(picture: facebook.com)

Don’t worry, dear stressed out shopper, you’re saved: three of our favorite shops team up for a special Christmas market from December 5 – December 7. At Christmas Karlsson you’ll find bits and bobs from Dotti’s Vintage and Waldraud and Highlight My Day. If you need a break, restaurant Fink will provide you with mulled wine and other delights.

Santa Claus will be there too and if you’re lucky, you’ll even win a present for yourself at the wheel of fortune.

Switzerland is known for its cheese and chocolate, for Freitag bags and Victorinox knives. We are very much into these things. But there are other interesting Swiss products to shop:

An outdoor jacket or a backpack by Mammut, high quality Calida underwear, a Sigg bottle (right now they celebrate the world championship with a special footbal edition), stylish clothes or bags from Alprausch, natural beauty products from Weleda or to keep your feet comfortable during hiking tours, you might be interested in Rhoner socks. And there are things for the kids, too: A book of Globi or something from lovely little penguin Pingu.

An insider tip: we looove the Zurich shirts by Townhouse. They are not only Swiss, but also from Zurich.

TopSwitzerland lists all the top Swiss products.

Shopping lovers as you, Charlotte, have plenty of choice in Zurich. There are many good shops all over town.

The best and most trendy fashion or accessories shops in town are Nord, Pretty Rad, Soeder, Opia, Waldraud, Making Things, Jo Brauer, Marta and Dings.

Our favourite shops by category: interior design, French fashion, vinyl records, eyewear, shoes and books. These are the nicest flea markets and this is the shopping guide by hopehope with some of our favourite brands listed.

Shopping streets or areas we like: Josefstrasse, Viaduktbögen and Geroldsstrasse, Grüngasse, Zweierstrasse, the Niederdorf- and Oberdorfgasse in the old town and of course the Rennweg and Bahnhofstrasse area for the big chains and exclusive shops.

Places to get a cup of coffee are Kafi Dihei close to Idaplatz, Babu’s or Sprüngli close to Bahnhofstrasse, Si o No at Zweierstrasse, Markthalle at Viaduktbögen and Kafi Schoffel in the old town.

And if you consider having a cocktail after all the shopping is done, read this.

The awakening of spring makes you wanna redecorate your appartement? Or buy that very special piece of scenery you were always looking for?
After blogging about our top 5 furniture design shops and the top 5 vintage design shops, we got a list of 10 shops for the smaller things at your home:

Kreis 1

• Affaire 46 is a little paradise in the heart of the old town. The two girls choose their assortement with love for the special and details. We especially like the bottle openers by Crest.
• Not too far away, situated in the old town as well is Changemaker. It is a place where ethics meets aesthetics, where you know what you buy: stylish and useful objects for everyday life or living – either organic, handmade or eco-friendly. Thumbs up!

Kreis 3

• Rather for girls is the romantic choice on home accessories at Bits&Bobs. The friendly staff will offer you a coffee. You migh need it, once you’re in there you won’t be coming out very soon.
• Arts and Crafts is a showroom, a platform and a shop for assorted design items by local designers and artists.

Kreis 4

• As the name Einzelstück already says, you’ll find great individual furniture or home decor items in the beautiful shop at Müllerstrasse. Oh and you can currently find their goods at Big Bazar at Bahnhofstrasse.
• The Harrison Spirit at Hallwylplatz is a still quite new and a paradise for interior design lovers.
• Soeder is a must for friends of the clean nordic style. We already wrote about it. A great place if looking for presents. You’ll surely end up buying something for yourself, too!

Kreis 5

• Down-to-earth combined with simplicity and a pinch of vintage is Walter. Visit Walter and his lamps, carpets and more at Geroldstrasse.

Online

• And to finish the list, these are our favorite two online shops for home decor: Mooris and Edition Populaire.

(printscreen: Helsinki.ch)

For all DJs, collectors and vinyl lovers, the record fair at the Helsinki club is the place to be today. Starting at 8pm, Zurich record labels present their collections. Grab a beer at the bar and start browsing. For the hungry ones, a Raclette stall will save you from starving.

If you can’t make it to Helsinki, here are some suggestions: For HipHop, R’n’B, Dancehall and more, Hum Records is your dealer, for Jazz, Electronica and World Music, go to RecRec. Or try your luck at one of Zurichs thrift shops – you might find a real pearl browsing the enormous shelves packed with records.