Category: Europe

Albin Christen is the freelancer from Lausanne, Switzerland. A 30 something designer who has mastered the area of Graphic Design, along with Conceptual and Lifestyle Illustration.

Albin has also worked as a visual artist since’96. His designs are of different specialisms such as lifestyle and animals and you can even see some of his work on footwear and greetings cards.

The designsAlbingraces us with are of a higher level of illustration, as the work pulls the example of the image to the forefront to make it easy to understand.Albin has been working on a children’s Opera poster, which is called “Le Chat Botte”. This is to be displayed in his home town, Lausanne.

Albin loves the “work on demand” life-style that comes with producing work for his clients and customers. Albin also mentions that the development of the work has caught Albin off guard at times, as he never noticed the level he was at until stepping back from all that hard work.

Albin’s online portfolio work is a reflection of the expansion of his imagination. The stories the designs tell, with the use of the colours, prints and media’s, sum up the way his designs are produced. Not many people have gone into printing their designs on footwear, as Albin has. This is a hidden form of art expression and it should be brought closer to the light in the industry.

Albinclient list is an example of how popular his work is. From businesses and companies such asSwatch,Loto-Quebec,Adidas, Ritzenhoff, Montreux Jazz Festival and many, many more.

In the 1700’s, dishes, saws, knives, flints, a scraper, a prehistoric horn celt with strange markings, a spokeshave and some arrowheads from the Neolithic Period were found. These are now safely housed in the museum in Cardiff, but at the time no one thought to organize an excavation and later a housing estate was built on the site.

An ancient Roman kitchen replete with cooking utensils and food remains was also abandoned without investigation. In 1533, Leland, the King’s Antiquary, was ordered to visit ‘all places where records are held’. It took him nine years and he wrote of Barry Island:

“It is about a mile in circumference and has good corn, grass and some wood, and there is no dwelling on the Island, but in the midst of it is a fair little Chapel of St. Baruch which is visited by many pilgrims. It took the name Barri from this holy man who was buried there and whose remains are yet on the Island”. (The Welsh name for Barry is Y Barri).

Vikings ravaged the coast of South Wales in the tenth century. They often took hostages from the monasteries, but they did not seem to want to live in the area. For a long tim, the island was known as the “Saints’ Retreat” or the “Island of Saints”. Afterwards, in the sixteenth century, it was inhabited by smugglers and pirates and was called the “Smugglers’ Fortress”. This became serious as it grew simultaneously with the rise of Bristol, Britain’s second largest port.

e Museums of Bruges

If you are planning to skip across the pond to Europe, you mustn’t miss the small town of Bruges, Belgium. While most people head to Belgium in search of fries and waffles, Bruges has a lot more to offer than standard fare. This town is all about museums of every shape and kind.

Though nobody has ever stopped to ponder why Bruges’ streets are lined with museum after museum, it just so happens to be the truth. If you are one of those tourists that doesn’t care for a bit of history, this town is picturesque enough to entertain even if you do not step inside a museum.

For those that love history, however, Bruges is a slice of heaven on earth. Within the historic section of the city you will find the Groeninge Museum; Gruuthuse Museum; Memling Museum; Renaissance Hall; Archeological Museum, Folklore Museum; and many more captivating glimpses into the past.

Let’s begin with the Folklore Museum since it is very popular with visitors. This museum is home to the 17th century almshouses that still belong to the Bruges cobblers’ corporation. You will find ancient classrooms, a cobbler’s studio, a Flemish home, and an ancient confectioner’s shop.

The Groeninge Museum is mostly a fine arts gallery that is home to many of the paintings done by local artists of Bruges. You will find works by Hugo van der Goes, Hans Memling, Gerard David, and Jan Van Eyck. This museum is worth a few hours just to see the many striking paintings held within.