May 2013
Taipei has long lived in the shadow of its glitzier neighbours when it comes to retail. But now the range and quality of products on offer are firming up the Taiwanese capital’s place on Asia’s shopping map.
Issue 63
Making tortoiseshell glasses by hand is a rare and exacting skill. One of the last practitioners, Maison Bonnet, is making sure the art survives, thanks to its keen young apprentice.
Wednesday 15 May
We visit the tailors of Brazil who seem to get more business than anywhere in the world, look at a repair industry that’s grown up around New Zealand’s first and only manufactured vehicle – the Trekka, and visit a New York…
Tuesday 14 May
The Rana Plaza tragedy in Bangladesh has echoes of events a century ago. Sophie Grove asks what we should have learned.On a recent trip to the US I took a tour of the garment factories on the Pacific West Coast. I went from cutting rooms to production lines to talk to managers and workers about the state of manufacturing in the country. I…
Issue 63
What do a textiles business in Japan, a UK shoemaker, a fashion firm in Italy and a publishing company in Lebanon have in common? They are all examples of brands whose obituaries had been written until new life was breathed…
Wednesday 8 May
We take a tour with winegrowers in South Africa, meet a company that hopes the world’s solo workers will leave home to take a work desk at another company, and talk manufacturing with a woman who launched her celebrated…
Tuesday 7 May
Getting on your bicycle in London is often the quickest way across town. But when that bike breaks, try a bit of DIY next time before heading to expensive repair shops.In London, commuting is often quickest on two wheels. Getting from my flat – just east of central London – to Midori House just west of it, can take up to 45 minutes in a taxi during rush hour or 35 minutes on the tube.…
May 2013
Baselworld is the biggest event on the watchmaking calendar, attracting leading players and emerging names from the world of timekeeping. Monocle drops in to preview the latest horological finery.
Wednesday 1 May
We meet the minds behind iconic US heritage brand Filson, talk with the entrepreneurs who want to make Detroit a watch-making town, and ask a would-be Japanese footballer why he ditched the pitch and joined the family…
Wednesday 24 April
Business off the grid: we meet a US company bringing the power of the sun to those without, look into the Australian outback for an unlikely taste of 19th-century Spain, and meet an energy entrepreneur in the West Bank.
April 2013
Staying comfortable in-flight means big business at Hamburg’s World Travel Catering and Onboard Services Expo. Join Monocle as we pay a flying visit.
Wednesday 17 April
Music industry special: we discuss the branding of bands with three industry veterans, head to Greece to meet one of the last handmade-piano makers, see why one company wants to hold music performances in your living room…
Issue 62
Away from the brashness of Beverly Hills the hilly neighbourhood of Silver Lake has enjoyed a reputation for enterprising creativity for more than 80 years. Monocle meets today’s residents who are keeping the tradition…
Wednesday 10 April
A visit to a brewery in Accra to see how the city's expanding middle class is developing a thirst for beer, we meet a family-run rollercoaster manufacturer in Italy with sights on China and Pyongyang, and investigate the…
Issue 62
A centre of perfume making for centuries, the town of Grasse in the South of France is holding on to its reputation as fragrance capital of the world by developing new technology alongside time-honoured traditions.
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