As we told you in our introductory blog, travel will play an important role in New Focus on Fine Living. When producing art and antiques shows, I travelled frequently to recruit new dealers and to get new ideas. My travels took me all over the world- Paris, London, Moscow, Brussels, Maastricht, Milan, Switzerland and across the United States. I am happy to be able to continue indulging in this passion!

This week, my travels bring me back to Brussels. Joining me are designer Harry Heissmann; Jennifer Boles, The Peak of Chic; Susanna Salk, contributing editor to 1st dibs.com, Bon Appetit Magazine, ivillage.com and author of several books; and Craig Kellogg, editor of Interior Design Magazine. Hosted by the Belgian Tourist Board, we will be taking an “insiders” tour of Brussels – starting with the opening of the The 55th Brussels Antiques and Fine Art Fair (BRAFA).

BRAFA, offers its visitors a complete range of artistic creation from every era, in every style, from every continent. Ancient roman statues, proud Greek torsos and impassive busts of the Buddha vie for attention alongside modern portraits, contemporary creations and animal sculptures in a harmonious combination of classical and designer furnishings, fine gold and silverware, and objets d’art from Europe, the Orient, Asia, Africa and far-off Oceania. A special exhibition from the City of Liege Museums, brings together more than 80 works and objets d’art, demonstrating the wealth and diversity of the Liege collections. The nine paintings acquired at the Lucerne sale in 1939, including masterpieces by Pablo Picasso, Gauguin, Marc Chagall and James Ensor, will be shown for the first time together outside the Museum of Liege to which they belong. The overall decoration of the fair is designed with environmental conservation in mind and the aisles are designed to emanate forest paths. Special attention has been paid to the choice of materials used, 95% recyclable; the floor covering, 100% recycled; the use of organic paint and wood from sustainable production, and the full recycling of waste.  I recommend that you visit the BRAFA web-site, www.brafa.be for more details about this wonderful show.

BRAFA takes place at Tour & Taxi, a prime example of the city’s industrial heritage built at the start of the last century by the Tour et Taxis family – founders of Belgium’s postal service. It was the first site in history to bring together complementary activities: customs, collection, merchandise, warehousing and transport by rail, water and road. Coffee, chocolate, tobacco, wine and alcohol were just some of the products that were stored and moved to and from the district. Neglected for years, the site was bought in 2001 and is now one of the most important places to go in Brussels for culture, events, shows, great dining and shopping. Through March 2010, “Kennedy – The American Dream” is being presented at Tour & Taxi. Retracing the history of the 35th President of the United States, the exhibition pays tribute to the three Kennedy brothers, John, Robert and Edward. This is one of the stops on our tour.

Our trip also includes visits to the Magritte Museum,  The Musical Instrument Museum and the Curtius Museum. A highlight for me will be a visit to the Tintin Museum. My husband, grew up reading The Adventures of Tintin – and he passed his love for the comic strip series on to his sons. One of the most popular European comics of the 20th century, Tintin was created by the Belgian artist George Remi, who wrote under the pen name of Herge. The series first appeared on January 10, 1929. Tintin, a young Belgian reporter is accompanied on his many adventures with his faithful fox terrier dog Snowy. Tintin embarks on “swashbuckling adventures with elements of fantasy, mysteries, political thrillers, and science fiction. The stories within the Tintin series always feature slapstick humour, accompanied in later albums by sophisticated satire, and political and cultural commentary.”

Of course one cannot plan a visit to Belgium without thinking about chocolate, beer, wine and fine food! Based on our itinerary…we will be doing a lot of eating and drinking!

Content and Photos Courtesy of http://www.visitbelgium.com

Links & Resources

Harry Heissmann Inc. –  http://www.harryheissmanninc.com

Jennifer Boles – http://www.thepeakofchic.com

Craig Kellogg – http://www.interiordesign.net

Susanna Salk – http://www.susannasalk.com 

BRAFA – http://www.brafa.be

Margritte Museum - http://www.margrittemuseum.be

The Musical Instrument Museum – http://www.mim.be

Curtius Museum – http://www.grandcurtiusliege.be

Tintin Museum – http://www.museeherge.com