CREATIVITIES!

Mark has a great passion for all forms of human creativity: artistic, scientific, literary, managerial, commercial, linguistics, musical. And by the serendipity, of course, which he calls “the young, happy sister” of creativity. He is fascinated by the creativity of different peoples on earth, appreciating trips that allow him to run creative meetings all over the world.

DESIGN AND DESIGNERS !

Because designers make creativity visible! It is there, a joyful and often useful triumph. For the great designers, functionality comes first and nourishes aesthetics. This is also Mark’s own professional ethic. Mark appreciates the great creators of the 20th century, such as Eames, Castiglioni, Nelson, Alan Fletcher, etc. as well as today’s innovators, like Jonathan Ive, Ross Lovegrove, the Campana brothers, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Ingo Maurer, Marc Newson, etc.

CITIES !

For Mark, this is where it all happens! He adores countryside, nature and great landscapes as a change, but his inspiration is urban. Brussels has nourished him for years. Today, it’s Barcelona which is his daily source of inspiration. Tokyo impresses him every time, as does Hong Kong and New York. Milan, the city where he loves giving his annual seminar, My Creativity, surprises him over and over again. He has an indelible memory of the small city of Stone Town, hardly 20 000 inhabitants, the capital of Zanzibar where he spent two weeks.

WRITING!

For years now, Mark has kept an Idea Notebook. Let’s just say that each month, he starts a new one. Not a day goes by without his making notes, without searching for ideas, without commenting on a book, an article, a show or a conversation. Each day he puts up one idea or another on his blogs www.markraison.com.

CUISINE !

Yes, cuisine, gastronomy, marketplaces, cookbooks and great chefs. Each weekend, Mark is overjoyed when he goes to the Market of the Convencio or the Santa Catarina Market in Barcelona and gets to choose fresh produce that he then prepares in his loft on Carrer Ausias Marc. For him, there is no other more agreeable way to refresh his ideas and to provide pleasure for his family and friends. And to be creative!

PEPPERS!

Peppers – black, white, grey, red or pink – feed the ferocious passion Mark has for spices. He has gone so far as to create an Academy of Peppers and Other Exotic Spices and a Ginger Club. He loves organizing pepper tastings with Martina and creates menus “On the Pepper Route” or “The Tour of the World of Peppers with chefs”.