it's not courage – #123

This is, for now, the last letter from Merano. This is it, because in the next days we're going to leave it.

We've lived in South Tyrol for five years now. Merano is still the most aesthetic town in the region, and that's the reason we ended up here in the first place.

It can also be a bit of a theme park. The town only really belongs to the Meranians in November and February. The rest of the year it's full of tourists, (and I say that as someone who rents an apartment to them).

I'm writing this afternoon at the desk in our little holiday apartment, where we're camping until Wednesday because our flat already belongs to the next tenant. I bought the desk a few weeks ago, for guests who want to work here. I'm the first one using it. The view is pretty nice: sun, trees … and the next-door construction site.

My kids are at the table on the terrace in front of me, playing in the Sunday sun.

The construction site next door is still unfinished. Just like our to-do list on the fridge: 23 open tasks before we leave Wednesday morning.

The job is quit, the apartment is gone, everything else went into storage, and the kids’ homeschooling started last week. Only one math book has flown through the room so far. Hope it stays that way.

Next week, I'll share more about the trip, including a way to follow along offline…

People keep telling me we're brave. I don't feel especially brave. We don't know where we'll stay two weeks from now, or whether we can make self-employment work.

We made the decision. Now we have to live with it. That's the whole shtick.

If you’re new around here: Every week, I share 5 of the nicest products from Europe I’ve discovered in the past 7 days.

I scout, you explore.

With love 🌞
Jakob

P.S.: The 2027 desk planner from mishmash was the most-clicked product in last week's issue. The cheapest thing in the issue beat a standing lamp, a hand-painted mermaid, and a stranger at a funeral.

P.P.S.: If you’d like to spend some time in Merano during winter or spring 2027 (even in quieter February) and are looking for a place suited for workation, just let us know.

P.P.P.S.: If you find something that belongs here (also if you made it yourself), send it.

Rafa García designed the Elle Mini for Sancal as the most casual version of their Elle, and the reference is a beach lounger: textile slung between lacquered steel, and not much else. The cover comes off to be repaired rather than replaced. One version is upholstered in Maharam's Checker, the fabric Alexander Girard drew in 1965. It would fit perfectly in the living room of our holiday apartment here in Merano.

The Blue Dense Splatter bowl comes from Fenek Studio in Warsaw, where Tosia Kiliś and Agata Klimkowska have worked out of an old brushmaker's workshop on Tamka for eight years. Tosia learned casting and mould-making at the Ćmielów porcelain factory.
I'd like to see the green of the matcha against this blue.

I'd leave this blue one on the sofa even when it's too warm to need a blanket. The Ruzha throw by Ukrainian brand GUNIA project is 140 × 200 cm of cotton, with a print based on a woven rug from the first half of the 19th century. It also draws on geometric ornamentation and cross-stitch embroidery.

Mati Sipiora designed the Poodle Armchair in 2023, and it looks almost overdressed. Its stacked sections of polished stainless steel remind me of a show poodle’s clipped legs. I’d choose brown leather; white bouclé makes the resemblance a bit too literal. It’s made in Czepino, Poland, and takes four to six weeks to produce.

Designed and made in Rivalta di Torino, the Storage Wall System by Alama Studio frames dumbbells, kettlebells and barbells in stainless steel and wood. It disappears into the room as furniture. Their argument: “What is stored becomes what is shown, and the wall gains a composition instead of losing one.” It’s easily in the top 10 of the most expensive pieces I’ve featured here: fully loaded it comes to €39,400. I like it, though at that price it isn't for me