Berlin is poor but sexy, so it follows that the Berliners are probably not a great market to buy your designs but get them wearing it cos they’ll make it look damn sexy- and everyone knows sex sells!
As a struggling designer (but aren’t we all) of a fledgling jewellery label in the city of Berlin, i am interested to see how other designers are surviving in the city that perfected cool but saves its pennies for beer and cigarettes. There’s no lack of ways to showcase your wares here; with endless design markets and exhibition opportunities, but after the materialistic mindset of my hometown Sydney i wonder: where are all the consumers?? So in the interest of personal research i take it upon myself to harass some other designers from far and wide who have also been seduced by Berlin and are attempting to support themselves in this broke but sexy city…
I’d like to start with artist and designer Ebon Heath who likes to play with words in his work – in the literal sense. Read my interview with him and check out his amazing jewellery after the jump.
Where are you from?
From New York (USA)… between Brooklyn and Woodstock.
What are you doing?
I make words dance as sculptures, performance, or jewelry.
How do you support yourself?
Mostly my artwork with an occasional design job when necessary or interesting.
Where can we find you?
My website is www.listeningwithmyeyes.com and my jewelry is coming to shops this winter.
What is Berlin’s appeal?
It is a magnet for creatives from around the world and it allows you to live freely with either the quietness of a park or the chaos of a club.
Do you think it’s easier to support yourself as a designer here?
Although everyone is broke, life is cheap in Berlin, so it makes it easy to live with very low overhead. New York is the opposite, the cost of living is very high and everyone is competing for the same small crumbs. In Berlin you can live like a rock star on a part time hustle, in NYC you need multiple hustles just to pay your rent let alone live life fully.
Berlin, poor? sexy?
Yes, poor and sexy. It’s not about flashing fancy possessions or outfits, or bottle service…. in fact it feels looked down upon to be rich and flashy. They burn fancy cars here, girls rarely dress up for the night, and you can eat and drink your fill for around 20 euros for a night.
Likes:
The color orange, letters of all shapes and sizes, cultural remixes, loud heavy bass, a good bourbon, working in my studio, the mystery of life, organic greens.
Dislikes:
Wasting time, people who think they have the answers, dictators and monarchy, money, assumptions/ stereotypes, pork in all its incarnations.
Interview: Millicent Nobis
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Millicent Nobis is a graduate fashion designer from Sydney, Australia, who now lives in Berlin running her own jewellery label Mies Nobis. You can follow her explorations of the Berlin fashion and art scene on her blog Mies in Berlin. For iHeartBerlin.de Milli has interviewed 5 accessory designers from all over the world about their life in Berlin.
