If you are looking for an original creative item, either as a treat for yourself or a gift for others, then The Pop-up Shop in Divonne-les-Bains is a great place to look.
Located just across the road from the Quatre Vents Tea Rooms, the shop is a popular initiative introduced by the Mairie of Divonne to showcase the work of small artisan businesses in the area. By renting the space on a monthly basis, these highly skilled creators have the opportunity to market their goods locally without the prohibitive costs of long-term shop rental fees.
This autumn the shop is featuring original vintage jewelry designed by Debbie Willis of Bede's Beads, along with an attractive range of scarves and bags produced by Lut Lemaire, a Belgian expat living near Divonne. Describing her jewelry pieces to knowitall.ch, English expat Debbie told us,
“I have been designing and making 'one-of-a-kind' Jewellery for over 10 years using vintage, semi-precious and artisanale components. I love the idea of using pieces that have been loved and treasured, adorning women for up to 2,000 years - my oldest beads currently are 1st/2nd century Bactrian Amazonite and Roman Glass from a similar period. I like to combine beads from around the world sometimes in a single necklace, some of them have travelled three continents before meeting in one of my designs!”
If you are looking for an original card on which to pass on your personal message to someone special, then take a look at the new range of hand-made cards from Groseille.
Launched by local artist, Magali Bican, this colorful series of hand-drawn cards is ideal for special occasions such as birthdays, weddings, newborn arrivals – or simple declarations of love!
As a mother of 2 young girls, Magali knows just how special it is to receive personalised gifts and messages of love and support from friends and families – so she also creates framed pictures bearing the name of your child, in the design and color of your choice.
Each time Magali produces a new card or nameplate, it has a different flower or message so you can be sure that you will not find the same card anywhere else in Geneva – or elsewhere for that matter! Unless of course you choose to have your cards professionally printed in quantity, either as a birthday invitation or birth notification, in which case, the recipients will all have the same card!
The 10th edition of Know-it-all passport® on the bookshelf at Manor Lausanne
The editor of Know-it-all passport®, Lisa Cirieco-Ohlman, will be signing the new shiny 10th edition of her popular guidebook for the English-speaking community at Manor in Lausanne this Saturday, 24th September 2016, between 10h and 13h.
Manor Lausanne is one of 6 new sales outlets where you can now purchase the very latest edition of Know-it-all passport®, which arrived on bookshelves in local stores at the end of last month. Talking about this great new sales opportunity for the book, Lisa told knowitall.ch,
“I am really excited that the residents of Lausanne now have the opportunity to buy my book at such a landmark store in the community. Seeing how popular the book has always been at Manor in Geneva and at the Chavannes Centre, I am hopeful that the book will reach even more people in Lausanne through this new sales channel.”
She continued “If you are heading to Manor Lausanne, the best place to park is the Parking de la Riponne, which now offers a great service for shoppers — featured in the new 10th edition of Know-it-all passport® — called the Riponne Express. When you purchase your goods from Manor, Globus, or Coop, simply tell the cashier that you wish to leave your bags with the Riponne Express and they will give you a ticket for collecting your shopping later at the exit of the car park. So you can literally shop till you drop or go and have a relaxing coffee unencumbered by lots of bags until you are ready to leave. You can find all the details, and lots of other handy tips, in the Parking section of my new book!”
Local diving specialist, Scuba Dream, is offering knowitall.ch readers huge savings on any diving equipment purchased from their store in Geneva this summer. The only diving center in Geneva with its own refill station, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, Scuba Dream has an extensive stock of new diving equipment and accessories. In addition, the shop holds regular sales of old stock and second-hand equipment, and runs a popular maintenance and repair service too. It is also possible to hire equipment – not just diving equipment but ski accessories too! To claim your discount on any purchases at Scuba Dream, just mention this article when you go into the shop.
In addition to the shop, Scuba Dream also offers a range of activities through its partner diving school, Aqua Diving. With lessons ranging from water sports and diving for kids, through to PADI courses for adults and training for instructors, the school caters for divers of all levels from novice through to expert. It also has its own diving club with advantageous rates for members. Like Scuba Dream, Aqua Diving is offering knowitall.ch readers a range of discounts on lessons booked through their center this summer. Just mention this article when you make your booking.
10% discount for knowitall.ch readers!
A new online necklace business, selling hand-made beaded necklaces has just opened in the region.
Called Le Joli Collier, the business has been launched by Selena, a local entrepreneur passionate about designing necklaces with a difference. She told knowitall.ch,
“The story of 'Le Joli Collier' began on a trip to Venice some years ago where I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a bead shop selling some of the most original and captivating beads I had ever seen. Having bought some of these beads, I felt inspired to use them in a way that would showcase their beauty. And so the idea of creating necklaces was born.”
