Michèle was very enthusiastic about her experience with Sabine Lecercq Haanæs, who is part of the Maison Casagiu & Co team, and wrote us a rave review. In fact, if you want to see some of Sabine's work for yourself, she is holding an exhibition from Friday, 14 June 2024 through August at the Maison Casagui address in Nyon (see below).
Michèle wrote the following to knowitall: When we met with Sabine a few years ago, we felt that her style was exactly what we were looking for. We were impressed with her technique that combines painting with a kind of texture that gives life to her artwork. She usually starts with a strong dominant color that jumps out at you, but when you look at it closely, you see a large variation of undertones that you can endlessly dissect. Each time I look at one of her paintings, I’m surprised to discover how it changes, her technique translates into movement, complexity and depth.
Three years ago, we asked Sabine if she could create a piece for us. We knew where we wanted this piece to be placed but had very little idea of the color and format. Sabine was amazing at advising us. She not only came to our home to look at the wall where we wanted to place her work, but she also spent time looking at the furniture, the lighting and the overall atmosphere of the room. She asked many questions in order to understand what exactly we were looking for, and most importantly, what emotion we were hoping this artwork would create for us.
Sabine Lecercq Haanæs with one of her works
Thanks to her visit to our home she was able to create a very unique triptych piece with the perfect size and placement on the wall. She recommended a deep and light red that completely changed the atmosphere of the space and has become the focal point of attraction when you enter the room.
Thanks to this successful and exciting collaboration, we asked Sabine to create another artwork for our vacation home. She used a different technique to adapt to a different athmosphere and environment. The project is based on a more graphic approach that fits perfectly with the style of the house and the colors of the decoration of the main room where the painting hangs.
Fun, educational, interactive children's books set though Swiss towns. The main character is Marco the Swiss Alpine Marmot. We were contacted by Clint Bauld, who has been working diligently to get the printed versions out. We just received news that the Marco Loves Switzerland Morges and Nyon books are printed and available!
Soon to follow will be Geneva (June 2024), Zurich, and a few more.
Each set of books can be bought in English or in French (and German for the Zurich edition):
- Story book
- Travel edition
- Activity book
- Coloring book
What has been the inspiration?
Clint explains, "As an avid traveller and lover of history, I wanted to create books which would inspire and educate children to love exploring through the eyes of the lovable, Marco the Swiss Alpine Marmot.
MAISON CASAGIU & Co: Sabine, Bénédicte, Laetitia, Priscille, Giselle, Barbara
In Nyon, a new concept store combining tranquillity and refinement opened its doors almost a year ago, offering a range of services dedicated both to real estate and to artistic and decorative creativity. The synergy of skills intertwines to create unique, personalised living spaces. Driven by dynamic, enterprising women, this all-inclusive concept has a unique charm and originality all of its own.
How it all began: A beautiful story
In 2015, Casagiu was born from the hands and heart of Laetitia, who named her little boutique after the lucky acronym of the 3 first names of her daughters Carla, Sarah and Giulia. Passionate about human relationships and beautiful things, she set up shop under the arches on the lake road in Coppet where she welcomed visitors with warmth and a smile, inviting them to discover the many treasures she carefully selected. Casagiu then moved into the majestic setting of the Château de Coppet in 2018.
In 2023, Laetitia was once again faced with a unique opportunity: to move into the former Le Garage on Rue de Rive in Nyon, an incredible 340m2 of space facing the serene waters of Lake Geneva.
When we heard about the merger between MyExpatShop and Bite Sized British Shop, we immediately contacted the owner Xanthe Visram from Bite Sized British Shop. She explains that she is passionate about books and child literacy, previously selling books to families in the Vevey/Montreux area. We caught up with her and she explained how she started selling the best of British foodstuffs as well. She is also offering a delicious tin of shortbread biscuits to one lucky knowitall reader... see the competition below.
How did the idea get started?
A friend asked me if I happened to know anyone who was looking for commercial space as some had opened up next to her English school and when I walked in inspiration struck! I just knew that I could make it into a warm and welcoming British shop.
Although the original space didn’t work out, I soon found a better location and in 2019 I opened Bite Sized, my British shop, in St-Légier, VD.
The shop is now full of British food products, gifts, games, art from local artists, greeting cards and over 1,500 new books in English.
Have you been working on this idea forever?
During the pandemic it became essential to move my business online. At that time I was able to offer Click & Collect services while shops couldn’t open their doors.
Since then it has developed so that I am now able to sell and deliver all of my products across Switzerland, including crumpets and sausages via the website.
Arun Pabari is passionate about writing and has written many short stories. We recently found out that during covid, Arun published his book, Who will SAVE the World, and is even offering one lucky reader a chance to win a copy! Read down to bottom of the article.
Tell us about your book and what has been the inspiration.
This book is fiction intertwined with a lot of truth. It is one man’s fight against all odds to find the person who can save the earth from destruction as a huge meteor is going to strike the earth. He travels to several places – each time getting miraculous help to continue his quest. The book is set in 4 different continents. The inspiration for finishing the book was the birth of my grandson Shaan in 2021. I burnt midnight oil to finish the book in his honor.
Have you been working on this idea forever?
I had this idea since a very long time. I was just waiting for something to click. When I was in Lisbon in 2016, I took some pictures thinking that the book will begin there – but somehow it was not the right place. I then went to Marseille for my office work and then there was a click. Everything was just right. I took a few pictures and told myself that this was it. And yet, I did not start writing. When Covid arrived, I started writing in bits and pieces. It was only when my grandson was on the way that I starting working on it all day and late nights.
What is the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome?
The biggest obstacle has been time – the time required to write – and do all the other chores (work + home). At times I would get stuck and would not know how to go to the next chapter. I would go to sleep at 2 am – and then ideas would start flowing.
