Roman

I have a variety of interests in midcentury design; modern, contemporary and tribal art; architecture; classical music; audio equipment; and international travel.

Having been born in 1977, I caught the tail end of the period that today broadly passes for ‘retro’. In time, however, I became appreciative of its aesthetic – from the iconic simplicity of Bauhaus to the pastel colours of the Eisenhower years and beyond. I also base this acquired taste on the premise that old things were built to last. If you buy something today, it might look good now but it probably won’t be around in a decade’s time. There's also a good chance you'll find the very same article perched on an identical supermarket shelf half way around the world. Very few of our mass produced items will make it into the retro markets of the future: the majority of modern goods, made without much thought, care or style, appear to be designed to self-destruct. Without an aura of limited availability and geographical uniqueness, they now serve as a dull backdrop to our consumer society. Before the concepts of built-in obsolescence and uniformity were incorporated into the globalised economy, attention was paid to both design and durability of even the most mundane everyday items. It is such attributes I hunt for with something resembling an adrenaline rush everywhere I travel for business or leisure: from Budapest to Buenos Aires to Tokyo.

Travel in 2019:
January: United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania

Travel in 2018:
January: United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore
March-April: Angola
April-May: Kenya, Ethiopia
June: Angola, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia
August: Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi
September: Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan
November: Lesotho
December: Rwanda, Uganda
December-January 2019: United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Oman, Iran

Travel in 2017:
April: Tanzania
April-May: Mozambique
May-June: United Arab Emirates, Russia
June: Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana
September-October: United Arab Emirates, China, South Korea, Taiwan

Travel in 2016:
January: United Arab Emirates, USA, Mexico, Costa Rica
September-October: United Arab Emirates, Philippines, Malaysia
December-January 2017: Qatar, Indonesia

Travel in 2015:
January-February: United Arab Emirates, Thailand
June: Qatar, Italy
September-October: Germany, Mexico, Costa Rica, USA

Travel in 2014:
September: Turkey, Czech Republic, Germany

Travel in 2013:
January: India, United Arab Emirates
May: USA
June-July: Argentina, Uruguay, Chile
December: Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Germany, United Kingdom

Travel in 2012:
March-April: Spain, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, France, Slovakia, Austria
October: United Arab Emirates, Czech Republic, Italy
November: Hong Kong, Japan
December: Germany, Holland, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria