kolor berlin

berlin has seen a veritable flood of design shops in the past years, but less than a handful, it seems to me, are original. kolor is different. true, it's small, and you will have to walk five minutes from schoenhauser allee station, but it's so worth it.

kolor berlin is a design studio with a little shop in the front room, which doubles as showroom for the duo's interior design practice. every month, a product is featured, the stock is growing by and by. but give me a small hand-picked selection over swamps of pointless tat anytime.

my faves are without doubt their light features - coloured light cords with simple bulbs, hanging from the ceiling like an art installation. simple table lamps with black, white or copper bases, or lights you can stick between the books on your shelves. i'm also partial to the neon colour theme currently running through various objects, from paper clips to necklaces and luxuriously upcycled desks.

while kolor doesn't run a fully fledged online store yet, you can email them at order(at)kolor.de to enquire about availability, price and shipping of anything you see here or on their site. english spoken.

if in berlin, you should absolutely come to take a look. this is the kind of place where you'll find something to take home for your friends, but most likely something for yourself.

find them here: kolor berlin, kopenhagener str. 64, 10437 berlin / prenzlauer berg. nearest s-bahn/u-bahn/tram stop: schoenhauser allee. phone +49 (0) 30 - 231 801 46, currently open mon-fri 12-19 h. closed sat and sun. enquiries about price, availability and shipping under order(at)kolor.de

ferry rides

did you know you can ride various ferries in berlin with a simple s-bahn/u-bahn ticket? i love doing it for a day out, preferrably for a picnic, weather permitting (although i have had perfect picnics in stormy weather, not much is stopping me.)

bear in mind though, that these ferries are shuttles, so you must leave at the other end, and if you want to go back straight away, board again. may seem funny, but otherwise the ferries tend to fill up with passengers taking round-trip after round-trip. and there are not too many seats, so go a little early to queue on the pier (say 10-20 mins in advance, 40-45 mins in summer and on sunny days - i'm not kidding you).

check out the BVG (berlin public transport) website for timetables. also note, some ferries only run in the summer. the one across wannsee runs pretty much all year. i once took the ferry in deepest winter, going through drifting ice.

richard long: berlin circle

there's still a chance to see it:

richard long: berlin circle, at hamburger bahnhof, museum of contemporary art, until july 31, 2011, open tues-fri 10-18h, sat 11-20h, sun 11-18h, mon closed.

if you go, don't forget to stop by the bookshop. you know: pledge to read the printed word and all that.

glimpses of berlin

lunch with sylee the other day. s was there as well. what a good time we had! at sgaminegg, of course.

schaedel & sattler

want a hearty stew for lunch, or a risotto? are simple wooden tables your thing? are you ready for the surprise that bare concrete walls can actually feel warm? schaedel & sattler is just that kind of place.

apart from the swiss/alpine-kitchen-inspired lunch dailies - the cooking is unpretentious and earthy -, i am particularly taken with their choice of small sweets to go with your coffee. i had an orange macaron, which was perfection.

bear in mind though that the place is small and has quite a number of regulars, so if you want to try it for lunch, go early, say 12.00 or 12.30. otherwise expect a little wait to get a table or have your lunch at one of their wall-mounted miniature tables, perched on a stool. or go after lunch for a coffee when the place has quietened down to a little hum.

if you are into architecture, read more about the building, designed by bararchitekten berlin, here.

find it here: schaedel & sattler, oderberger str. 56, 10435 berlin, open mon-fri 8-16h (please note this place is closed on weekends and doesn't serve dinner.)

glimpses of berlin

taken at schaedel & sattler. more about them soon!

due to work, i've been slightly disorganised lately about keeping up with culture in berlin. still hoping to see a film or two at the berlinale film festival (which ends this sunday). in case you don't know, you can also buy tickets at eventim affiliated ticket booths around town to avoid queueing at the main pre-sale counters at potsdamer platz or kino international. they charge an extra 2 euro per ticket, but it is darn handy. also have my eye on the arno fischer show at berlinische galerie.

goldhahn & sampson

goldhahn & sampson is a deli in prenzlauer berg that has been around for a few years. ever since then, their selection of dry goods - think spices, salts (all kinds of them - and oh, the packaging!), chocolate, tea and coffee, selected preserves - has grown, as has the impressive selection of wines. also on offer are fresh breads and a small choice of cheeses, some fruit and vegetables of the season and a wide range of cookbooks. if you feel like having a fresh cup of coffee after your shopping's done, there's a tiny seating area in the window and a chesterfield sofa in the back.

probably the most exciting thing is their programme of cooking classes. i've got my heart set on the french course (boeuf and crème brûlée). oh, and they sell vouchers too - a brilliant gift idea for people who've got everything...

find it here: goldhahn & sampson, dunckerstr. 9, 10437 berlin (prenzlauer berg), phone 030 411 98 366, open mo-sat 10-20 h, sun closed

konk (revisited)

konk always seems to me like a peaceful island in the middle of the bustle of mitte. the entire shop is a gesamtkunstwerk, the colours, textures and cuts of the clothes are truly something else, the jewellery is fragile and unusual, sometimes chunky and a statement piece, and the accessories, namely their bags and scarves, are something i'd have a hard time choosing from.

what makes this boutique even more interesting, is the fact that it specialises in berlin fashion labels (check out their website for a list of represented designers) and that owner ettina berrios-negrón is a designer herself and currently working on her own line.

most beautiful are the mobiles floating under the high ceiling and the black chalk drawing of a little wood, covering the walls of the changing room.

find it on: kleine hamburger str. 15, 10117 berlin (mitte), phone 030-28 09 78 39, open mon-fri 12.00-20.00 h, sat 12.00-18.00h, sun closed

save the date: victoria met albert

if you're like me and don't know how to possibly get all those gifts together in time (as annoyingly there's also some work to do), you might want to note victoria met albert's special sunday opening times: on sunday 5 dec and sunday 19 dec, the shop will be open from 13-19 h, and since it's most certainly winter here (you should see the snow!), tea and coffee will be served.

save the date: special opening times at victoria met albert, dunckerstr. 81, 10437 berlin (prenzlauer berg / on helmholtzplatz), sun 5 dec & sun 19 dec, 13-19 h.

victoria met albert

you know how rare it is to find a shop that could be your one-stop place, don't you? i think this one could be it. victoria met albert is run by a brit/german couple and sells not only super nice gift items and decorative things, but also carries brands like sessún, french connection, lee jeans - you get the idea. a huge bonus is that they offer both women's and men's clothes and shoes. i really fell for some of the knitted jumpers, some shoes, the scrabble mugs and their most precious selection of jewellery. santa, will you bring me a victoria met albert voucher, please?

go, go, go.

find it here: victoria met albert, dunckerstr. 81, 10437 berlin (prenzlauer berg/on helmholtzplatz), phone:+49 30 4467 4772, open mo-sat 11-20 h.

apartamento launches new book series

have you heard? apartamento magazine is about to launch a new book series, called 'everyday life books'. tomorrow afternoon (16 oct 2010), the first book from the series, 'the story of a mug: greetings from the factory' will be launched at do you read me?! in berlin. the weather has turned decidedly autumnal here - rainy, cold, with wet leaves lining the pavements - so what better thing to do than sit down with a good book and officially start candle season?

find it here: apartamento book launch @ do you read me?!, auguststr. 28, berlin mitte, saturday, 16 oct 2010, 5 pm-8 pm.

mario velardi (apartamento) and byggstudio will be there. mugs of tea and coffee will be served.

(by the way: should you have good book tips up your sleeves, let me know, i'm looking for more good reads - haven't read a good novel in ages!)

glimpses of berlin (and some news)

some random berlin news for you: from october 31, 2010, easyjet flies direct from amsterdam to berlin (for a low-CO2 alternative, there's also a direct train connection). yay!

this saturday, september 25, 2010, the lomo store on friedrichstrasse hosts a lomo discovery tour. you can rent a camera with film, including a boat ticket, all for 15 euro. how cool is that. hop on over to berlin reified for more info and links.

the second issue of the gentlewoman is out and available at do you read me?! please leave a copy for me, will you?

pictures taken on sredzkistrasse in prenzlauer berg and on augustrasse in mitte.