This month we celebrate February’s poetic joys. We discuss the fragile elegance of winter flowers with the SSAW collective’s Olivia Wilson and Jess Geissendorfer, talk about nature as inspiration with Norwegian musician Fay Wildhagen and pull up a chair at The Audley pub to speak to Ewan Venters, CEO of Hauser & Wirth and Artfarm. Plus: the history of New York’s Chelsea Hotel on screen and resolving conflict in a traditional Finnish sauna. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Deepest February in Europe can feel sparse, windswept and bitterly cold.
Nature feels in retreat.
And sometimes, as you reach for your gloves and pull your hat around your ears, it's hard to imagine that the skeletal branches of trees will ever be in full leaf.
It's true that this time of year is perhaps not the most synonymous with beauty, but like most things that's in the eye of the beholder.
This episode of Confect Corner ponders on the discreet, poetic and sometimes almost imperceptible joys of February.
But seek them out and they are more than worth the effort.
We'll discuss the fragile elegance of winter flowers like hellebores and snowdrops, as opposed to the attention seeking crimson of off season roses.
For some, the cozy intimacy of February is a productive time for self reflection and creativity.
This episode meets the Norwegian musician Faye Vi Wilhagen to talk about the power of weathering the winter months in a remote cabin where she writes music that sums up the awe inspiring beauty of clear, bracing, freezing days or the stillness of dark Nordic nights.
And where would February be without a warming tipple?
We'll pull up a chair in a cosy British pub to find out how one panelled Victorian boozer became host to a mural by British artist Phillida Barlow and a collection of countless other artworks which hang behind the bar.
And our audio essay argues the case for resolving conflict and sealing deals in a traditional Finnish sauna.
It's time to retreat from the chilly boardroom and make decisions with some Nordic clarity.
Like the best convivial hotbox, this show is a forum for debate, new ideas and conversation.
This is Conflict Corner and I'm your host, Sophie Grove.
I talk a lot about the power of convening, bringing great people together, celebrating around extraordinary art, fantastic food and wine, great conversation.
You know, if you're putting on a party or you want to give someone some flowers and you give them a genuinely seasonal bunch, it will be completely different every single month.
In fact, most likely every two weeks.
So it's an incredible opportunity to sort of mark the changing of the year.
Welcome to this episode of Confect Corner.