Established in 1999, Luminosa Production is a full service production company based in Lugano, with an office in Munich. The multilingual team offers a personal, comprehensive service covering research, location scouting and shoot production for photographers and ad agencies from around the world.

Luminosa invites you to discover "unexpected and unique" locations, such as fantastic and varied landscapes, as well as classic and modern architecture around Lake Lugano, Lago Maggiore, Zürich, St. Moritz and Zermatt, Chamonix and Megève in the French Alps, and from Lake Como in Italy down to Sicily.

2007 projects started with:

• Ansons in Marrakech
• GVM Gas Verbund Mitteland AG in St. Moritz
• Migros for "dipiù" magazine in Sicily
• Part of the forthcoming new campaign for Smart in St. Moritz

Novavista offers services in three main areas:

Production: Full service production company for commercial and fashion photo shoots in Switzerland and elsewhere.

Casting: Novavista handles the organisation of national and international castings with photo, video and street casting. The company has its own continually updated database with all kinds of characters.

Location: The company can find the appropriate location for your shoot and handles all aspects. Nova-Location has its own continually updated database with all kinds of indoor and outdoor locations.

SHOWCASE International Portfolio Review at Kaufleuten in Zurich will take place 14-15 June.

The event will feature 24 industry exhibitors, 24 photographers' agents and 24 young photographers with the professional SHOWCASE Jury - from New York, Tokyo, Hamburg, Zurich, Paris and London - selecting 20 photographers to exhibit their works and compete for various prizes,

New this year, the Young Photographers Show will be open to any photographer not yet represented by an agent.

SHOWCASE will be an opportunity to view some of the best photographers' portfolios, screen new talent and cultivate contacts. There will also be educational facilities and the chance to learn more about the industry.

In addition, the Magnum in Motion Café will feature short films/essays and speeches by different photographers.

SHOWCASE partners are Art Directors Club Switzerland, Persönlich rot/blau magazine, Lürzers Archive, Production Paradise, Aroma Productions, Habegger Media, Kaufleuten, Das Magazin, Wallpaper, The City of Zurich, Ilford and Magnum Photos Paris.

Two upcoming exhibitions at the museum:

Stuhl Haus Stadt - "Haefeli Moser Steiger", 30 March to 1 July
The Haefeli Moser Steiger partnership was one of the most important Swiss architectural practices of the 20th century. In Zurich itself, many milestones in the career of Haefeli Moser Steiger can be seen: the Werkbundsiedlung Neubühl and the Kantonsspital where they played a very important role, the Hochhaus zur Palme or the Kongresshaus, which is currently a subject of discussion.

"This Side Up" - Konstantin Grcic Industrial Design, until 22 April
Konstantin Grcic from Munich is a well-known designer with an international reputation. Along with his studio KGID, set up in 1991, he has made a name for himself through experiments with materials and a "constructive individuality". The exhibition shows works from the past decade, with fifty products on display. Visitors can follow the way the products were developed through drawings, models, prototypes and video films.

Karin Kern has been a freelance photo stylist for 12 years working in the areas of interior, still life and advertising. She is currently looking to expand her experience in food styling.

Using natural materials, she combines old and new and likes to give her work "cheeky accents".

In order to develop her clients' wishes carefully, Karin says that her watchwords are commitment, flexibility and team spirit.

bfine's philosophy is to contribute to people's well-being and health through healthy, tasty lunches and dinners. They offer meals that are right for the diner's taste and needs.

All menus are based on high levels of freshness and taste, with each and every meal being created by star chefs, with no compromises on taste. Meals range from traditional warm meals to high-end soups and salads with warm add-ons.

All menus are healthy and adapted to individual needs. The restaurant offers three different meal families: the regular (750 kcal), the low-carb (550 kcal) and the weight management (450 kcal).

Regarding speed, bfine says "whether you only have 30 seconds for lunch or would like to take it home as take-away, bfine allows you to enjoy our meals your way".

Unique Model Agency was established in 2002 and is based in Zurich, Switzerland and is therefore very centrally located to all the major European fashion markets including Milan, London, Munich and Paris.

Recent news:

After model Raluca turned client heads in Milan, Paris and Los Angeles she worked for Swiss magazine Femina. The editorial was considered to be very successful and her clients commented on her professionalism.

Model Sara-Kristina, also regularly booked internationally, was chosen for the current Bluedog campaign, which was shot by Zurich-based photographer Patrick Mettraux.

Günther Kathrein works from his own studio in the heart of Zurich. He specialises in beauty and fashion photography.

2007 has started well with the following highlights: Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren and Odlo.

Welcome to the Spring 07 edition of SHOWCASE ZURICH, featuring a selection of the best visual media companies hard at work in Switzerland's largest city. Our complete Zurich directory is at www.productionparadise.com.

Running until 15 April, is an exhibition at Kunsthaus Zurich by Erwin Wurm, a famous Austrian artist and photographer, who has created a series of images for the programme and booklet for "Hamlet", currently showing at the Schauspielhaus Zurich.

Our cover was shot by Juventino Mateo, represented by Nicole Zehnder Fotografen.

New in Switzerland, Avocado is a photographers' agency, representing international photographers in the areas of portraits, fashion, beauty, stills, cars and architecture.

It also offers full production services including art and creative directors, stylists, hair & make-up artists and retouchers.

The first Avocado company has been operating in Moscow since 1999. Their current photographers for Switzerland include:

• Serge Guerand - people/fashion/beauty
• Dimitri Tolstoi - stills/studio
• Urs Wyss - people/beauty/portraits
• Richard Booth - stills/studio
• Ivan Frolov - food
• Werner Deisenroth - cars/studio
• New entry: photographer from Hamburg Joerg Kritzer