The section of Zurich’s old town stretching from Central to Bellevue (which many refer to a Niederdörfli but actually includes the Niederdorf and the Oberdorf, plus Limmatquai on the front and Neumarkt in the back) is a magical place of beautiful old buildings and tiny alleys that house a large number of one-of-a-kind shops and boutiques – but none better known in cyberspace than Townhouse.
With its famous slogan “From Zurich with love” and charming selection of hard-to-find items ranging from books and notebooks to jewelry, clothing, accessories and even a few home decor items, Townhouse is one of those rare shops that make you want to stay for ages and and just browse, and chat, and buy one of everything (at least.)
When I first walked in I wasn’t sure what the connection was between the items this lovely store stocks, except that they were all awesome.
The way the shop is arranged is part minimal chic, part eclectic – like a cross between a beautifully arranged, colorful market stall and an impossibly chic living room. Add to that the friendly smile you will be welcomed with by Mia, owner and front woman of Townhouse (while co-owner Sebastian works on the blog and website in the background), and you have the perfect recipe for one of my favorite places in Zurich 
In between shots and various instances of “OMG I love this one!” Mia and I had a bit of a chat and she graciously agreed to answer a few questions about her fabulous shop and a couple other fun things.
Townhouse is clearly a one of a kind shop in Zurich. Where did the inspiration come from to create Townhouse and what you wanted it to be?
We’ve been living in Zurich for a while now and always felt that the retail scene was a bit dull.
It’s such a great city to live and the quality of life is extremely high, but you won’t find a lot of young, local and innovative concepts; we wanted to create something different and liked the idea of launching a Zurich-based brand.
All products that run under the Townhouse label are designed in Zurich and we often work with local young artists. Our private label collection has grown rapidly and it’s great to see that our customers appreciate the fact that the products are all produced and/or designed locally.
We complement our range with some international brands that you won’t find anywhere else in Zurich like Heeley Eau de Parfum, Archie Grand or Jewelberry.
We are always searching for what we believe to be the perfect product and like our products to have a story to tell. Basically, our objective is to offer our customers a range of interesting products that they won’t find in every other shop.
How do you select the products you want to stock? Are they personal favorites, requests from customers, local artists, or simply things you see, love, and decide to sell at Townhouse as well?
All products we sell are personal favourites, we only sell what we would personally wear and use. But of course, we also listen to what our customers have to say. That’s the wonderful thing about having our office space in the shop itself: This is were we develop our new ideas and products, and at the same time we get direct feedback from our customers, which allows us to quickly adapt our range. We spend a lot of time searching for novelties, especially through the Internet. We read a lot of blogs and trend sites, but also magazines and of course also like to travel in order to find unique new products.
I know it will be hard to pick, because you have so many awesome things in the store – but can you share your personal favorite among your current merchandise?
For men it would have to be the Orlebar Brown swimming shorts, because it’s such a simple, but perfect product. I never liked baggy beach shorts and these trousers just have the perfect cut. They’re highly elegant, but also have a special fabric that allows the shorts to dry fast as well as beautiful details.
For women, it would probably have to be our jewelry collection as well as our signature elephant, which is hand-sewn in Zurich by handicapped people and therefore also supports their rehabilitation.
Now, let’s talk about Zurich: Townhouse is located in the middle of the old town, so you must be partial to our fair city
Would you share some of your favorite Zurich spots with us? Like:
Your favorite places to shop? (Except for Townhouse of course)
My favourite shops in Zurich are Steinhauer, En Soie and Limited Stock.
Your favorite restaurants?
Josef (for a fun night out), Bindella (for wonderful Italian food), Rosso (for a simple, but good pizza), Rive Gauche (for special occasions), Ginger (for Sushi) and Sala of Tokyo (for Teriyaki Beef).
Your favorite bakery or Konditorei?
Vohdin (located just a couple of steps from our shop and run by the lovely Mr. & Mrs. Vohdin (he bakes, she sells). We often buy lunch there, they have the best “Chäschüechli” and “Butterbretzel”
And last but not least – since this is the way many people probably feel about Townhouse – what’s the place you could spend ages in (browsing, etc), that you basically have to be dragged out of?
I love books and can spend hours in book stores. My favourite book store in Zurich would have to be Sec 52 (on Josefstrasse, they have a small but excellent choice of books). Otherwise I love walking through Neumarkt, they have many lovely small shops, it’s the perfect place to stroll around on a sunny afternoon.
Thank you Mia!
As for you, if you are in Zurich you absolutely have to check out Townhouse. And if you are not – well, that’s what the online shop is for 
You can also follow Townhouse on Facebook.
All photos property of Globetrotting in Heels.
This post wasn’t written for advertisement purposes, nor was the author/blog owner compensated for writing it.
Events and special evenings are often held at Rimini, and one of them is the Montagsmarkt (Monday Market). A mix of vintage and creations from local designers, the Monday Market is not to be compared to the Curiosity Market – it’s more like an embodiment of the fabulous side of Etsy, albeit a smaller, Swiss version of it.
