Brutalist Coffee Machine ☀️ Finnish Sauna Squad ☀️ A Train to 1960 – #50

Buonasera from Merano!

Welcome to this week’s installment of what’s hot in brands and products.

When I started this newsletter, I didn’t make a big plan. No vision board. No pitch deck. Just a simple rule: publish 100 editions. No matter what.
That was the game. Show up weekly, rain or Aperol.

Now it’s week 50. Halftime.

I’m still loving it — but I also know I’m probably too close to the thing.
So if you’ve been reading for a while (or even if this is your first one), I’d genuinely love your unfiltered take.

What’s working? What’s mid? What should I double down on — or ditch entirely? I’m figuring out where to take this next, and your thoughts will help shape it.

Just hit reply and let it rip! (No hard feelings, promise.)

If you’re new around here: Every week, I share 5 of the coolest products from Europe I’ve discovered in the past 7 days.

I scout, you explore. Let’s get to it!

With love ☀️
Jakob

Sauna Family [🇫🇮 | 🇷🇺]

A family of wooden sauna people. Yes, really.
Part art piece, part folklore, part “I didn’t know I needed this until I saw it.” Designed by Aamu Song for Helsinki-based studio Salakauppa, and handcrafted in Russia, these tiny folks are sending such calm, collected energy — like they just walked out of a 90°C sweat session and into your living room. Meet your new sauna squad!

Kroko Small [🇩🇪]

Not quite furniture. Not quite sculpture. Definitely a crocodile.
Kroko Small is a low board with major “I live here now” energy — designed by Bielefeld-based artist Sascha Grewe under the wonderfully dramatic studio name artcanbreakyourheart. It’s weirdly charming, a little unsettling, and might silently judge your coffee table. Tame the beast!

The Well [🇸🇰]

A lamp that works like a well. Seriously. Turn the maple handle, lower the bulb, and the light deepens in tone like it’s diving into thought. Created by Slovak designers Štefan Nosko and Katarína Beličková, this piece balances folklore and physics like a quiet design poem. Let there be depth!

Anza R2 [🇳🇴]

Most espresso machines look like angry toasters. Not this one. The Anza R2 is sculptural, heavy, brutalist — and yes, makes a killer espresso. I tried the OG model back in 2017 and it was so good I briefly considered replacing the Rocket. The new one? Even more tempting. Brew with brutalist flair!

La Dolce Vita Orient Express [🇮🇹]

My dad would love this. A train through Italy, wrapped in mid-century glam. It’s not just a trip, it’s a flex. Designed in part by Dimorestudio, the new Orient Express “La Dolce Vita” is where you sip negronis in Palermo and wake up in Rome. Definitely not cheap. Definitely unforgettable. Ride the velvet rails!

Know a tiny European brand doing cool things? A ceramic teapot from Malta? A wall clock from Sweden shaped like a goose? I’m always chasing down the beautiful, the strange, and the overlooked.