Monthly Archives: September 2015

26/09/2015 · 11:48

The Aluminium Garden: Exhibition at Studio Picknick Berlin

Up until a few years ago, my street was quite boring. It’s right in the middle of what used to be the governmental area of Eastern Berlin: the building I live in is surrounded by offices, ministries and embassies.

Including the North Korea embassy, by the way: if you’re ever in the neighbourhood check out their glass-covered information case at the entrance – very brightly coloured pictures of various Kims and happy-looking North Koreans and beautifully written communist propaganda (North Korea is the most prosperous place on earth, in case you didn’t know).

Anyway, over the last couple of years there’s been an influx of Internet start-ups, media agencies and galleries which is really brightening up the neighbourhood. Like Studio Picknick Berlin, an arts space which must have opened at some point this year; all of a sudden they were there! And they have the most beautiful exhibition on at the moment: The Aluminium Garden, a collaboration between artist Toshihiko Mitsuya and architectural firm June 14 Meye-Grohbrügge & Chermayef.

IMG_0765

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16/09/2015 · 13:59

OWN: The Fall 2015 edition of Organic & Wellness News is now online

Here is the link to the Fall Edition of Organic & Wellness News. I’ve contributed a number of articles to this issue, including a company profile about Berlin-based vegan supermarket chain Veganz (read the OWN article here), previews about the upcoming Naturkosmetikbranchenkongress (OWN article) and organic food trade show Biofach America/Expo East (OWN article), an article on the Baobab tree and UK brand Aduna’s innovative social marketing campaign #makebaobabfamous and an article on this summer’s organic equivalency agreement between the US and Switzerland. Enjoy.

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08/09/2015 · 21:04

Mintel articles: Kadewe Group, Soho House, Nickerchen and Miriam Jacks

Here are some of my Mintel articles from the first half of the year:

The February cityscape was about German premium department store group Kadewe Group.  Kadewe Group (which  was sold to Italian department store chain La Rinascente this summer) has launched three signature city fragrances – 030 Berlin, 040 Hamburg and 089 Munich – which were developed by Frau Tonis Parfum, one of my favourite Berlin perfumeries.

In early 2015, Berlin’s Soho House – the Berlin dependance of London’s famous Soho House private members club – opened a store slash café slash creative space slash co-working area. My March article was about this new location: The Store is open to everyone (unlike the rest of Soho House) and features a café (their coffee is supplied by Berlin’s Bonanza Coffee Heroes), large retail area (designer fashion, accessories and other stuff), beauty salon (hairdressing, manicures and pedicures), comfortable sofas and free wifi. A good café choice if you’re in that neighbourhood of Torstrasse.

My April article was about Nickerchen, Berlin’s first power-napping store which opened in December 2014. Nickerchen (the German term for “small nap”) is the brilliant idea of Irina Ivachkovets. You can rent day beds for 10, 20 or 30 minutes; Irina also offers a range of massage treatments, there are early-bird and after-work yoga sessions and once a week she organises a popular salsa dancing night. Nickerchen is a great example of a new type of urban spa – well, you can read all about that in the PDF. Nickerchen is at Zimmerstrasse 27 near Checkpoint Charlie; check it out if you’re in the area.

And the May cityscape was another store profile: Miriam Jacks, one of Berlin’s most high-profile makeup artists, has opened a brand new store right in the middle of Kastanienallee in Prenzlauer Berg. Jacks is L’Oréal Germany’s national makeup artist; her new retail store also features a salon, beauty treatment area, barber’s shop and a great selection of niche beauty brands.

Enjoy, but please respect the copyright (Mintel/BPC)!

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04/09/2015 · 12:42

Exhibition: Dancing on the Volcano – J.F. Schwarzlose fragrance exhibition

Yesterday evening I attended the opening of Stadtmuseum Berlin’s new exhibition: “Tanz auf dem Vulkan” (Dancing on the Volcano) – Berlin’s “Golden Twenties” as reflected in art and design. The Weimar Republic (a historical epoch defined as extending from 1918, the end of WWI, to 1933, the year when Adolf Hitler became German chancellor) is one of the most interesting, complex and, of course, pivotal periods in German history.

Tanz auf dem Vulkan approaches Berlin’s Weimar Republic from a different angle. Rather than analysing the political, social and economical aspects of these fifteen years and what they were leading up to (depressing and very grim since we all know what happened), the exhibition highlights a different side of the Weimar Republic: the hedonistic and colourful lifestyle, culture, art and design of Germany’s capital in the Roaring Twenties.

Schwarzlose Exihibition (19)

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