Search results for "alicia kassebohm"

Berlin en Vogue: The Incrediball

In Berlin nobody needs to be a princess or prince to feel special. Because once in a while we can all dress up and go to a ball. A ball where you don’t want to feel pretty or cute, but fierce and powerful instead. Showing your best moves to serious judges and maybe become a legend one day.

You have no idea what fairy tale I am talking about? About Berlin Voguing Out and their Incrediball of course!

Last Friday night we entered the halls of HAU2 for the voguing event of the year. Contestants from all over Germany and also from other parts of the world challenged each other in several voguing categories. If you are not familiar with this particular dance style from New York, which is routed in the queer black and latino subculture you should have a look at the documentary Paris is Burning about the original voguing ballroom scene in New York.

Here in Berlin we are pretty lucky to have the amazing House of Melody lead by Georgina Leo Melody, who made voguing so incredibly popular in Berlin. The House of Melody is not only organizing the Berlin Voguing Out Festival but also many other events and workshops around this dance culture. To give you a little taste Alicia Kassebohm took some pictures for you to enjoy all the beauty and fierceness of the Berlin Voguing scene. More after the jump. read more…

Shaping our City: Nicolas Defawe from Urban Spree

by Frank | People

Nicolas Defawe

After our interviews with Berlin city shapers PANSY from Yo! Sissy Festival and Yasha Young from Urban Nation we are coming to the third and final part of our interview series that is inspired by Heineken’s Shape Your City campaign. While the winners of The Cities Project are already working to make their bar concept a reality in the beautiful city of Cologne, we had a chat here in Berlin with our latest interview partner Nicolas Defawe. If his name doesn’t ring a bell for you, you might know some of the amazing spaces that he was and is involved in such as the awesome, but sadly closed HBC, the short-lived +-0 in the old Postbahnhof building, and the Urban Spree gallery at the RAW area.

Nico is one of the people in the alternative cultural scene of Berlin that we have collaborated with a lot over the years with many of the events we did with iHeartBerlin and its sister project Designer Scouts. It was always such a pleasure to work with him because he has such a positive and supportive spirit and he is the type of guy that you can easily go and steal horses with (this is a funny expression we like to use in German that means that someone is game with just about anything). In our interview with him and his Urban Spree partner Pascal Feucher we revisited some of the old places and looked into the future for the current one…

Berlin 24/7: A Guide for Night Owls

by Nikos | Bars, Cafés, Charlottenburg, Food, Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg, Misc., Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, Restaurants, Shops, Wedding, Wellness

photo: all.x

Having studied at another culturally forgettable -yet very beautiful in the summer – German town, I always thought that the main difference between living in the capital and living in a place, where breathing large amounts of non-polluted air almost didn’t feel right, was the night life. What differentiates Berlin from other smaller cities is not just its numerous wild parties, where the right drug combination can bring you to euphoric levels of happiness despite the insufferably monotonous beats and pull you into a life crisis the next day, while wondering how you managed to look like you already had a divorce and a few heart-attacks. Luckily, Berlin is so much more than that.

The main difference lies in the possibilities awaiting when the sunlight starts to dim and the city puts on a new outfit, less fancy but always stylish; not the let’s-have-a-reunion-at-the-cemetery-kind, but in a far more original way.

Blame it on your insomnia, your constantly unsatisfied desire to explore as many as layers of this city as possible, your biological needs, or simply your Fear Of Missing Out, Berlin is here to keep you company through the sleepless nights, when doing anything other than “sleeping, because I am working tomorrow” could feel just a little bit abnormal; to be your remedy. read more…

The Playfulness of Berlin

by Claudio | City Guide, Design, Photos

It does not take a lot of imagination to think of Berlin as a giant playground. In times of Pokemon Go and other augmented reality games, the street-running movement and immersive theater experiences, everything – and everybody – seems ready to play.

But I don’t think that the origin of Berlin playfulness is based on technology, fitness or even cultural trends. I remember vividly how years ago I met on a subway ride a young dude that outed himself as a philosophy professor. (The combination of young dude and philosophy professor was a surprise at that time. Nowadays I am not as easily surprised ;-)) He told me that he is part of a creative project called invisible playground. In this project, he told me they tried to research and examine how a daily portion of playfulness can affect your overall happiness.

But invisible playground is not the only creative project celebrating the idea of a playful city. The Berlin-based artist duo 44Flavours have already left their footmark in the local creative scene. Experimenting with all kind of art forms, from murals to posters, and painting to sculpture, the two friends Sebastian Bagge and Julio Rölle, have worked together since they were students. Their success formula is a vibrant combination of teamwork and creative chaos. For the #LiveThere exhibition by Airbnb they created an interactive playground where you can tell your personal Berlin story. There you can listen to murmuring teapots, talk to enchanted mirrors and have fun with all kinds of everyday objects transformed into a creative installation. The idea behind this project is to share different stories about Berlin and to emphasize how with a spark of creative inventiveness and playfulness every trip to Berlin can become a one of a kind experience.

Inspired by that idea, I thought of how we could be more active in experiencing our city as a playful place. I started thinking about the rules and I realized that the games you decide to play on your personal urban playground don’t have to follow any rules or even the norms of standard morality. Between lust and pain is the instinct to play. Therefore I dove deeply into my own imagination and created a set of Berlin-specific mind games. Follow my colorful, funny but sometimes also sensual and dark inspirations to transform your everyday life in Berlin into a crazy game-like experience.

Two Berliners having a Design Adventure in Milan

by Claudio | Design, Travel

photos: Alicia Kassebohm

Exploring new cities has always been a pleasure for us. We come back with a bag full of new inspiration, ideas and urban concepts that we might want to see also in our beloved hometown. Last week Alicia Kassebohm and I had the great pleasure to travel to Milan to visit the prominent Milan Design Week invited by the Belgium Design initiative: Belgium is Design. Like last year we visited The Salone del Mobile which is the biggest fair for contemporary design products and the Fuorisalone (outside Salone) the uncountable mass of side-events happening all around the city. In over 5 districts of Milan the complete neighborhood is transformed into a walkable showroom where young and upcoming designers and small manufactures present their products. This brings not only a lot of creativity to the neighborhoods but also involves the inhabitants in what is usually a very elitist topic: design. This kind of urban participation is something I really miss in all the fairs and big events happening in Berlin. So this would be something I could really imagine in a Berlin of the future. After the jump you find our favorite impressions sorted out by districts, a little art museum adventure we had and the best pieces from the exhibition of our partners from the Belgium Design Initiative.

Your Space – A new Place for Yoga & Meditation in Berlin

by Claudio | Prenzlauer Berg, Wellness

photos: Alicia Kassebohm

The fertile fuel of the mythic Berlin of the 90s and early 2000s was the abundance of unused buildings and spaces all around the city, especially in the East. So many business opportunities for small entrepreneurs, night clubs, music venues and even for yoga studios became possible through affordable space. This created a spirit of daring, bold minds open to new and experimental entrepreneurial concepts. And even if the rents nowadays are rising, this spirit remains to enrich the city day by day with yet another new amazing local business.

One month ago my friend and Yoga teacher Michaela Aue discovered a hidden gem in the second backyard of Prenzlauer Allee: an unused loft space with the rough Eastern charm of 90s Berlin. The space inspired her to team up with meditation expert Sophie Weiser to create a unique idea: Your Space – a creative hub that doesn’t need a label. Your Space will offer regular yoga and meditation classes during the week and unique and inspiring workshops in different disciplines on the weekend. Well connected to the local scene Michaela and Sophie gathered some of the best teachers and practitioners in town to celebrate the art of connecting body and mind.

Check out their weekly schedule here and follow them on Facebook for news and updates. More pictures, address and info after the jump.
read more…

The Most Awesome Independent Book Shops in Berlin

by Yasmin | Books, Shops

photo: Alicia Kassebohm

We all know the beauty of a good book. The luxury of indulging in the written word is incomparable. We might have told you about the books about Berlin. Now it’s time to shed light on where to best get them.

There are over 285 book shops in Berlin, each one of them with their own beauty. Some are small, some are bigger, all of them are good. A few of them have such a special atmosphere though, which is worth listing. See 12 of our favorite book shops of the capital after the jump. read more…

Exploring Berlin: 24h in Friedrichshain

by Alicia | Bars, Cafés, Friedrichshain, Galleries, Products, Restaurants, Shops

photos: Alicia Kassebohm

Especially when we are overwhelmed with work, when something significant changes in our life, or when we simply leave our usual surroundings to a new place, this is when we notice our most valuable asset: time.

In Friedrichshain you have time to get lost, as well as time to find something you didn’t know you were looking for. It is a place for nostalgia, for living in the moment, but also for seeking the future. It is an unfinished place, where one of time’s most significant effects becomes very obvious: change.

You definitely notice that unfinished character just by walking down Warschauer Straße, seeing all the construction works, graffiti and improvised shops and galleries. It’s always in progress, always changing. But this is what makes it special, what makes all of Berlin special.

The new label Lilienthal Berlin wants to capture exactly this spirit with their brand new watch, representing the individualistic and unique character of the city that is always in between a state of tranquility and movement. The iconic design symbolizes both the diverse history, but also its colorful present and future with subliminal details and aesthetic quotes of the city. With the exchangeable leather wristbands and color options of the body and face, it is adaptable to its wearer as the city itself.

To celebrate the launch of today’s exclusive pre-sale of their first model – the Lilienthal Berlin L1, which comes in a limited edition of 1440, all designed in Berlin and manufactured in Germany – the label sent us on a 24h tour to explore our favorite places in Berlin. We took the watch with us on our way through Friedrichshain, always with the time on our side. Enjoy our highlights after the jump!

The Most Photogenic Places in Berlin

by Yasmin | Photos, Places

photos: Alicia Kassebohm

There is nothing like making memories with your loved ones and Berlin serves as the perfect setting for that. Every street, every corner could be worth capturing.

When wandering around the capital, common touristic attractions like Brandenburger Tor and the Fernsehturm are great to have in the back of a photograph, but let’s face it: they are quite overused. There are so many other photogenic locations in the capital that are just as beautiful and, judging by the latest trends on Instagram, even more popular than traditional Berlin sights. We took it upon ourselves to filter some of the most popular locations to make memories at and take pictures that stand out.

We went outside on a sunny day to explore the city and took photos at some of the most popular Instagram hotspots. Our lovely co-writer and photographer Alicia Kassebohm captured us, the ladies of iHeartBerlin, on our little photo tour, and so we present to you: our most #iconicBerlinshots.
And what a day we had!

See the results of our shooting right after the jump and get some inspiration for your next photo tour in Berlin!

A Guide to Nonsmoker Friendly Bars in Berlin

by Yasmin | Bars, Charlottenburg, City Guide, Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg, Mitte, Neukölln, Prenzlauer Berg

photo: Alicia Kassebohm

Berlin is a city that ends up in smoke. No hard feelings here, if we’re being real: a cigarette with a good drink is one of the most oddly satisfying things. It is bad though. For the environment, others and mostly you. We all know this moment the next morning when smelling your hair and clothes from last night. It’s a rough one. Suddenly, all of your choices from last night are just the burn mark on your new sweater that smells like it was manufactured out of ash in a volcano. Not only non-smokers, even the toughest chain-smoker must be grossed out in this moment. Not to mention: hangovers are way harder when you didn’t only have Mr. Gin and Mr. Jack Daniels with you, but also the Marlboro Man. Or Pepe.

If you’ve had enough of all of the smoke and fire and want to burn the bad choices, we have some addresses for you where you can get a drink or dance without the fumes. Right after the jump is our list of favorite non-smoker friendly bars (which by our definition are bars that have separate smokers and non-smokers areas or are completely smoke-free). read more…

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