WIN Living on the Edge – Stockholm, Archipelagic Bohemia

WIN yourself a weekend for two and get your style hands on a rather snazzy number from Camilla Wellton – just drop us a few of your favorite insider tips.

Continuing with out series dedicated to the local community, we have teamed up with our three gorgeous Swedish numbers – Hotel J, Nobis Hotel and Hotel Skeppsholmen and one of the most distinctive fashion designers in the Swedish capital to bring the latest edition of the Living on the Edge Series.

Water frames this maritime urban hub of clean living.  Liberal values and quiet sophistication rule, whereby fabulous Royalist heritage seamlessly marry the modernist functionality -all with that enviable clarity of touch. It is a hub that fosters creativity alongside rooted traditionalism, all dusted in fables and pagan tales.

Send your insider tips to White Line Hotels here LIVING ON THE EDGE STOCKHOLM and good luck – should you not win you can always go and check out the hotels.

White Line Hotels features 40+ independent hotels that were cast & crafted just for their neighbourhood, if you want to more subscribe – it’s great finding new friends across this fascinating planet.

Good luck

Femme Maison – raw elegance in the heart of Vienna

Femme Maison is a Vienna based brand founded in 2009 by Franziska Fürpass (1983, Austria) and George Bezhanishvili (1984, Georgia). George eventually dropped out, but Franziska pushed through by expanding and reinventing her label whilst studying at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna.

Her inspiration lies in the works of Louise Bourgeois, who strives to recreate the relationship between the human body and the surrounding tangible world. Ultimately, the aim of both designer and artist is to recreate a safe environment, a shelter for the body and soul.

‘Our body is being influenced by our life. We are after all more than the sum of our experiences. We are as malleable as wax’ (Louise Bourgeois)

Her AW12/13 collection stands for strength infused with emotions and intelligence. Large silhouettes and draped fabrics are transformed into empowering sculptures, able to sensually reshape the wearer’s body. Franziska employs rippled surfaces juxtaposed to voluminous shapes, which through camel hair dresses and jackets, wool and handmade tapestries, form the key elements of her label. The outlines of her garments however, are purposefully left unfinished, in order to contrast the predominant sensual elements of her collection.

Femme Maison doesn’t simply focus on garments; accessories and footwear also play an important role in her collections. Shoes are combined with fabric, fur, wool and deliberately left unhemmed. Her accessories maintain a certain raw elegance, which is the result of a subtle combination of purism and pompousness. Raw materials, such as metal wise and wood, are then transformed in bracelets, necklaces and rings.

In 2010 she was asked to showcase in the concept store Wolfensson, right in the heart of Vienna, and in 2012 she had a catwalk during the Festival 11 Fashion & Photography, promoted by Elfi Semotan e Erwin Wurm. We have yet see what she has planned for the future, but in the meantime you can keep tracks of her movement by visiting her website, or just by dropping her an email next time you visit Vienna.

A great place to crash when in Vienna off the tourist radar, is the White Line Hotels edit, the bijou boutique hotel , Hollmann Beletage – the insiders place for creatives.

Contributing Writer: Fier Management 

Photo credits: Rosa Rendl.

Got a little more time in Vienna to explore? Check these out from our archives:

A Vintage Weekend, Vienna Style 

Living On The Edge: Vienna: SHOPPING ON THE EDGE 

Your Take on Vienna Fringe Living: THE INSIDER TIPS: Report #1

Kea, a Cycladic island for slow living

White Line Hotels - Kea, Cyclades Greece - the island

White Line Hotels has picked up the family run Kea Villas, a fresh intimate collection of traditional styled private island houses created for the independent self catering holiday seeker. Set at the pinnacle position of the sleepy Chora of Ioulida on Kea (Tzia) in the western Cyclades, it is close to the islands of Syros, Tinos, Kythnos and Mykonos.

The pace of life here is decidedly gentle, long an insiders bolthole of the nearby Athenians (just an hour from Lavrio), an island famed for slow living, natural beauty, deep character and tonic for the good life.

The cubist houses are elegantly dapper, whilst retaining a firm sense of lovely localness and quiet personality.  Sober, pared back boutique interiors adopt a modern crisp and novel mode. A canvas of sun bleached whites and muted shades frame and capture the Aegean in a relaxed tone.

Fab. unspoilt beaches, lush oak forests and an aged cobbled Chora built to the form of an amphitheatre with the characteristic “Stegadia” roofed courtyards, sets a quiet rhythm for slow living,  leaving you somewhat spellbound.

At the family run Kea Villas, it is about soaking up island life, the vibe is all about the luxury of chilled casual living, a tonic to put <slow> back on your agenda as you gaze at those breathtaking views and ponder about the good life.

White Line Hotels – the creative network of 40+ independent hotels and boltholes.

A family affair in Puglia, Masseria Cimino