Last autumn an unusual store opened here in Berlin: Original Unverpackt (lit. “originally unpackaged”) is the city’s first supermarket to sell groceries without packaging and in bulk. OU’s founders Milena Glimbovski and Sara Wolf raised the money for their project via crowdfunding which ensured a lively debate in the German media about packaging waste, recycling and food wastage, long before the store even opened.
Store Profile: Original Unverpackt in Kreuzberg, Berlin
Filed under Berlin, Industry News, Mintel, Retail, Store Profiles
Mintel article: Berlin perfumery Frau Tonis Parfum
This summer I wrote a profile about Frau Tonis Parfum – one of my favourite perfumeries in Berlin: a beautiful store, great fragrances and they even have a brand cooperation with one of my favourite Berlin bars! Check out the Mintel article here.
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Event: Cyberfest 2014 – The Other Home
It’s that time of year again: Cyberfest, Russia’s biggest new media festival, is back in town! The first Cyberfest took place in St. Petersburg eight years ago. Last November, Cyberfest came to Berlin and took up residence in art house The Wye for a week of fabulous digital music/art/tech exhibitions and events. Check out my Cyberfest 2013 blog article here.
This year the festival returns to Berlin and again The Wye is Cyberfest’s co-organisator. The program promises to be just as interesting as the one last year: From 12th to 15th December, Bethanien gallery in Kreuzberg is hosting a visual art exhibition which presents an overview of contemporary Russian new media/art and at Platoon Kunsthalle in Mitte on 15th December, there is a sound art performance featuring five auditory artists from Russia and Berlin. Should be absolutely worth a visit!
More information is available from Cyberfest creator Cyland Media Lab and on the festival’s Facebook page.
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Filed under Design, Exhibitions
[Brand Profile]: Whamisa – organic beauty from Korea
One of my favourite things about trade shows is the chance to discover new beauty labels. I first came across Whamisa at CosmeTokyo 2014 trade show and was immediately struck by the brand: Beautiful packaging, high-quality ingredients, great organic certification (BDIH and Ecocert) and a very attractive 38-sku product range.
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Filed under Asia, Brand Profiles, Industry News, Retail, Trade Shows, Travel
Mintel article: Glööckler flagship Berlin
I arrived back in Berlin three days ago. It was a marvellous five weeks away and I’m still trying to sort out all of my impressions. My next trip to that region is already booked, by the way: two weeks in Tokyo in late February/early March plus a few days in Seoul/Korea. I’ve never been to Korea and already have a long list of stores and places I want to visit.
Before taking off for Japan, however, I’ll be visiting Vivaness trade show in Nuremberg. And after my return I’ll be attending Beauty International trade show in Düsseldorf. It looks like 2015 will be full of travelling and trade shows (yay!)
Since I won’t have time to update the blog this week (too much work to do), here is an article I wrote on German designer Harald Glööckler’s new Berlin flagship store this summer. Glööckler is a rather interesting phenomenon, he has a very flamboyant, in-your-face personality and he polarises public opinion. However, when I researched the article, I was surprised by how genuine he appears, despite his obvious and carefully cultivated artificiality. Enjoy the article!
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Filed under Berlin, Brand Profiles, Mintel, Retail
Retail notes from Hong Kong: [Show Report] Cosmoprof Asia 2014
I arrived in Hong Kong a few days ago to attend Cosmoprof Asia, the biggest and most important C&T trade show in the Asian region. This year’s Cosmoprof Asia took place from 12th to 14th November at Hong Kong’s Convention & Exhibition Center in Wan Chai. Click on the link below to read more on the show.
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Filed under Asia, cosmeticsbusiness.com, Industry News, Retail, Show Reports, Trade Shows, Travel, Trends
Retail notes from Taipei: [Company Profile] Eslite!
One of my favourite store chains in Taiwan is bookstore retailer Eslite. Not only do they have an interesting and very appealing retail concept, but I’m also impressed by how carefully the company tailors its brand portfolio and store layout to the local neighbourhood.
The Eslite chain started out as a bookstore in 1989 with a small selection of titles from the arts and humanities. Since then it has become a majorly successful multi-channel business. In 2004 Eslite was chosen as “Asia’s Best Book Store” in Time Magazine’s Best of Asia ranking and in 2011 the company received the Top 100 Taiwanese Brand Award from the Taiwanese government.
Books and literature are still a key part of the Eslite portfolio but the company has diversified its focus to embrace the cultural and creative industries in Taiwan, too. In some of the larger Taipei Eslites you’ll find gourmet food courts and super-stylish cafés, hand-made Taiwanese art and design objects, lifestyle cosmetics, international avant-garde fashion and accessories and a very comprehensive selection of books and magazines – mostly in Chinese but the larger Eslites also carry a respectable number of English language books. Some of the outlets feature lecture halls and auditoriums and in these stores there is a varied program of concerts, exhibitions and other cultural events. And the newest Eslite in Songshan even has an arthouse movie theatre.
Filed under Asia, Brand Profiles, Retail, Travel
Art & design in Taipei (3/3): Red House
The Red House cultural centre is the second-oldest and the smallest of the three arts spaces. It is a group of compact and attractive red-brick buildings which is located right in the middle of bustling Ximen area.
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Filed under Asia, Design, Exhibitions, Travel
Art & design in Taipei (2/3): Songshan Cultural & Creative Park
Songshan Cultural & Creative Park is the most recent and also the biggest of Taipei’s creative locations. Like the Red House and Huashan 1914, the Songshan complex used to be an old industrial site. Built in 1937 as a tobacco factory, Songshan extends over some 6.6 hectares of space. The factory buildings alone include five warehouses, various office buildings and manufacturing halls, an inspection room and a boiler room.
In 2001 the factory complex was designated an important historic location and Taipei’s city government began to develop the site as a creative and cultural design centre. And in 2012, Songshan Cultural & Creative Park was opened with the mission to kindle creativity and innovation, with a particular focus on cross-industry creative projects.
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Filed under Asia, Design, Exhibitions, Travel
Art & design in Taipei (1/3): Huashan 1914
This city has a very cool art and design scene! I knew next to nothing about Taipei (or Taiwan, for that matter) before I visited here, but the creative vein that runs through much of the urban lifestyle is very visible. In many stores you’ll find products and brands that emphasize Taiwanese design and manufacture and there is a strong reflection on the cultural and ethnic heritage of the island.
At the moment, for example, the city is hosting Pulima Art Festival 2014 which celebrates the cultural and musical diversity of Taiwan’s many Aboriginal tribes. I came across this festival when I was visiting Huashan 1914, the oldest of Taipei’s three major cultural & creative locations.
And this is really what the article is all about: a closer look at Taipei’s creative and design scene focusing on Huashan 1914, the Red House and Songshan Cultural & Creative Park. All three locations are former industrial sites which were transformed into lively (and very stylish!) cultural/art centres. I have split the article into three individual posts to improve readability. The first installment: Huashan 1914!
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Filed under Asia, Design, Exhibitions, Travel
TRENDS. TRAVELS. AND BERLIN 