text: “In Finland, we try to take care of everyone,” says Jenni Lähde, 33, a teacher of German and Swedish at Puolalanmäki school in Turku. “All countries have the top students, but we support even the weakest ones so they become the best they can be.”
  The system was created in the 1970s, and offers a nine-year comprehensive school education for all. One reason behind its success is the training of teachers – a qualified teacher must have a masters degree. If the students are really lucky, they get someone like Lähde – who is not only qualified, but has a calling. “It’s wonderful to be able to teach others something useful, to give them knowledge and skills that last,” she says.
  Add to this some outstanding architecture at many new institutions and a balanced meal programme and you have all the basics of a model system.
  As the great-grandson of chemical firm BASF founder Friedrich Engelhorn, German national and Swiss resident Curt Engelhorn is the steward of one of Europe’s great industrial fortunes. Selling part of his pharmaceutical portfolio in 1997 for $11bn (€7bn), the money is now being invested to change the face of cleantech, IT and digital media industries across the world. He is also a major force in philanthropy, giving a large annual donation to the Heidelberg Centre for American Studies and supports traditional industries in areas such as the Engadine around St Moritz.
  He focuses on “good works” that also make good business. “I do invest from a sense of obligation, from an instinct that an area is important and will change the landscape. It’s not done with short-term profit margins in mind, but with a confidence that we are backing something that truly matters,” he says.
  For much of his 32-year career, Japanese shoe designer Hiroshi Tsubouchi has plied his trade behind the scenes. Since landing his first job in 1977, he has been one of the driving forces in introducing European shoe brands to the Japanese market. He also co-founded a company, Magnum, in 1991. But his name was nowhere to be found, and the designer was barely known outside of fashion circles in Japan. However, the grey-haired Tsubouchi, now 56, put himself in the limelight last year by launching a shoe collection branded with his name. Why now? The reason is simple; he just wanted to make the kind of shoes he’d love to wear without thinking too much about the commercial side of the business for once.
  From the start, Tsubouchi’s new venture has proved successful (and we are not surprised, they look great and are a joy to wear). His designs are based on classic Italian leather shoes, updated with bright colours and rubber soles. “I like classic design, but I also like putting a new, casual spin on it wherever I can,” he says. This year, Tsubouchi added a new line to his stable called Turn Turn Turn by Hiroshi Tsubouchi. So far his shoes are available only in Japan and at Dover Street Market in London. That is going to change in 2010, “we’re planning on bringing our products to overseas markets. I’d like to see my brand grow globally in the years to come,” says Tsubouchi.
  
  The model is stunning............loved the birds....I keep thinking you could really do something fabulous with some of Steven Kings stories( i would say that living in Maine) I await your next creation...........Sydney
  That looks so awesome! If you wrote up the pattern, that would be this year's Halloween costume! Oh, and I hope your nose is healing well, that had to be horrible to have surgery AND a cold at the same time.
  Another amazing creation! I absolutely love it. Hope you're feeling much better and that your cold has gone.