br />
soft drink to enjoy while at the game, GSHC opened McSorley’s<br />
Pub & Steakhouse, serving top quality food and drinks that any<br />
Eighty-One<br />
restaurant in Geneva would be proud to off er. ‘We all want positive<br />
emotions: hope, to feel good, to feel a part of something we admire,<br />
and to be taken care of. We’re in the business of satisfying those<br />
needs,’ says Quennec.<br />
THE GSHC APPROACH TO CUSTOMER SERVICE<br />
‘Everything is about people. You’re only limited by the number of<br />
good people on board who can execute your projects. We want<br />
people who go the extra yard, people who really care,’ says Quennec.<br />
And how does GSHC manage this? ‘Every person knows who<br />
their boss is, what their job is, and how they will be rated. But<br />
mainly, they feel passionate about what they do. It is much more<br />
than a job, it is a way of life.’ Quennec’s partner Chris McSorley<br />
shares this philosophy with his players. ‘When you come to a game,<br />
you’re coming to work, you’re a professional. After a game, you<br />
smarten up and you come and connect with the fans, smile, talk to<br />
people, whether we won or lost.’ Th is has benefi ts for fans and<br />
players alike, Quennec says. ‘Th e players feel accountable and<br />
produce better results. Th ey’re ambassadors for the club, and for the<br />
city of Geneva. Th ey have a sense of responsibility.’ He describes his<br />
organisation as having a backbone, but one that’s not vertical and<br />
can stay strong even if one link is missing. ‘I see the backbone as
horizontal. If one element is out of sync with the others, the whole<br />
organisation is off balance.’ Quennec’s mix of drive, passion and<br />
humility is a large part of how he gets the best out of his staff .<br />
‘Th ere’s no such thing as being the best, but we strive to be<br />
considered among the best sports organisations in the world.’<br />
Th e tip of the iceberg is Quennec’s philosophy. It could have<br />
been applied to any number of organisations, it didn’t have to be a<br />
sports club. But Quennec chose GSHC, and the reason behind this<br />
was for more than just the challenge of turning the club into a<br />
successful sporting team and entertainment enterprise. For him and<br />
Chris McSorley being the best means much more than simply<br />
winning games. GSHC is a vehicle, a launching pad for projects<br />
that can make a real diff erence to the<br />
community, thanks to its reach through<br />
its fan base and corporate sponsors,<br />
through the media attention it generates<br />
and through the infl uence of its players.<br />
Th e GSHC message goes beyond the<br />
rink: the club aims to be a model for<br />
youth hockey development and to<br />
provide a positive impact on the local<br />
community. ‘It’s not about money, and<br />
it’s not just about winning games. It’s<br />
about all this positive energy, and how<br />
far that can go,’ says Quennec.<br />
GSHC devotes much of its time and energy into Geneva’s<br />
children. In Switzerland today there are kids of all ages and from all<br />
across the city who are discovering and enjoying ice hockey. Some<br />
may even be the hockey stars of the future. Th anks to the Genève<br />
Future Hockey Association (GFH), a non-profi t organisation set<br />
up by GSHC, both aspiring athletes and kids who just want to<br />
have fun playing the sport have the opportunity to play hockey with<br />
their peers, get professional coaching and interact with star hockey<br />
players who act as mentors and role models to educate them about<br />
the positive attributes of the sport. GFH will even give career<br />
advice to help promising players think about their future both<br />
inside and outside the rink.<br />
Eighty-Two<br />
Below: a GSHC player mentors a young child.<br />
Bottom: Hugh Quennec (left) and PrivatAir’s<br />
Victor Grove (right) enjoy a big match<br />
But that’s not all. Th anks to GSHC’s overwhelming popularity<br />
and media attention, the club is able to organise a number of<br />
high-profi le charity fundraisers and events through the Genève-<br />
Servette Foundation for Children and Humanity. A great example<br />
is the Teddy Bear Night when fans throw stuff ed animals onto the<br />
rink after the fi rst goal of the home team is scored. Th e bears are<br />
then collected and delivered by the players to local children’s<br />
hospitals. And on Pink Night in support of breast cancer charities,<br />
players don pink jerseys as they play. Th eir kit is then sold off at<br />
auction and the proceeds given to charity.<br />
Hugh Quennec’s Sport for Life Foundation illustrates how<br />
sport can benefi t the community in a variety of diff erent ways. Take<br />
the Community Rinks programme for<br />
example. Th e foundation provided funding<br />
that was instrumental in helping several<br />
communities in the Geneva area to build<br />
outdoor rinks. Th ese rinks have become a<br />
meeting point for family recreation, social<br />
events, school outings as well as venues for<br />
hockey initiation programs for boys and<br />
girls, that are managed by GFH. Th e Sport<br />
for Life Foundation’s Le Petit Sport<br />
programme aims to allow children as<br />
young as four to learn good manners,<br />
follow rules, work as a team and stay focused on a task, all through<br />
the use of stories and games. ‘We’re getting four-year-olds to shake<br />
hands when they say hello, look you in the eye when they’re talking<br />
to you, and accept time-out when they’ve not followed the rules,<br />
respected the other participants or the equipment. It’s not just about<br />
sport, it’s an education for life,’ says Quennec.<br />
GSHC is already changing the face of sport in Geneva. And it’s<br />
not just thanks to good business sense or solid sporting performance.<br />
It’s largely because everyone involved wants to work towards the<br />
positive ideals that the club believes in. Quennec’s drive is contagious<br />
because his values are sound, and you can bet he gained these through<br />
his love of sport. ‘It is about sport,’ he says. ‘But more importantly, it’s<br />
about good people doing good things for good reasons.’<br />
AMEETINGOFMINDS<br />
When Victor Grove, senior vice-president for training and customer<br />
service at PrivatAir, met GSHC president Hugh Quennec, their joint<br />
appreciation of sport was just a starting point for a friendship that is<br />
based on many shared values. ‘In my role at PrivatAir, it’s all about<br />
people. We aim for that heightened level of excellence among our staff .<br />
When we talk about customer service, we call it our Service<br />
d’Excellence. I’m a great believer in the values people can learn<br />
through sport, and apply to every area of life: the team spirit, hard<br />
work, focus and discipline. There are many ways to communicate those<br />
values to our staff and our customers. Highlighting role models like the<br />
GSHC is a fi ne example.’<br />
IMAGE©BOMBARDIER
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