Have you seen The Grand Budapest Hotel? I highly recommend this magical confection, which, like the pastries delivered daily to the hotel's pampered guests, has a sweet coating with a ravishingly dark core. The tale is said to have been inspired by the works of Stefan Zweig. It also reminds me of The Grand Babylon Hotel, by the English writer Arnold Bennett, and the sparkling memoirs of former hotel waiter Ludwig Bemelmans. But mostly it reminds me of other films by Wes Anderson, its quirky director. Along with his theatrical mannerisms, Anderson has a distinctive "universe", as creative people say.
But I think all of us have a universe. Or at least a planet. Whenever she catches me reading a book set on the Riviera in the 1920s, or in New York in the 1950s, or any work in which the hero is a spy or a reporter, my wife says: "Oh, how very Tungate-ish." Stations, cocktail shakers and vintage eyewear fall into the same category. I'm sure you have things that are very "you" too. And the great thing is that, today, you don't have to be a film director to share your universe. Pinterest is the perfect place to curate your inspirations; Tumblr is a stroll through your obsessions. Your Instagram feed is a notebook for your future autobiography. Being rich is fine, but it's cooler to be creative. And thanks to the internet, we are all artists in our own way.
