New Shop Collective Mitten Im Walde

A couple of weeks ago I joined the shop collective (in German Ladenkollektiv) Mitten im Walde in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Silke, the woman who is running the shop, wrote me a message at Augenblickphoto and asked if I would be interested in joining. I’ve been thinking for a while that I would love to see what it’s like to work in a shop because selling online is pretty darn lonely and I may want to open my own later when my daughters are a bit older. Plus the shop just happens to be about a two minute walk from where I live, so how could I say no?
There are twelve artists/designs/crafters in the shop altogether making everything from furniture, to pottery, to clothing to hats, to jewelry and to lamps. We each pay a small monthly rent and have two days a month when we have to work in the shop. I did my first “Ladendienst” (shop duty) today and, although it was pretty slow (we are on a side street in a basement shop, so it will take a while to get noticed) I really enjoyed it. Several friends stopped by and I listened to the new blues and old school jazz mix on my Ipod.

If you’re in Berlin and looking for a nice handmade gift (we even have handwoven cashmere scarves!) or would just like to check out a unique new independent shop, please come on by: Mitten Im Walde, Mittenwalderstrasse 46, Berlin-Kreuzberg (U-7 Gneisenaustrasse), Open from 1 to 8 Mon-Fri. If you come on Thursday or Saturdays I just might be there, so feel free to say hi.

Gemäldegalerie Wanderings

My niece is in town and today we decided to spend the early afternoon in the Gerhard Richter exhibition in the Neue National Galerie. The only problem was that everyone and their uncle's second cousin twice removed is visiting the exhibition and, even though we got there pretty early, there was still a long wait. Both impatient by nature, we decided to go around the corner to the Gemäldegalerie instead.




The Gemäldegalerie has amazing paintings by many an old masters but, like all great museums, what makes it extra special are the museum rooms themselves.

High ceilings, lots of natural light, walls covered in beautiful cloth and these gorgeous wooden sitting areas for the awestruck or simply tired gallery goers.

As we wandered through the rooms, my niece and I marveled out the amazing way the painters depicted light and cloth, movement and depth, a masterful skill that is, sadly, largely lost.

I took lots of photographs for the Art Fragment series in my shop Augenblickphoto. I'll be printing some of the ones I like the best (not pictured here so stay tuned) to see if I want to work with them or not.

All in all, most definitely not a bad way to spend the first day of Spring in Berlin, 2012. ;)

This Basement Girl Wants To Sing The Blues

Since November I've been spending a heck of a lot of time below ground. I'm renting a small basement room at a juggling shop on Zossenerstrasse in Berlin-Kreuzberg where I've set up a photo studio for my vintage clothing shop, Curious Knopf. I also can store the clothes there as well as jewelry, photostones and other doo dads from Augenblickphoto which has made it easy to go to craft shows.

Yes, I have gotten more serious about this online business thing and I'd be loving it except, well, my sales are in the toilet these days. But then it is February. Maybe people are simply too cold to shop. I have a contract for the room until next fall and I still teach some for extra cash so there's nothing left to do but keep on trucking.

What I'm more disappointed about is singing, or rather, the lack of it. Marcio has been gone for over 9 months but every time I've tried to set up another music project with someone else it's just been bust after bust after bust. Isn't there anyone in Berlin who wants to work together on some songs that are a little bit jazz, a little bit blues and a little bit old school country? If so, what are you waiting for? Drop me a line. :)

A few videos of songs I would love to work on for your listening pleasure: