The winding path that led to Le Trente

- Sep 09, 2025

We're launching our new schedule of offerings this month, and it feels like the right moment to explore how Le Trente came to be. Yes, the story has come out in dribs and drabs, but as we are building something intentional, giving you the goods (aka telling you the back story) could help you understand what drives everything we do. This is very much the story of an unexpected thirst for learning, a podcast, and a very large apartment.

2017: I took my first online course, the altMBA (created by Seth Godin). My life changed. Fresh (or not so fresh) after 17 years working with that shoe designer, the one making those shoes with the red soles, I found myself experiencing a deep thirst for learning. Did it have anything to do with me dropping out of university? Or was it that once removed from under Christian's umbrella, I was missing interactions with amazing humans?

Over the following months, I threw myself into varied fields of study. First, becoming a certified yoga teacher (2019), then a mindfulness and loving kindness teacher (MMTCP, 2021), a certified coach and facilitator (2021), while taking dozens and dozens of other courses. Having started to write a weekly newsletter in September 2020, I equally craved tools to better my writing. I still do (and signed up for 'just one more' workshop only last night).

I took many subsequent online webinars on topics from storytelling, the writing craft, paired with a good dose of conscious communication.

When it came to starting to teach meditation, I quickly realised that I was a better guide when I was a student myself. Serendipity dropped into my virtual lap year-long courses with the Nalanda Institute in Contemplative Science (online and in person in Switzerland), then I joined Banyan for Mindfulness Mentor Training, among others. I could have gone somewhere very fancy or paid for an MBA with all the money I spent. But I went for a 'choose your own adventure' kind of learning.

2020: While I was diving deep into all this learning, something else was happening in parallel... After spending the pandemic lockdown in a lovely if cramped studio, I rented a spacious flat (read: way too big for one person). I didn't choose it as much as it chose me- I'd been rejected for every other flat I'd applied for. I guess I wasn't the only one hoping to move after lockdown. For three years, this beautiful space remained private — I couldn't bring myself to invite people in. Its size felt too extravagant for Geneva's discreet sensibilities, so I hid.

That same summer, I launched my long-form interview podcast, Out of the Clouds. With each conversation and guest, I was changed. I used to joke that I got a mini-masterclass from each of my guests. Banter aside, the seed was planted.

Through my participation in an online group called the Bento Society, created by Yancey Strickler, I experienced what it was like to be part of a generous and intentional community. We interrogated ourselves on how to make life better, not only for now us, but future us. Opening the aperture of our vision to go beyond our immediate needs and preferences. When Yancey shared how he workshopped his book idea at a friend's salon, giving birth to his Bento concept, something clicked.

A salon... I started dreaming.

In May 2023, I jumped in with both feet, inviting 30 people for a private screening of the film 'Fashion Reimagined' and hosting them for 'cocktail dînatoire' after.

That October, I hosted the first salon, just in time to celebrate my birthday, a ploy to make sure people would show up to this new concept event.

This is, in a nutshell, what drove me to create these in-person podcast experiences, bringing local and international guests to speak in the privacy of my home for a small crowd who would gather to hear their story and journey, as well as enjoy four courses of delightful vegetarian food, cooked by my fair hands.

The space that had sheltered me during isolation became a sanctuary for bringing others together. One thing led to another, and Le Trente, the salon, gave way to a broader and more innovative concept. Ta dah!

I'm thrilled to share the first offering with you.

On Monday, September 22nd (online) and Tuesday, September 24th (in-person), I'm hosting "Dreaming Into Being" - a transformational goal-setting workshop that perfectly embodies everything Le Trente stands for.

Unlike traditional goal-setting programmes that start with your mind's pressure, this workshop begins with your body's wisdom. I'll lean on deeply relaxing guided meditations to access your most creative, intuitive state before exploring what you truly want for your life - not what you think you should want.

This is authenticity in action: connecting to your genuine desires rather than external expectations. It's exactly the kind of reclamation work that drives everything we do here. Here's what makes this different:

What you'll experience:

Deep relaxation and creative activation through guided body scans

Evidence-based dreamscaping and visualisation techniques

Personalised goal-setting strategy grounded in research

Connection to your authentic desires

A previous participant kindly emailed me last year to say: "Before Anne's workshop, I always settled for less than what I truly desired because my reasoning convinced me my goals needed to be 'realistic.' During her guided visualisation, I let go of those restraints and discovered my true desires were already fully formed - I just needed permission to dream bigger."

This workshop represents everything I've learned about creating safe spaces where authenticity can emerge. Get your ticket here for the online event, and here for the in person one! And feel free to share the love! (PS. only 8 capacity for the in-person event, grab your seat fast)

This learning journey and community-building has led to something I'm incredibly excited to share with you. But there's something deeper at work here - a philosophy about how we learn and grow together that has shaped every aspect of Le Trente. Let me share that with you tomorrow.