Happiness is…

To this day, one of my biggest inspirations in the life is the Nottingham-born fashion designer Sir Paul Smith. Not just for his beautiful creations, but because of his view on the world. His unique way of looking at things could be one of the secrets to happiness and it’s an approach to life that I try to follow.

You can find inspiration in everything. If you can’t, then you’re not looking properly.”

Sir Paul Smith

I did a short course at UAL in London back in 2014 on Trend-forecasting (I even love that the name of the course was called Coolhunting) and one of the key learnings of this course was to be observant, look up, look down, look around you and absorb the unique energy of a location or city. We were taught to notice graffiti, which can be a social commentary, to look at what people were wearing and to observe the little things. There is endless inspiration in the world, in both beauty and in ugliness. Here are some things that recently that caught my eye or stopped me in my tracks over the last few weeks.

A beautiful flower that appeared on a cactus in our apartment. A gift from a wonderful friend and so nice to see this shock of colour. And who knew that these plants could have such gorgeous flowers?

Celebrating our five year wedding anniversary at the FIVE Zurich Hotel. Iain’s smile and the sun setting over Zurich in the background made this special occasion even more perfect.

Exploring a free sculpture garden near where we live. Art on our doorstep.

A stunning silk scarf in the window of enSoie. A very good friend who recently moved to the United States loves sun motifs and smiley faces so this made me think of her and also daydream of buying this piece!

Is there anything more dramatic that a sudden pop of scarlet? I loved the moody contrast of the river and empty café early in the morning.

A crystal clean water fountain adorned with zesty blooms. The availability of clean drinkable water in Zurich must be one of the biggest luxuries of this city (there more than are 1,200). It should never be taken for granted when we think of water scarcity around the world.

I love old buildings and this one is one of my favourites for Swiss character and unassuming beauty.

Sitting on a bridge for 10 minutes waiting for a gift shop to open. It’s not often you pause and waiting these minutes were filled with sending a voice note to a great friend who lives in Hove in the UK. The shimmer of the water and thinking of her made me so happy.

What did you see this week that sparked happiness? 🙂