Carson Chan has long been a regular feature in the art, architecture and creative communities in Berlin. The curator of the fourth Marrakesh Biennale runs a non-for-profit art and architecture initiative, Program, as well as contributing to major contemporary culture publications such as 032c and Kaleidoscope. We met to talk about the rise – and potential fall – of the Berlin hype, inspirational sources and lowbrow cultural pleasures.

As a curator you must have particular inclinations that mark your choices with respect to design and architecture. Do you consciously define these?
I appreciate any work that is thoughtfully conceived. There is a lot of superfluous stuff out there and coming across things that are well considered is hard these days. In that sense, how something looks doesn’t necessarily matter very much.

Is the Berlin moment gone, extended or yet to come?
Berlin is not defined by any one era. When I arrived in the city in 2005 there was definitely a strong surge of young artists, writers and curators in Berlin. We all made our own spaces, exhibited each other’s work and partied together. There was a palpable and active community. There were many such moments before that time, and there will be many more in the future. Berlin is definitely entering a new moment right now.

You recently curated the fourth Marrakech Biennale. What, for you, is the value of the temporary availability of exhibitions/art? Does art have an expiration date?
Temporary exhibitions underscore the experience of art as a special event. Since the Marrakech Biennale was opened in March, we’ve had about 50,000 visitors – not bad for a city that has had very little exposure to contemporary art.

What is good design and where is it coming from right now?
Good design always comes out of need or desire. Good design is something that we can’t do without. In 2004, MoMA curator Paola Antonelli included Post-it Notes in the museum’s design collection. It’s a humble stack of paper with a bit of adhesive, but it’s also an object that was designed so that anything added would be extraneous while taking any part away meant that it wouldn’t function.

Do you have expectations for the world’s immediate design future?
Just as architecture is not a collection of the shiniest new concert halls and museum, design isn’t the practice of producing eccentric shapes with new materials. Design, as a discipline, inherently embodies a large social role. I expect that designers will see the problems that plague our time as urgent design briefs.

As an intellectual, what’s your go-to lowbrow cultural drug?
Ha! Nothing is too low-brow for me. I can find a way to work most things into an essay. Recently, I’ve been obsessed with instructional cooking videos on YouTube – don’t ask me why!

Discussed with Alonso Dominguez, creative director of sugarhigh, an online cultural publishing company.

If you think of the year 2000 as an apartment and try to describe it, you would most probably include Konstantin Gricic’s Chair One in your description. With a strikingly designed seat and a massive concrete foot, it’s a much discussed, attention-grabbing and even polarizing piece of design. Some regard it as a modern classic; others, a would-be prop from a Batman movie or as a piece whose main stylistic reference points are some sort of over constructed stealth bomber.

That Munich-based designer Grcic, creator of numerous award-winning designs, has a strong impact on the global design community is clear however.

One of his biggest fans and a personal friend, fashion designer Leyla Piedayesh from Lala Berlin, welcomed us in her studio to present her very own Grcic chair.

Leyla met Konstantin at a seminar discussion of the German design landscape a number of years ago and the two designers soon became friends. Since their first encounter Layla has come to admire more than just Konstantin’s chairs and values his work and approach in general: “What I like about his work is the feeling of the closeness between him and his creations.“

Leyla has a collection of different versions of the Chair One in her studio on Anklamerstraße, where she is currently working on the new Lala Berlin collection. The chairs give the loft-like room an edgy profile, matching the concrete floors. “Back then I was more into playful and cuddly designs. In the 90s I worked as an interior designer for a short period and was responsible for a number of romantic and baroque styled rooms,” she says laughing. “Nowadays I like straight lines and a rather clean look. I often bring single pieces from my travels and try to find fitting combinations of stone, wood and fabrics. And I love high ceilings and see lots of my design collections working in interiors as well, especially the more graphic ones. Furthermore, I always wanted to design a rug; maybe I will one day.”

Hands-on and imaginative as we know Leyla is, we’re sure after our short talk about design that she is more than capable of doing so.

Text: Sarah Weinknecht, Photography: Phillip Langenheim
by Freunde von Freunden

We spend the greater part of our lives working, most of us in an office. The influence our surroundings have upon us, our wellbeing, creativity and ability to concentrate is immense – even if it continues to be underestimated by many employers and employees. Styleupyouroffice.com is an initiative that showcases unusual workspaces where design plays an important and positive role in shaping the working environment and brand image. The featured offices lead the way by example, showing how big a difference can be made with just a little effort; in doing so, they are part of a trend that could permanently change the face of office design. Styleupyouroffice selected MONOQI as a representative of this trend. The interview with Sarah Mettler took place in our current office, a former branch of the Dresdner Bank in Berlin-Mitte.

Styleupyouroffice: What does MONOQI do?
Sarah Mettler: MONOQI curates design from across the world and makes this available to its members, giving them the chance to buy the limited edition objects we select at friendship prices. We know and appreciate the designers whose work we’re introducing; that’s an advantage that we pass on directly and exclusively to our members. Ultimately, it’s because of this that we’re able to offer such special deals. We’re driven by a passion for design, for sharing great design with as many people as possible.

MONOQI stands for passion, for exceptional products by equally exceptional designers. That’s what we offer our members at friendship prices.

As a team we’re driven by the conviction that online shopping can and should be more fun. That’s the reason we’re intent on revolutionising the traditional shopping experience: we connect standout designers and their products with a community of design lovers, uniting these two sides in a profitable whole; at the same time, we’re giving the designers themselves a face and a voice.

What are the MONOQI offices like?
As you can see, we have a very special ‘design’ here. Most of it dates back to the days when this was still a bank, including the vault room and the plastic plants. We brought the feel of a young start-up with us and combined it with the old décor; the result is a charming atmosphere that ties these two facets together.

Why is design in the office important to you?
MONOQI stands for design and we live by design. Of course, we’re still a young start-up so it’s on a somewhat smaller scale – but it’s with a great deal of spirit. Design in the office is important because we all spend a great deal of time here and we want everyone to feel comfortable. The atmosphere has to be right. Collaborative partners, investors and others often come to the office as well – the atmosphere should be right for them too.

How important is design in acquiring new talent and potential customers?
I think that design plays a greater role today than previously when it comes to acquiring new team members. There’s a lot of competition in terms of good employers and start-ups, especially in Berlin, and talented people look very carefully at potential employers. Up till now we’ve always had positive feedback from our visitors. Everyone who comes to the office has something to talk about right away! Because of that I think that the atmosphere can be crucial when it comes to, say, the final decision of an applicant as regards whether or not they want to work somewhere. We like meeting our customers, designers and investors here and the word is getting around about our unusual office. A lot of people want to come because of that, just to “have a look around.”

The article appeared at Styleupyouroffice.com. Photography: Michael Hoelzl

Neulant van Exel
Art&Architecture
Product: diskette table (2012)

Axel van Exel and Marian Neulants’ friendship goes all the way back to their long gone student days. It was at this time that they both recognised the way in which combining architecture and sculpture allows for interesting design concepts. Founding the company Neulant Van Exel, which is ultimately a manifestation of their creative bond, was merely the logical next step. The two not only work together but also share a vast, yet surprisingly cosy industrial loft in an equally surprisingly green corner of Berlin Kreuzkölln.

Their work is at the intersection of art and architecture, stretching from the conception and building of exhibition and retail spaces to kitchen units and even individual pieces of furniture. Their latest Coup is actually an 80s relic, which should awaken early gaming memories for many of today’s gaming nerds. Inspiration for the diskette table was the 51/4 inch floppy disk drive of the Commodore 64 (“C64”). Instead of going down the road of retro nostalgia, the diskette table has become a much more avant-garde piece of furniture that consciously goes against the popular idea that “everything must be smaller and flatter”. The diskette table will, in the near future, be followed up with a coffee table, a chair made out of an old tape recorder and a cassette lamp.

Interview and Photography: Freunde von Freunden for MONOQI.

The forward-thinking designer has done everything from giant snow globes to temporary Japanese späkaufs. And Yoske Nishiumi owns an alternative koi pond. The creator of limited-edition shoes for Onitsuka Tiger, speaks here of inspiration, the roll of big brands in design and being a Japanese nerd.

What inspires you right now?
I just started to host YES but NO by KOI KLUB event at .HBC every 11th of month. Each month has different theme and type of entertainment. April 11th has been about Istanbul, Bamako and Tokyo. To run a monthly event gives me so much inspiration and energy because the audience in Berlin is just amazing.

Where is great design coming from at the moment?
I see stronger and younger power of creativity coming from Japan where fresh ideas are key to survive under severe conditions after Fukushima. But to be different and individual is not always welcomed in Japanese society. I want to motivate and support the idea by showing a unique example, like the one taking place in Berlin.

What is the roll of big brands in avant-garde design?
To allow ideas to be experimented financially and technically.

Tell us about the last project you saw and loved? Design or otherwise
Reality Studio’s off-site preview show during Berlin Fashion Week is always inspiring. The latest one was at Voo store in Kreuzberg. I can’t forget a show on bicycle going through Berlin that took place two years ago.

Japan: modest creators or masters of the design universe?
I see myself more as a nerd who can be blind in details.

 
Discussed with Alonso Dominguez, creative director of sugarhigh, an online cultural publishing company.

Over the last years, bicycles have evolved from a mere means of transportation to a real lifestyle product. Especially in large cities one simply leaves the car and rather takes the bike. It’s fast, it‘s good for mother nature and your own body of course. Not to forget how sexy bicycles can be. Tokyobike was founded in Yanaka, a traditional suburb of Tokyo. This is without any doubt one of the largest, fastest and most impressive cities in the world. And it has become the inspiration for this classic, yet contemporary mode of transportation. Fortunately, Ichiro Kanai, founder of the brand, visited Christian and Holger from Tokyobike Berlin – perfect to get information at first hand.

What‘s the idea of Tokyobike?
Actually it‘s quite easy. In the same way mountain bikes were designed for the mountains so Tokyobike was designed for Tokyo. We developed a bike, which is made for the city and fits perfectly into this habitat.

What is so special about your bikes?
The main difference definitely is the smaller wheelsize we‘re using. This just enables a better accelaration, this is an advantage with all the stop & go in city traffic and makes just perfect sense. Our steel frames make are compact and pretty light, this gives you perfect handling for all Tokyobikes. It just makes them easier to ride.

What does „Tokyo Slow“ mean?
Life has become so hectic, it seems we‘re always in a hurry. We miss a lot of nice things, just because we no longer take the time to or simply do not care anymore. Tokyo Slow means to notice your urban environment more consciously. There are so many things to be discovered, all you have to do is to slow down a little bit. Tokyobikes are the perfect tools to discover the city.

Are there some major differences between Japan and Europe?
Actually, there are no really significant differences, bicycles know no borders. The really great style of the Japanese is a well-known fact by now. The only notable difference is perhaps the body size. It’s not a stereotype that Japanese people are a bit smaller than most Europeans. But this is not a problem because we offer various frame sizes. Have you already done a test drive?

The reduction to the essentials, the clean lines and a great choice of colors make Tokyobike a truly fantastic bike brand with a lot of fun potential. Of course I took a test drive and I’ve already picked a really cool color.

Tokyobike is on sale since this Wednesday

Every week we are giving away exclusive products from upcoming collections. Today we start off with the soft stonepillow by fivetimesone worth € 170,00 RRP

Four simple steps to winning:

1. Send three friends an email invitation
2. Secure entry into the raffle as a result
3. Enjoy the product preview
4. Keep your fingers crossed

Take part in Sneak & Win

On top of that we’re also offering:

Up to 100 Euro for inviting your friends
You invite your friends. They register. That’s it. For that we’re giving up to 100 Euros away to use in the MONOQI shop.

Twice the reward
Invite three of your friends through Sneak & Win and secure entrance to the Sneak & Peak product of the week raffle. This week’s raffle: soft stonepillow by fivetimesone.

Should your friends also register at MONOQI we’ll reward you with exclusive priority status. As a priority member you’ll be entered into all further raffles.

Without any doubt Milan Design Week is the place to be when it comes to interior design. For six days the big and small players of the design scene step into the arena and struggle hard to catch the audienceʻs attention. The result is an impressive mix of wonderful works of art and some small but gorgeous treasures, one can find all over the city.

You need a lot of time, if you really wanna see everything. Besides at the Milan fairground, there are various exhibitions all ove the place. And itʻs worth it, because everyone involved puts a lot of effort in this show. Correspondingly high is the quality of all installations and arrangements.

The audience at the exhibition center is very well mixed. Italians with mobile phones in fantastic-fitting suits (this season you should wear dark blue), groups of mostly very young Japanese, exaggerating clichéd Russians and a lot of other more or less loud people from all over the world flood the aisles and booths.

Just as varied as the exhibitors are set up. The famous furniture classics of yesterday meet their potential successors, questionably styled creations showing full pride in being branded as “Italian design” (probably unfairly) and the very booth overwhelms you with a lovingly arranged overall concept of good taste.

The Vitra booth is a really highlight, no doubt. Behind walls of stacked plastic crates, you can dive into a stunningly beautiful world of detail and style. Each square meter is set up with so much passion that new details can be discovered constantly. Itʻs not just the lovingly combination of classic and new products – flowers, trinkets, graphics, and many other little things arouse a warm and honest I-want-that sensation.

A few meters further thereʻs the counterpoint. Silky shiny, gold glittering, crystals tinkling, mercilessly overloaded and baroque-inspired living arrangement that Louis XIV would certainly elicit a passionate sigh. The customers for these products were just around the corner.

The satellite exhibitions can be found everywhere in the city. Often located in magnificent, historic buildings, worth a visit without an exhibition as well. The small exhibition of Brazilian design unfortunately was not a bit exciting. Much more magnificent was the cooperation of Wallpaper and Brioni. Actually I really expected that. Spread over three floors, the concept was called “Made by Hand” and was presented in a variety of ways. The combination of traditional craftsmanship and luxury products was not pretentious at all, but it was fascinating to explore the ideas and possibilities. Hand made has become a mark of quality for a damn good reason.

Furthermore it seems like car manufacturers are more and more attract to Milan. In addition to Mini and Ford, Citroën has also discovered the potential and shows five decades of design history at the Monte Napoleone. Of course in combination with their own top models of each decade. At the end of the street there is even a little look into the (automotive) future. Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram developed a chair for Audi, which demonstrates their competence in lightweight engineering. This installation shows the corresponding forces while sitting on a chair. You should have a look at the result. Ventura Lambrate is indeed a real long journey from the exhibition center, the trip is worth it in many ways. Many young designers present their designs and concepts in an old industrial building. This might not be a about spectacular environments, itʻs rather about the actual ideas. Young talent showcase their work and of course they explain and show everything. Some really great products, which hopefully find their way into as many shops in the world as possible. On the other side of the street is in an artsy installation which presents furniture for the 3rd world war. Just the consequently used blue color should be reason enough to let this war never happen.

You see, there are several reasons to go to Milan during Design Week, at least once in a lifetime. It wonʻt get boring anyway. But keep in mind to make your reservation pretty early, else it will be almost impossible to find affordable hotel rooms. Oh, I almost forgot another reason to this trip. You get fantastic Espresso at almost every corner in Milan.

 
Kai Petermann lives in Berlin and covers product design from across the world in his blog Stilsucht. For MONOQI he travelled to Milan, to drink some Espressi.

As an architect, Yalçin Bal worked on large construction projects. Having turned his back on the traditional building sector for personal reasons, he became interested in ‘houses’ of an entirely different kind and developed a anthropocentric understanding of space centered on the many points at which we are brought into contact with, and are touched by, the world which surrounds us. Bal’s conceptualization of space motivated him to re-examine the nature of each of the ‘houses’ we live in – skin, clothes, furniture, interiors and the built environment. Bal’s sustainable soap project, which engages with the theme of skin, will soon be available at MONOQI, supplemented by an additional product Bal plans on introducing us to. We meet Bal at “das Lokal”, a location just as pleasant and unpretentious as its name suggests, on Linienstraße in Berlin-Mitte. The atmosphere is relaxed; everyone seems to know each other. We find a place at an old oak table and Yalçin Bal begins to tell his story.

Fein-Rein is, like all of Bal’s projects, produced by the non-profit Union Sozialer Einrichtungen (Union of Social Facilities, or USE). Every part of the production process, from manufacturing the suds from soapberries to printing the labels and packaging the soap in its pleasingly folded wrappers, is carried out in the USE workshops in Kreuzberg. Bal, convinced of the worth and quality of the project in general and the products specifically, takes special pride in the fact that the organization is able to provide mostly disabled people with new perspectives, experience and an opportunity of reintegration into the world of work. Fein-Rein is comprised of a shower soap that comes in five different scents, lavender-rosemary bath foam, hand soaps and household detergents. All products are 100% natural, ecological and based on plants and botanicals. In addition, Bal has produced a special hand soap with a unique scent for MONOQI.

A Scent for MONOQI
On the dark wooden table in front of us are two brown boxes giving off a wonderful, heady scent. MONOQI, Bal says, explaining the concept behind his scents, is at the cutting edge of cultural developments; curating and offering a selection of exceptional design products gives it the role of a guide, orientating its members and their friends and leading a path through the design world. Bal wanted to capture and recreate this dynamic with the two scents he developed for MONOQI. His ground note for both is cypress, delicately embellished with either verbena or lemon basil. Both compositions reflect his understanding of MONOQI as vitalizing and invigorating while possessing the ability to ground and provide bearings. Deciding which composition will eventually make it onto the MONOQI shop is a tough one; with their light and fresh lemon notes, they’re both utterly convincing.

And what else do you get up to?
Yalçin Bal is engaged in a plethora of projects that he pursues with the élan that comes with dedication, pushing them as far as they’ll go and working down to the very last minute details. While working on Fein-Rein, Bal was also developing a chair based on a unique repurposing of materials. Using thin tracing paper, Bal layered the sheets using a self-made binding agent until he had a material, composed of interwoven paper braids, sturdy enough to form the seat of a chair. Renowned furniture firm Thonet is currently testing his design to gauge the possibility of producing it commercially. The same material was on display in an exhibition Bal recently held and a video showing the process by which he achieved it is currently available on his website. While these projects were ongoing, Bal was thinking ahead to what would come next; currently, he’s toying with the idea of a workshop 60+, a collaborative project that would provide people over the age of 60 with an opportunity to continue working and contributing their ideas, skills and talents. It’s all a matter of recognizing the sign of the times and working with it rather than opposing it – that’s it, Bal says, laughing. His laugh is charming and a little shy; like the scents he makes, it hangs in the air even after he’s said goodbye and left.

The Fein-Rein set and the special MONOQI-edition will be available at MONOQI in May.

This coming Tuesday the Salone Internazionale del Mobile will open its doors for the fifty-first time in its history. The largest trade fair of its kind, it’s a date furniture designers and producers all over the world have in their calendars. The Salone is not so much a single fair as one huge exhibition ground supplemented by countless smaller events, exhibitions and shows that engulf the city entirely for its duration. That can only mean one thing for MONOQI: that we too are Milan-bound!

“Milan, where else?”
The fair’s claim is a bold one and the organizers are hoping to make clear this year just what a great significance the fair has for the design industry. Over 2,500 designers, firms and producers will participate and exhibit in the main event; meanwhile, over 400 smaller side events spread throughout the city and surrounding areas are planned while the fair is in full swing. Milan will in addition be hosting both Euro-Cucina, an international fair devoted to kitchens, and a bathroom exhibition at the same time. Not only established and larger firms will be represented; the up-and-coming designers and the products they will bring with them to this year’s Salone are already generating a great deal of excitement. If previous years are anything to go by, over 700 designers showing often unique and exceptional products will be present at the main event.

Fuori Salone – The City as Design Market
Countless showrooms, cafés, repurposed turbine and factory halls and improvised design studios will form the stages upon which designers, producers and viewers come together to form a colorful, often chaotic yet trusted snapshot of the design industry. Zona Tortona, Ventura Lambrate, Brera – there will hardly be a single street, plaza or corner left of the city that hasn’t been given over to designers showing their products during the fair.

Design platform DMY Berlin will be in Lambrate during the weeklong festival where they will present the fifth installment of their series “Made in Berlin”, a collaborative project involving 11 designers and studios in Berlin curated by Werner Aisslinger, Fabien Dumas and DMY.

MONOQI goes to Milan
The MONOQI team is going to be in Milan for the Salone as well where we will share a stand with DMY. Our design scouts will be roving through the city taking in stalls, studios and personalities in search of exceptional and unique products. And just to keep everyone back at home up to date our editorial staff will on hand to report the latest trends coming out of Milan.

Exhibition: DMY Instant Stories – Made in Berlin
Location: Ventura Lambrate
Via Privata Oslavia 8
20134 Milan-Lambrate

Opening Times
17 – 22 April, 2012.
Tuesday – Sunday, 10:00 – 20:00

Cocktails
Wednesday, 18:00 – 22:00