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Hasselblad Factory, Sweden by Alastair Wiper

October the third 1962 was the day everything changed for Hasselblad.
NASA astronaut Walter Schirra blasted off into space on the Mercury-Atlas 8 mission, taking his personal 500C Hasselblad camera with him. That camera captured the first recognisable images of Earth from its orbit, and became a part of the history of the space race ...

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Kvadrat Wooltex, UK by Alastair Wiper

Founded in Denmark in 1968, Kvadrat is one of the world's leading upholstery textile suppliers. In collaboration with high profile designers, architects and artists, they have supplied fabrics for some of the most notable buildings on the planet: from MoMA in New York ...

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Where Spam is Born, Denmark by Alastair Wiper

In my day it was all about Spam. A cultural icon worthy of ridicule by Monty Python in the 60s, and the name given to one of the biggest pests of the information age, this humble meat in a tin was the renowned - if rarely proudly eaten - household name when I was growing up in England in the 80s. But throughout much of the rest of the world, meat in a tin is known equally by another name: Tulip Pork Luncheon Meat ...

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Harry's Razor Blade Factory, Germany by Alastair Wiper

This is Feintechnik, a razor blade factory in the small village of Eisfeld in Germany. A three hour drive from frankfurt, the factory has been producing razor blades since 1920 and is one of the very few highly specialised factories to do so left in Europe. In 2014 the factory was bought by Andy Katz-Mayfield and Jeff Raider, founders of New York based shaving start-up Harry's, for $100 million ...

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Koenigsegg Supercar Factory, Sweden by Alastair Wiper

On an decomissioned air-force base just outside the small town of Ängelholm on the west-coast of Sweden sits the factory of the most unlikely supercar manufacturer in the world. Forget Ferraris and Lamborghinis, Koenigsegg is in a class above, consistently setting Guinness World records for the fastest acceleration ...

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The Brutalist Skiing Resort of Flaine, France by Alastair Wiper

A quick google of the purpose built skiing resort of "Flaine" reveals one thing above all else: most people think it is extremley ugly.

Built in the 60s by one of the most respected and renowned proponents of modernist Bauhaus architecture, Marcel Breuer, the resort (much of which is listed as protected by the French Ministry of Culture) had nothing but noble intentions ...

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Inside Playmobil, Malta by Alastair Wiper

Since 1976, every Playmobil character has been made in a Maltese factory – where it’s not just the figures who are happy. Not far from Malta airport, 192 new figures are born every minute – and whether they’re pirates, policemen or princesses, they’re always smiling ...

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