Films — Business: Recent Episodes
Monocle
Tinned sardines are an icon of Portugal. We visit a family-run shop and one of the country’s last artisanal canneries to discover why sardines are cherished by the Portuguese, how the industry started back with Napoleon and what is driving the revival of canned fish. Discover more from the country with Portugal: The Monocle Handbook.
Climate change is prompting fruit farmers to diversify and coffee roasters to start considering areas beyond the so-called bean belt to source their raw material. In Sicily, Morettino, a forward-looking family-run roastery, has already started growing coffee plants in Palermo, creating an espresso that is truly made in Italy. To discover more surprising business opportunities, subscribe to Monocle magazine today.
A new electric flight school in Sweden is inspiring a future of emission-free aviation. Monocle takes to the sky, tries out the first fully electric plane to be approved for use in Europe and hears how Skellefteå has become a hotbed of green start-ups. Read more in the June issue of the magazine. Read more in the June issue of the magazine.
Airships, once tipped to be the future of flight, are now largely used as costly billboards that drift across cities or over major sporting events. We travelled to Friedrichshafen in Germany to take a peek inside one of the world’s few commercial operations and explore this niche area of aviation. Read more on the story in the November issue of Monocle magazine.
As the business world prepares to get moving again, here are 10 things that you might have missed about Thailand during the past 12 months. From its sunny disposition to its trade and innovation, quality of life and sustainable development, there’s much to look forward to on your next trip.
Five generations after Giovanni Gaja founded his eponymous winery in the Piedmont town of Barbaresco, the family continues to produce some of Italy’s best vintages. Their uncompromising commitment to quality is helping to maintain one of the world’s finest vintners.
We shine a spotlight on entrepreneurship in Armenia. Yerevan’s boulevards are lined with magnificent Soviet architecture but venture beyond the imperious façades and you’ll find a busy start-up scene and well-funded art centres. Armenia shows how a small nation can benefit from building strong ties to its powerful diaspora.
Long before environmentalism became a popular concern, Henrik Marstrand created Mater, a Danish furniture company that prides itself on timeless pieces with sustainability at the core. Marstrand’s entrepreneurial spirit and faith in the circular economy is changing perceptions of good design.
We land in the capital of Sichuan province in China for a tour of its delights, from spicy hotpot to leafy neighbourhoods.
Portugal’s second city is close to the country’s manufacturing heart and that’s why so many designers have made it their home. We meet some of the bright minds making a mark.
Greece’s second city is defiantly bouncing back from the economic crisis and welcoming an increasingly international crowd. We meet the brave residents who set up shop in the tough times and are now finding success – as well as offering reasons to be hopeful about the country’s future.
We hop aboard the M1 in Madrid to see how the nifty Wolta Rampini offers a helping hand to those who need it most: residents in the steep, historic borough of Lavapies.
Palma has kept its charm for young creatives despite its tourist-trodden streets. We meet the people keeping this city alive.
A trip to Iceland for a masterclass in sustainable living and a whizz around Audi’s electric car plant in Brussels leaves Monocle Films with a positive vision of the future.
The Netherlands is a world leader in the horticulture industry and shows no sign of wilting. We visit a delicately orchestrated flower auction, a grower and a florist to unpack the challenges of this fragrant business.
Producers and retailers of luxury goods are waking up to the power of affluent seniors. We travel to Japan to meet the brands that are wise to the trend.
Loved by their loyal passengers, Zürich’s trams are not only punctual but also contribute to the city’s identity. Hop on board as we introduce you to the fleet that makes the Swiss city tick.
Natives and newcomers to Gunsan in South Korea are creating quirky bars, art spaces and a bright future for this charming outpost.
In the latest episode of our 'Secret to...' series we talk to Jack Pattison, co-founder of Freddie Grubb, about the key elements that go into creating an outstanding bike shop.
This Italian city has a long tradition of typography – and the business still has a story to tell. Letterpress workshop-cum-store Lino’s & Co updates old machines with 3D-printed movable type.
We visit a monthly market in the unassuming Somerset town that’s proving an easy sell to locals, buoying local businesses and luring in punters from miles around.
Monocle Films partners Rosewood Hotels & Resorts to discover the secrets that London has to offer. Charlotte Rey shows us around the vibrant capital, taking us to her top spots and favourite haunts.
As the fitness business pulls in new and inventive players, how can cities encourage their citizens to live healthier lives?
Be it online or on the high street, the retail industry is changing fast. From mall developers to pop-up shop suppliers, we know that bricks-and-mortar help to keep your business vital.
When it comes to moving people effortlessly through and between cities, who is getting it right? And how do we make cities where mobility works for young and old alike?
The property sector is growing and it’s no longer business as usual. Will we see London reinvent flat rentals or Copenhagen up the quality of housing? The property market is ready for a shake-up.
From urban farming to robotics, we take a tour around the Brooklyn Navy Yard to see how this vast shipyard has rebuilt its industry and community once more.
Monocle Films has partnered with A. Lange & Söhne to uncover the mystery of how to create a sublime timepiece that will last for generations. We delve into the world of horology to see exactly how the masters do it.
For the 2017 edition we’re switching the format, pace and pitch. We’ll kick things off on Thursday evening with cocktails and then devote all of Friday to a fast-paced eight hours of discussions, one-on-ones and plenty of Q&A mic time (followed by dinner and some moves on the dance floor). Saturday will feature an architectural running tour and a refreshing dip, followed by a leisurely brunch and gallery tour.
Next stop: Madrid. Buy your ticket for the 2019 edition of the conference.
Indonesia’s bounteous resources make it the perfect place for entrepreneurs to set up camp. We meet four enterprising Jakarta residents, who tell us how they are taking advantage of the opportunities in this chaotic city.
We find out how the world of mobility is changing and what challenges lay ahead for car-sharing, single-pilot planes and slow travel.
Viberg boots have been transformed into a fashion favourite. Monocle Films meets the makers who have redesigned the workwear that has been made in Canada since the 1930s.
Division Street in Portland, Oregon has witnessed a model retail renaissance. Monocle Films meets the shopkeepers on this once sleepy stretch, which is now the centre of the city’s budding new retail scene.
Monocle Films heads to the leafy suburbs of southeast London, where entrepreneurs Peter Milne and Alex Beltran have given up their corporate jobs to set up a charming garden centre.
Monocle Films travels to Barcelona to meet 32-year-old entrepreneur Inés Miró-Sans, who is busy shaking up the hotel industry. We check in to Casa Bonay to find the key to its success.
Want to hear more? Join Miró-Sans and a stellar line-up of speakers at the fifth Monocle Quality of Life Conference this June. Buy your ticket.
Monocle Films meets a world-class ship builder that’s staying afloat despite being adrift in far-flung Tasmania. Incat’s prized vessels have set records for speed but it’s the island’s skilled workers that keep the company on an even keel.
From bus to bike to car, how we get around is changing and evolving in surprising ways. Who are the interesting innovators developing the networks of the future? Monocle Films set up a global mobility audit at the Monocle Quality of Life Conference in Vienna.
Regeneration on a human scale is at the heart of property developer Argent’s vision for London’s King’s Cross. Monocle Films explores the reality of its urban concept.
Australia is a country that knows how to shop and its canny citizens want more than the colourless clicks of an online spree. Melbourne’s Gertrude Street, once overlooked, is now one of the city’s most vibrant high streets and home to a mix of independent shops. Monocle Films meets six retailers who anchor the street.
Australia’s enterprising business community is known for spotting the best opportunities abroad – but Germany’s largest and most dynamic state, Bavaria, isn’t usually their first port of call. Invest in Bavaria set out to change this notion with Bytevaria, a lively panel discussion hosted by Monocle in Sydney. Monocle Films reports.
Just like craft breweries, small local distilleries are reinventing drinks that have fallen out of fashion. Monocle films visits three entrepreneurs who have uncorked the potential of the old spirit in London, Hamburg and the Finnish countryside.
A new generation of wine producers in South Tyrol has shifted the focus from quantity to quality, now successfully concentrating on what makes the tipple from this region so special. We visit Merano Wine Festival to meet the people behind this change in the Italian Alps.
Bavaria is Germany’s largest and most dynamic state, combining industrial might with a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Here, we take a tour through the Bundesland’s cities, towns and rural villages and discover a region that offers both quality of life and unparalleled business opportunities.
In this edition of The Entrepreneur series, in partnership with Monocle, we meet with Barcelona-based entrepreneurs who are giving the city a boost: from successful family stalwarts to new upstarts shaking up the status quo.
Things are looking sharp on the fashion scene in Hungary’s capital, with a new collection of boutiques, budding young designers and ground-breaking brands.
Dazzling silver flatware, a clear leader in the glassware game and sturdy alpine-inspired furniture: we survey Vienna’s best inner-city makers.
Swimming in the city got a boost this summer with the launch of inspiring new concepts in Berlin and London. We took a dip and explored the pool experiences on offer.
Sergio P. Ermotti, group chief executive officer of UBS, speaks to Monocle's editor in chief Tyler Brûlé about what the bank's new direction means for its customers: loyalty, long-term performance and impeccable service.
The perfect hot drink is not always an espresso or a flat white: more and more specialty stores around the world are opening their doors to tea aficionados in search of the perfect brew. Monocle Films visits three emporiums in Berlin, New York and London dedicated to the heritage, ritual and taste of tea.
Cities are often seen as the flipside of nature: synthetic, sleek and sometimes impersonal. For places that pine after being greener, the Solitair tree nursery provides a blueprint. Monocle travelled to the nursery in Belgium to discover the value of investing in the future.
From state-of-the-art evacuation slides to the perfect mid-flight chocolate mousse, Monocle Films samples the innovation on offer at the world’s leading trade fair devoted to enhancing the in-flight experience.
Monocle's annual round up of all that's innovative in transport – from welcome revivals to groundbreaking functionality and design.
To highlight the importance of provenance, Gillian Dobias visited Monocle Quality of Life Conference panelists David Hieatt in Wales, Catarina Portas in Lisbon and Kamal Mouzawak in Beirut – three inspiring role models for cities wanting to make the most of their heritage and create jobs.
High streets around the world are increasingly imperilled by the threat of online retailers and click-and-buy commerce. Ahead of our talk on the topic at Monocle's inaugural conference in Lisbon we devised a few simple fixes that urban planners should heed to keep bricks-and-mortar shops honest and interesting.
This month's Monocle Briefing film goes in search of the perfect bar of chocolate. In Cape Town, Tokyo and Chicago we sample sugar and spice and all things nice.
Cannes may be best known for its film festival but for those in the property business the city is famous for one event: Mipim. One of the world’s biggest property fairs, it draws a mix of developers, civic leaders and architects. Here are five key themes from this year’s show.
In a competitive world driven by technological advances, some artisan producers are staying resilient and challenging the mass-produced industry. Monocle films visits entrepreneurs in Istanbul, Cape Town and Mallorca who champion the art of craft.
Brands at this year’s Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie luxury-watch show in Geneva have been inspired by celestial bodies and the search for new materials – with designs that shoot for the stars.
Do you want to wear the best-made shoes in the world? Then you need to visit a quiet corner of France that has become the home of luxury shoe-making. Here's how it happened.
With hi-tech production at the heart of its business, Slovenian brand Elan has carved a reputation at the forefront of ski design. Monocle films headed to the mountains to visit its factory and learn about its past, present and future.
Bikini Berlin is a newly redesigned complex mixing retail, culture and creative thinking about the public space. Once a fading relic of the Cold War, intelligent ideas from its new tenants are helping to redefine the shopping mall model.
Monocle heads to Norway’s third largest city, Stavanger, to discover how this boom town’s oil reserves are spurring on those entrepreneurs looking to add variety and quality to this once-understated retail scene.
From a lavender farm in the countryside to a denim mill revitalising a harbour town, Wales is using its traditions and craft to benefit new industries. Monocle films profiles two inspiring Welsh enterprises that are bringing international success home.
Monocle takes a trip to Turkey's Bodrum shipyards to watch the century-old skills that are still right at the heart of the peninsula's revered boat-making businesses.
Maach Ecute is a novel retail experience in a 102-year-old former train station in Tokyo. We pay a visit to see how old infrastructure can be repurposed to improve urban life.
Melbourne firm Tomcar has repurposed an Israeli war machine for the Aussie outback. Monocle looks at how its canny approach could be a roadmap for Australia's ailing automotive industry.
The battle for orders in the single-aisle jet market is heating up as smaller manufacturers with all-new aeroplanes look to steal market share from Airbus and Boeing. We take a look at the top three upcoming offerings.
Monocle pays a visit to the last béret-maker in France and meets the Irishman trying to revive this quintessentially French piece of headwear.
Local fashion shops and brands are on the rise in Vancouver and offering creative alternatives to fleece and rubber boots. Monocle Films pays a visit to the retailers pushing style in the city.
Monocle travelled the world to explore the best in food, design, service, books and more – it’s time for our first ever retail awards.
From cotton fields in Egypt to state of the art laboratories in Bergamo our search for quality “Made in Italy” textiles focuses on the fifth-generation Albini Group.
Long the unsung hero of Italian manufacturing, it's high time Naples told some of its sunny stories from the factory floor. It’s been a centre for craftsmanship, shipbuilding and tailoring for generations, which means touring some of the thousands of workshops and studios around the famous bay reveals a city that makes a whole lot more than pizza.
The biennial Singapore Airshow is a magnet for the world’s most important aerospace companies, all of them eager to sell to the high-flying Asia-Pacific market. Monocle got strapped in to gauge the state of a soaring industry.
Revamping forgotten brands is a growing trend in France, where entrepreneurs are tapping into pre-existing DNA and ready-made heritage. Monocle meets the brains behind some of these French revivals.
It's the largest and most important pit stop on the global toy calendar. Monocle films visits the Spielwarenmesse International Toy Fair in Nürnberg to meet the up-and-coming innovators and old-school stalwarts keeping the industry afloat.
The Texan energy capital has a huge oil-driven economy and business infrastructure. As it welcomes a growing number of entrepreneurs we document this changing city.
As well as bringing bright ideas to once-faded façades, Lisbon’s mix of self-starting shopkeepers and keen entrepreneurs has helped lift the mood of a city with plenty more to be optimistic about.
In Mexico, a new breed of entrepreneurs is building brands around family-produced mezcal and distributing it to the world's capitals. We visit Oaxaca where this spirit is being given new life.
Monocle's editor in chief, Tyler Brûlé, ventured to Wilton Way – a small thoroughfare in east London's Hackney, to get a read on the ingredients that underpin a community.
When is a shop more than just a shop? To find out, Monocle visits three brick-and-mortar businesses offering unique products and impeccable service in Toronto, Paris and Madrid.
Who needs paper in a world dominated by technology? Kenji Hall finds out as he visits Kakimori, a small stationery shop nestled in Tokyo's Kuramae neighbourhood.
With a population of just 2,400 Fogo Island, off the coast of Newfoundland, is an inspiring example of how rural communities can be brought back to life. In the first film of our two-part series we profile Zita Cobb and her Shorefast entrepreneurial vision for the island.
Ericeira, a small fishing village north of Lisbon on the Portuguese coast, is also a world-class surfing town. People come from as far away as Australia for great waves, good seafood and a relaxed "old Portugal" feeling that persists even as its popularity grows. Monocle films pays a visit to the surf haven this summer.
Makers who bring something special to their industries are easy to love and so is cycling. These elements combine in bike shops in Toronto, Buenos Aires and Zürich, where imaginative artisanship combines with rational urban cycling design.
The 50th year of the Paris Air Show was defined by the optimism of an industry looking skywards. Monocle attended to meet the business high-flyers.
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.