FT- Fast Lane by Tyler Brule

There's a new columnist for Fast Lane but for now she's nowhere good as Tyler Brule.

BTW, SBS (as I mentioned before, this is one of the best TV channels in the world and ask your cable company to get it. It's worth every cent paying extra as it's documentaries and the movies (foreign movies), American Independent it shows are spectacular) shows a program by him called Counter Culture.

He certainly has to improve on his "presenter" skills as he doesn't quite know where to place his hands and shies from looking at the camera! Now what kind of presenter is that!

End of the lane

By Tyler Brule

Published: December 30 2006 02:00 | Last updated: December 30 2006 02:00

It's time to sketch you one last picture. To mark the final instalment of Fast Lane, I've dressed for the occasion. Working from the bottom up, I'm wearing a pair of simple geta (Japanese sandals) I bought at the Gora Kadan gift shop in Hakone and grey Tabio socks (with special split toe feature so they work with the sandal), well-worn APC jeans, Swiss undies, a custom shirt from MCR, an oatmeal colour Ballantyne cashmere V-neck and, because I have a bit of a cold, there's also a brown, orange and camel cashmere muffler from Beams in Tokyo wrapped around my neck. Today I'm sitting in my flat in St Moritz, which is also home to my favourite desk - a massive ash and cherry table by Josef Frank.

To ensure I can respond to all of you who've written such lovely letters, I'm perched on top of a classic walnut chair like those usually found in elementary schools across Switzerland. Outside the sun is shining, mum and Mats have gone to buy provisions for Christmas eve dinner, Christmas day lunch and various baking assignments down the hill at Coop (the St Moritz branch is one of the best mass food stores I know) and there's enough snow to tempt me to the slopes.

Three weeks ago I told you today would be my last column and, in the spirit of the season, I'd be taking special requests. Since then there's been a crush of questions obscure, obvious, cheeky and downright naughty. While I hate to disappoint you and spoil the occasion, the latter I've had to deal with directly and they won't be appearing on today's page. Having sifted through correspondence from Portland, Auckland, Kyoto, Toronto, Houston and even quaint corners of the UK that I didn't even know had home delivery service, I've pulled out the 10 most asked questions in the mail sack. Here goes.

1 Is Tyler Brûlé your real name?

This is what happens when you have an artist for a mother and a football playing father and the year is 1968. French Canadian roots of course contributed to the last name. I'll let you in on a little secret, my first name is actually Jayson - but I've always been called Tyler.

2 Did you once have something to do with Wallpaper* magazine?

Yes. I launched Wallpaper* in1996 and was the editor until mid2002.

3 With all these travel changes, how do you deal with the liquids rule and only getting by with carry-on luggage?

I try to act like nothing's happened and travel as normal. The absurd one bag rule that the UK is still upholding is relatively easy to get around - even if you're a two to three bag carry-on person. Use a large, unstructured nylon bag that can accommodate clothes and also has enough space to hold your other carry-ons in the top. As you're shuffling along the queue, just shove everything in the top and whack it on the conveyor belt. I've yet to be turned back. As for liquids, I scatter them all over my luggage and have never been checked. So much for the advanced security systems in the UK and US.

4 Doesn't all the travel wear you down?

It's the airports that get to me, not the flying. Newark, JFK, Heathrow, Gatwick, Toronto and LAX are the worst offenders. I've been on the road for a good 16 years now and it's part of my life. That said, I'm happy to have 12 flight-free days up here in the mountains.

5 Do you have a cure for jet lag? Or how do you deal with all the time zones?

This is an easy one. Fly on business class when possible. Don't eat too much or even better eat nothing. Have a glass of wine or two. Sleep as much as you can. Go for a run or a swim when you land.

6 Where did you study?

I did a brief stint at Ryerson in Toronto studying journalism and political science but decided it wasn't for me. I started my career in journalism at the BBC in Manchester in 1989 and then moved on to work for ABC News, Channel Nine Australia and Sky News.

7 I once read in an interview that you were shot. Were you being serious?

While on assignment for a German news magazine in Afghanistan in 1994 I was shot twice while driving through Kabul. I was hit by two bullets, one through each arm. I lost the use of my left hand. My interpreter Sabur was shot through the back of the head and miraculously survived. I haven't been back to Kabul since.

8 What are your favourite cities?

For work, it has to be Tokyo (it all works and it's all fun), Zürich (it's manageable and you can go for a swim at lunch) and Munich (great airport and one of my favourite small hotels for business - the Cortiina). For play, I like a good Friday and Saturday in Copenhagen, Kyoto for the beauty, shopping and eating and Sydney for the food and friends.

9 Is there going to be a book of all these columns?

There's nothing planned at the moment. As they've all been rather timely, I'm not sure they'd work in book format.

10 What do you really do for a living?

Whenever I cross borders and have to fill out an immigration form I always write "journalist". That, however, is only part of the picture. Since 1998 I've been running branding and design agencies with offices in London, New York, Zürich and Tokyo. I have 30 wonderful staff and 22 clients that range from the massive to the minuscule. Thanks to my day job I've been able to make this column happen off the back of all my work-related travel.

Before I sign off, I want to thank all of you for your support, corrections, pointers and comments for the past three years. I'd also like to offer special thanks to my editor Emma Tucker and both Andy Higgins and Neil O'Sullivan for getting my copy in the door and on the page for Saturday morning. If you need to find me after today you can reach me at tyler.brule@winkorp.com.

Happy new year.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006