Barcelona/Judith Masco cover shoot/Thursday, 6th of October 2011

Early start. As usual- No time to ride on yesterdays success- today we are shooting Spain s first “interactive” ipad cover with the countries TOP Model “Judith Masco”. Fashion icon and catlan starlet- El palauet, is our backdrop and merges beautifully catalan designersLOSSON couture with the breath taking veteran beauty. After 4 children, Judith’s body looks impeccable- I wonder if she had to struggle like any other of us mami mortals to get that belly back to were it belongs. I have the feeling that this will be one of our best editorials- and off to meet Dani Clos and his team for lunch- Decision is taken- we will develop his new website- great!

Madrid/ AEEPP/ Wednessday 5th October 2011:

Claudia Trimde wins best SPAINs digital publication award

Imagine you wake up and tell yourself, this will be one of the most important “days of my life”. You know for it to come true- everything has to be perfect- you have to look great- find the right words- and be on time. Most of all you will need the energy to embrace whats waiting for you at the fullest. Running, running, running…-a great morning workout, just does the trick for me- traveling light- I hop on the next plane to Madrid. My life is not for the faint hearted- I still don’t have a dress for the AEEPP 6^th annual awards ceremony at Spains´s famous “puerta de sol” all official government headquarters- neither do I have my hair and make up sorted out…-first lunch- free this time, because the sushi at one of Madrid´s 4 star- “eateres” Hotel Ayre Colon was so horrible (the rice stone hard from the day before)- that they had no choice then to refund me- I pick up the phone and call Francisco, one of Madrid´s PR gurus (Comunica plus) which I met on the shoot with Beatice de Orleans- in just minutes he manages to get me a last minute appointment for what must be now Madrid s hottest hair+ make up salon “ Moncho Moreno”- Stylist to the stars just opened this new hotspot at the capital.- On the way the FINNALY showroom – and Hugo just has the right dress for me “HOSS” – figure hugging but formal. Perfect. Hair and make up a dream- just in time for the awards ceremony.

Anxiously I am standing in the back, the assembly is so crowded that not a single seat is left.- who is who of Spain´s publishing royalty are present- editorial powerhouses and vice president of Madrid- what if my whole journey was in vain and I will in the end go home empty handed?- Suddenly, I hear my name- “Digital Publication award” – all finalists are called onto the stage- determined with a hush of a smile my eyes are fixed on the president who is just about to announce….and “the winner is “ YES! VIP MEDIA PRESS for BARCELONA deluxe- my smile turns into a big grin- I can´t help it! Against all odds- as a foreigner, a woman, young, entrepreneur, I had dared to take on the “biggies” and it had paid out! All the endless struggles with how to convert a printed Magazine into an Ipad app- days and night of bug fixing with my team- Felipe s creative streak of genius- it has been worth it! I was holding a heavy medal in my hand- “this is for all of us! My team…my family…in my head I was practicing my speech- but NOL…quickly they shuffled us from the stage- no time for words- just pictures!- So the taxi already waiting- back to the airport- check in- still fully styled with dress (that was a first even for me)- the security guard holds me back- “excuse me madam” could you open your bag for me”- ups, did I forget my water bottle again?- No Lady there is a very dense object in your bag which I need to check…Puzzeled I look at him- AHHHJ big smiles MY AWARD, I utter and manage to fill everybody in –in line on my 1 hour ago “success story”…”no prob you can keep it”-this time I ll let you off, he laughs”-up in the sky- I pop a bottle and celebrate on my own… some moments you have to enjoy alone- and this is one of these moments in my life.

Barcelona/Home/Tuesday, 4th of October:

GENEVA/ CHOPARD/ Monday, 3rd of October:

Early start; Helena Bermudez- Spain´scommunications director for Chopard had it all planned out for us- while she was flying in from Madrid – Mati my camera and I hopped onto the first Swiss air plane to Geneva- and glory this is what I love about not just the airline- “all goes like clockwork”! Plane on time- an overload of “watch ads” greeting us at the airport- and off we were to headquarters right next to the airport. Daphne Secretan, the brands PR Manager greets us with a delicate smile- and invites straight to lunch- Make up- fixed – camera set- first stop “the melting pot” Chopards unique “gold rose” consists of  an at least 75% gold and rest a secret “silver/bronce¨mix. Melted at 1000 degree´s Mati manges to stick the camera lense right in, capturing first hand the “brodeling mixture”.  Onto where the watches are made- all minute little details- put together evolving into a masterpiece- then with “special pass access only” off to the high jewelry section, I meet Marc Couttet- Director – right hand to Caroline Scheufele, creative director and co-owner of the jewelry and watchmaking family legacy. Marc shows me the last piece (its top secret – I am not allowed to tell) of the 150 piece commemorative 150 anniversary Jewelry collection. Incredible…Diamonds are a girls best friend- and I was in heaven! What struck me- mainly men put these pieces together, also everything I saw was really hand made- sometimes pieces take 3000 hours or more to produce… and most of the precious stones are fitted under a microscope.

Off home on the last flight back to Barca- nooooo- suddenly my face turns white and I feel sickish- I can´t find my agenda…with my favorite Montblanc pen- I must have left it somewhere in the factory or even ON THE PLANE? Horror…my live is in there…well nearly….at least all my this year scribbles…grrrr- quick mail to Helena + Daphne and a call to lost and found SWISS air- no luck-too late in the day—I ll have to wait till next morning!

Madrid,Carmen Posadas,2nd October 2011

with Carmen Posadas, Madrid

“Literature is therapeutic- you can kill anyone you dislike”-Carmen Posadas just gave me the right idea for my blog post this week…- 7 days packed of events and intense filming for all our upcoming  content for the coming issues…most of all- our new- first ever issue worldwide “Le CITY deluxe”. You would think that by the end of this week … with on average 4 hours sleep a day, 7 interviews, 1 party, 2 plane rides and 2 photo shoots  i was ready to “kill of anyone” that would cross my way- but – the “Invitation to murder” title of Carmen´s new book- turned quite the other way. ZEN- the team was excellent- everything worked out perfect- and the only “minor” disaster like “dead hair” and vampire eyes- were repaired by alargan oil and a bag of sleep.