Swiss Miss blogs her way to the top

The blog swiss-miss.com is run by Tina Roth Eisenberg Ella Smolarz

The most popular Swiss blog is actually located in the United States and run by Tina Roth Eisenberg, who describes herself as a "Swiss designer gone New York City".

She set up swiss-miss.com to keep track of her favourite designs but on the way has attracted the attention and admiration of leading figures in the design world.

Although Roth Eisenberg works as a graphic designer, her blog includes all types of design, basically anything that she finds visually interesting. “I like to highlight the beauty in the ordinary,” she told swissinfo.ch.

A greetings card, a sleeping bag, a silkscreen print, a witty map of Europe, an advertisement for the leading Swiss retailer Migros, and a zero star hotel in Switzerland are among the thousands of items featured on Roth Eisenberg’s site.

“I can’t believe that I started this as a personal archive. Here I am from the Swiss Alps, and I have all these famous designers reading my blog,” Roth Eisenberg said.

“Good eye”

She spends about two hours a day blogging and earns money from advertising on her site, which has attracted about 600,000 hits in the past month.

Many in the design world say the diversity of swiss-miss is part of its appeal. “She has a really great mix of a lot of different types of design, and has a good eye for it,” said Khoi Vinh, Design Director of nytimes.com.

Vinh, who checks swiss-miss several times a week, says the blog is well respected in the design world with many of his colleagues and peers often referring to it.

“There’s always something funny and it’s also very interesting. You can tell that this is a person who is curious about many different things,” said Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Stamp of approval

The respect Roth Eisenberg has cultivated has made a difference in the careers of some of the up and coming designers she has included on her site. Her stamp of approval can help some products sell out within an hour.

“It’s power, but in a good way. It makes me live. I love to support emerging designers,” Roth Eisenberg said.

The designer originally from Speicher, eastern Switzerland, is a self-described incurable optimist and her upbeat personality is part of the reason people are drawn to her site. She writes in the first person, often refers to her personal life and thanks people for sending their ideas.

“What makes Tina’s blog special is not just her great eye, but her warm personality. I’m sure there are thousands of followers of swiss-miss who have never met her, but consider her a friend,” said Michael Bierut, Partner at design firm Pentagram.

That list of friends is growing fast: Roth Eisenberg’s blog traffic has grown over 66 per cent since last December.

Karin Kamp in New York, swissinfo.ch

Swiss Designs Tina Loves

Ceinture de surveillance
“This belt with built in gut measuring system by Martin Haldimann made me smile.”

Itbox Furniture System
“I love the simple lines, the colors and versatility of the Itbox Furniture System.”

Swiss railway clock
“We have one of these in our apartment and it reminds me of growing up in Switzerland. I remember waiting at the train station, watching the second hand jump.”