One of the many facets of Berlin that people really love and cherish is the rough, urban and industrial style of the city. It’s something that Berlin has in common with places like Brooklyn or South East London. But combined with Berlin’s history, the division, the Soviet influence of the East, it developed a quite particular style that sets it apart from the other cities. Raw brick walls and concrete, factory lamps and Edison light bulbs, this is pretty much an aesthetic you will see all over the world. But Berlin adds old GDR relics, remains of the Soviet military, and remnants of old industries that were specific to Germany. The outcome is a unique mix of history, design, and patina that feels specific to Berlin.
In our newest guide, we want to introduce you to 3 shops that have specialized in industrial vintage design, all of which combine common aesthetics with more particular ones. We love all three of these shops as they capture so much an essential part of the style of Berlin. Enjoy!
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by Frank | Design, Mitte, Schöneberg, Shops
Sponsored
Interior design platform MADE.com has a heart for young designers – just like we do! With their TalentLAB program, they offer their platform for upcoming product designers to present their amazing ideas. Designers from all over the world can submit their products and MADE.com will curate the best products into little collections of furniture and home accessories. People can then pledge for their favorite designs with a small deposit in a way similar to crowd-funding which secures them a special early bird price. Those products that reach their pledge goal will actually get produced by MADE.com. For those who pledged for one product that did not reach its goal, they will get a refund.
In their Berlin showroom, MADE.com is showcasing some of the TalentLAB designs that will get produced so that everyone gets a chance to get a preview of the final product. A current highlight of the latest collection titled “Ready-to-Work” is the glamorous copper Lumo Table Lamp by Emma Norlén from Hanau. Her design was actually the first one that reached its pledge goal in the new collection. Others that made it are for example a really cool side bench by Gaetano Avitabile from Italy, a beautiful brass watering can by Aaron Colfer from the UK, and a cute storage shelf by Ateliers Bah from France.
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by Frank | Design, Events
photo: Neo/Craft
Germany is the country where the Bauhaus was born founded by Walter Gropius an outstanding Berliner who, among his revolutionary legacy, coined the historic quote “Form follows function”. He looked for the union between use and aesthetics. Berlin has it all, (only if it was at the sea…) so it’s not surprising that you can find really amazing designers in Berlin. The crafts have always had that strong artisan character deeply rooted in the tradition of learning from those who mastered techniques and materials. Despite that, I personally will take the liberty to think of them as true artists. But regardless of how you address them, there’s certainly one thing we will agree on: what they do is simply amazing. Because they don’t just create stunning objects, they create objects that will help you bring meaning to spaces and to learn what it means to inhabit a space. And hopefully to be able to fill that place with unforgettable and meaningful memories. Here you have 7 of our favorite furniture and product designers that work to keep Berlin’s look cool and, always, unique.
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by Amanda Artiaga | Design, People, Products
For many families, decorating the christmas tree together belongs to one of many long cherished traditions, that one is looking forward to every christmas. Grandmas old ornaments are retrieved from the cellar, freed from dust and checked for cracks before they end up back on the christmas tree. Prior to this everyone needs to decide on the colour and in the end, like every year, eyeing the crumbling decoration, you notice once more: we should really get new ornaments for next year.
Those who want to revive old traditions and add some new unique pieces to your christmas ornament collection, will be happy to have found Edition Noël. Behind this label, seven ambitious and talented designers joined forces to create something special next to their daily work: handmade christmas ornaments. Their collection includes 300 Sets with 6 delicate, individual ornaments each. In the process, every designer let their individual creative focus flow into each ornament they made. The designers have backgrounds in illustration-, fashion-, jewelry-, textile- and product design, giving the ornaments a different style, one by one.
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by Franziska | Design, Products
Because Berlin is proud to be a city popular among expats, it never ceases to display a wide range of international approaches to things. The same goes for design and today we’d like to introduce Granit – a unique Swedish lifestyle brand that aims to help you organize your life so that you have more time to enjoy it.
This simple yet ingenious idea dates back to the spring of 1996, when Anett Jorméus and Susanne Liljenberg decided to open up a store specializing in functionality and storage. Their offer quickly expanded from interior decoration to products like bags, accessories, stationery, and even deli items. Read on to find out what makes their products stand out and where can you find them in Berlin.
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by Michalina | Shops
photo: Patrick Albertini
Berlin is, among else, a designer’s paradise. Like its people, Berlin’s interiors are just as diverse, with style that’s hard to pin down. The influences come from everywhere: from full-on kitsch, to industrial details, or the much beloved Scandinavian minimalism, the city is full of Tumblr looking interiors, always ready to pose for our #interior Instagram posts. The Amazing Crocodile, one of the most striking interior design stores in Berlin, is full of fun, elegant objects for all tastes, and a must when hunting for stunning pieces to make your living space come alive!
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by Stella | Design, Mitte, Shops
It’s Spring and you know what is one of the favorite rituals for Germans to do in Spring? Bringing everything back in order in the house. We also call it “Frühjahrsputz” meaning Spring Cleaning. Of course in Berlin this means finally bringing all the beer and Club Mate bottles that have piled up in the corner back to the Späti to receive some Pfand, changing out some Automaten photos from some ex lovers with new ones and bringing that stack of vintage clothes that become unfashionable back to the vintage shops.
But if you really want to be a pro about the Frühjahrsputz you also have to consider some re-styling and re-decorating. Because every year is different in Berlin and this should also reflect in your own four walls.
We teamed up with the interior experts of Granit who recently opened their first store in Berlin on Rosenthaler Straße in Mitte to come up with some interior ideas that reflect the spirit of Berlin. Granit hails all the way from Sweden and naturally the Berliners are eating it up as they love everything from Scandinavia. They offer interior products as well as household and office accessories with a very minimal, timeless and iconic design. It’s a total match made in heaven with the style of Berlin that has a quite raw, industrial aesthetic.
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by Frank | Design, Products
photo: Karsten Hintz
Probably the best thing about Berlin is the fact that it’s so diverse that no matter what you’re interested in, you can find a whole bunch of places here that will enable you to pursue your passion. Same goes for design – apart from such amazing examples of outstanding architectural thought like the Martin Gropius Bau or the St. Agnes Church, there’s also plenty of museums devoted to the subject, like the Bauhaus Archive or the Kunstgewerbemuseum. You can also get inspired by new initiatives of people who’re keen on creating beautiful and functional things, like the guys from Fundamental Berlin or LLot LLov. More about them and similar suggestions after the jump!
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by Michalina | Art, Museums
photos: ourfoodstories
Making furniture has always been a dream job for me. My dad is quite handy when it comes to working with wood, he learned a lot from his father who was a carpenter, and so he also taught a couple of things to me. I think it was a pleasure for him to see that I picked up on it and it gives him great joy to give me tools and machines for Christmas. In fact, even without having studied design or going through a practical education, I have designed and built quite a few pieces of furniture and interior objects in my life. But I never turned it into my main profession. Shame, really.
It comes naturally that I have always admired people who make furniture. There is something fundamentally sexy about creating something beautiful with your hands from raw materials. Of course the character of Aidan from cult TV show Sex and the City, the heart-throbbing furniture designer that the main character Carrie has dated over the course of a couple of seasons, has added to the idolized prototype of a furniture maker.
When I discovered the furniture label Nutsandwoods from Berlin and read the story of its founder Philipp Roessler I felt a similar sense of admiration. Here is a man who had a plan: I want to make a table of raw, natural materials that will last longer than a life and that looks super cool and timeless. (Goes and makes such table. Bam!) He basically only wanted to make this table for himself, but with incoming requests from friends and acquaintances he started to produce more, went into serial production and added more furniture designs such as benches, couch tables, chairs, shelves, lamps and other smaller accessories to his portfolio. The label Nutsandwoods was founded and now, years later, he designs not only for people’s homes, but also for shops, showrooms and trade shows. As his latest addition to the collection he designed lounge chairs from steel and fine leather, a couch and a sideboard, all of which with his signature style and favorite material: local oak tree and steel.
You can find the designs from Nutsandwoods here in Berlin at Hallesches Haus.Go check it out!
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by Frank | Design, Products
The Hallesches Haus, located inside a former post office at Hallesches Tor, is one of the most exciting concepts stores for interior design and all the beautiful things in life in Berlin. Before them there was not that much going on in terms of individualistic interior design in Berlin, but the guys behind Hallesches Haus were determined to change it. With their beautiful store they do not only offer a well curated selection of design products ranging from industrial chic, nostalgic retro classics, “cabin porn” to cute hipster items, they also have a lovely canteen and cafe attached to the store that offers contemporary breakfast and lunch and excellent coffee.
The selection of products changes all the time, so it’s worth it to go by every now and then, especially if you are looking for gifts for friends and family with good taste this place will not disappoint you. But don’t be too surprised if you end up keeping all the things you bought to yourself. We brought you some new impressions from the general store and the canteen that we took in Autumn 2017. Now there is one addition that we haven’t included in our set yet, the brand new HAY kitchen market with lots of practical little items for your kitchen from the beloved Danish design brand.
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by Frank | Design, Kreuzberg, Shops
