From Place To Space: Design Fun In Berlin

Two weeks ago I set off for an early bird flight from Munich to Berlin to attend a four days design blogger tour in the German capital. This was the second design blogger tour after Copenhagen. I was looking forward to meeting my fellow bloggers and friends and exploring design in the popular city of Berlin. Even though I had a slight cold (which turned into a nasty cold leaving me without voice in the midst of Berlin snowstorms), I was determined to enjoy to the max. And so I did.

We were based in the hip Michelberger Hotel in Eastern Berlin and had a fun-filled agenda. One highlight was a styling challenge for 'Fashion for Home', but I will tell you more about it in a later post. Another great part was a 'Green Design Tour' guided by GoArt! Berlin, customized for us by our hosts from 'Visit Berlin'. First they took us out for dinner to a über-cool Berlin-style vegetarian restaurant and club called 'Cookies Cream' (hidden in a gloomy backyard). And the next day they guided us to some amazing stores, studios, museums and ateliers with a focus on sustainable, local design. Let me take you along.

We started off in an old brewery that turned into a cultural center and strolled down the street to the art and architecture center AEDES where we enjoyed a special opening of their current exhibition on new architectural project around the globe. This was followed by a fabulous atelier/shop called 'Heer', where the founder's grandchild Daniel Heer continues a family tradition of manufacturing leather mattresses filled with horsehair, leather furniture and bags - the place was a real gem and the story and work of Daniel Heer beyond fascinating. I enjoyed so much the fact that a young man strives for a career in manufacturing high-quality goods and perpetuating a long lasting family tradition.

Absolutely inspired we set off to discover a great shop with a fun name: 'Noodles, Noodles & Noodles'. The owner introduced us to the philosophy of the sustainably produced furniture pieces and made us regret we came by plane cause we couldn't buy anything of the great design pieces. The official tour was rounded up by a visit to a fantastic photo studio called 'Imago' where you can take 1:1 sized black and white photos of yourself with a retro vibe. Happy and tired we enjoyed lunch with our nice hosts before we decided to check out more stores by ourselves.

We visited the huge Modulor store with all kind of stationery and DIY equipment, the fabulous concept store Voo in Kreuzberg, the Berlin office of the Stockholm-based real estate agency 'Fantastic Franck' and the design concept store 'Supergrau Apartment' where we were invited to dine with the staff. It's pretty logic that even a design tour needs to be fed well, so we gladly accepted another lunch invitation by the folks over at the German headquarters of Etsy. 

After lot of walking, fighting the snowstorm and fierce winds, after gallons of ginger tea with honey and layers and layers of warm clothing, I was happy and tired back in Munich. And I still have more to tell you. But that I will keep for another post. Happy new week, friends!

Photography by Igor Josifovic, photo no. 4 by Riikka Kantinkoski

Tweet