The home of the writer Ivana Jeissing in Brandenburg. The historical coloring of the house had to be reconstructed again. It was rehabilitated for two years

A beautiful woman in a beautiful house by a beautiful lake. Sounds almost like in a picture book. And it is. Ivana Jeissing, a native of Austria, lives by one of the most magnificent lakes in Brandenburg. In 1998 the successful writer came to Berlin. At first she lived in a purist townhouse in the trendy center of the capital. By chance, Ivana Jeissing discovered this jeweler’s jewel, elaborated it, and awakened the almost striking mansion with the light outer facade and the green-red wood elements from the Sleeping Beauty sleep. Here the author lives since 2012 together with her Icelandic companion and two dogs on 900 square meters.

In 1998 the successful writer Ivana Jeissing came to Berlin

MyStylery: You can not really complain about lack of space, dear Ivana…
Ivana Jeissung (laughs): Right! I was not aware how big the house actually was at first. But when I first saw it from the lake, it was clear, that it had to be this one.
MS: The house and you searched and found each other?
IJ: I’ve always been a fan of the opposite laying horticulture and have watched the house over the years. It was empty for 15 years. Nobody wanted this object, which was located directly on the street. The property was so grown with plants that you could not see the lake. The roof had partly fallen into place. A complete renovation case, which I approached with great naiveté.
MS: To what extent?
IJ: The third floor was completely removed. Roof and truss were renewed. The house stood under a gigantic shell like a hollow tooth. Despite these enormous interventions, there was nothing that went very wrong. No catastrophes. Most complicated was the construction of the terrace, which did not exist before and which had to be approved. The house served as an old dormitory in GDR times and ran in the immediate border area, which is why terraces and balconies were presumably removed. I cannot imagine a house by the lake without a terrace.

The beautiful terrace with lake view

MS: You’ve lived five years in Berlin’s wild center. What a contrast program…
IJ: My then husband and I had a townhouse built over five floors in Oberwallstrasse (Street in Berlin). Minimalist and reduced, it consisted only of stainless steel, glass and stone. At that time I wanted only the most necessary, so there was not even a closet. Instead, emptiness where one looked. Not a single little tin in the bathroom, no frills. It was like an inner inventory, which made me feel very well at the time. I also wrote my second novel there.
MS: Your first novel was made in an old Berlin apartment building. Do you move for each of your books?
IJ (laughs): One could think so. But suddenly there was the longing for something old again, a house with a bit of tutelage. I came out of this reduction and found myself suddenly in this old house with all its playful elements.

In the hall the huge original fireplace with its colorful ceramic tiles, the coat of arms of the builders and playful details

MS: Tell us about the magic of this place …
IJ: It is the view you have from here, which is absolutely timeless. There is nothing to indicate at which time we are living, no electric cable, no car, no sign of our high-tech age. The rest. And nature.
MS: And there are many walls for your art. How did you become a collector?
IJ: When I came to Berlin at the end of the nineties, I got to know artists through befriended gallery owners. The purchase of my first pictures came through the personal contact to the artists. I do not see myself as a collector, I just like to live with art. Meanwhile, the walls are full. If something new came along, I would separate myself from the existing one.

Installation „Hydrate“ by Sylvie Fleury and a porcelain figure from the 1940s by Wiener Werkstätten: “The gift of a friend whom I have conceded during his lovesickness.”

MS: What does your focus lie on?
IJ: On contemporary works. I decide intuitively and am not determined in a particular direction.
MS: What art would not come into your house?
IJ: Kitschy craftsmanship or decorative art that wants to please is not my thing. I am interested in corners and edges.
MS: Is there a favorite artist?
IJ: Difficult to answer. In the moment when I say one, many others come to my mind. The last work I bought was from the Frenchman Emmanuel Bornstein. I could not say no.

Working with a view to the lake side: This is the place where Ivana Jeissing writes her new novel

MS: You were a film director and creative director in advertising. How did you get to writing?
IJ: I was an actress too, until I realized I had no talent at all (laughs). After all the turbulent years, I suddenly felt as if I had been thrown out of a high-speed car. It was a real challenge because suddenly I had to start something with myself. I began to write short stories until my agent motivated me for my first novel “Invisible”. Writing went better than I thought. And now I start with my fourth novel.
MS: There are writers who deliver a novel every year.
IJ: I’m definitely not one of them. I need to write longer. Sometimes I come to a point because I have to think a lot or pause for several days. I then need change of scenery and go to the cold store in the supermarket and look at the yoghurts (laughs). Sometimes I also travel spontaneously or meet friends. On other days I write through and am totally immersed in my figures and their parallel world.

“There are no original plans from the house. Also the architect is not known. It was built in 1904 by a Berlin beer brewer family, expanded in 1908 to a total of 900 square meters of living space.”

MS: Workwise, did you get where you’ve always seen yourself?
IJ: I always keep a door open with a willingness to move on. I’ve never been to the point in my career where I told myself, right, this is it now.
MS: You live in a dream villa, have a great man and two cute dogs. Are there any left open wishes?
IJ: I’m very happy. From time to time I dream of a very minimalist house on Iceland in the snow with a view of the North Atlantic and a cozy cottage in the sun. I do not want to live in the city anymore. BvH

Ivana Jeissing in the stairwell of her villa – always accompanied by the dogs

About Ivana Jeissing:

Ivana Jeissing was born in Salzburg and grew up in Austria and Italy. Other stations in her life were Vienna, London and Barcelona. Today the author lives and works in Berlin. She worked as a film director and creative director before devoting herself exclusively to writing. Her first novel “Invisible” was translated into several languages. Her second novel “Felsenbrüter” and the third novel “Wintersonnen” deal with the elementary questions of life. For her debut “Invisible”, Jeissing received the DeLia Literary Prize in 2008.

The entrance of the villa built in 1904. The floor is decorated with original tiles

The Chinese vintage shelf was discovered by Ivana Jeissing in Berlin

The picture above the sofa is by Sergej Jensen. In front, the blowball lamp of the South-American designer Jorge Pardo

“I bought these copper deers in Milan in an antique shop”, says Ivana Jeissing. “The Bambis remind me of my childhood in Italy.” Above the fireplace, a picture of Carsten Fock, developed in collaboration with the fashion designer Bernhard Wilhelm

Details of the fireplace

Framed by pictures and sculptures is the white lamp classic „Nessino Tavolo“ from Artemide

Oil painting by Carsten Fock behind a daybed with blue velvet cushions

The Greyhound comes from a gallery in England. “I love greyhounds and find that this one fits very nicely beside the porcelain figure, which I found in a antique store in the Berlin Mommsenstraße.”

Lovely light reflections and a capitoned sofa by AMJ Design, “Babydoll” by Jonathan Meese. The “Fun Lamp” lamp is by Verner Panton

„Come down to Earth” by Daniel Pflumm, beside a sculpture under plexiglass by John Bock

Beautiful view of the intersecting rooms on the ground floor of the villa

The five fireplaces of the house are historic, but not all original: Ivana bought them in England or at auctions. Only the large chimney in the hall with the coat of arms of the builders on colorful ceramic tiles, on which the artist has immortalized, is original

Ivana Jeissing in her custom made kitchen: “I came to Berlin in 1998 and always lived in the middle of the city. Endless parties and nights for example at the Paris Bar. I do not need that anymore today.”

Perfectly arranged and color-matched ball vases on the fireplace mantelpiece in the kitchen

The large kitchen sink is made of wood

In the kitchen tulip chairs and table by Eero Saarinen, behind it a brown leather sofa by Piero Lissoni

Almost like on vacation: Lunch on the magnificent terrace overlooking the lake

From the living room you enter the terrace with a large round table and chairs by Verner Panton

Everything in sight has Jack Russell Mr. Pipo: the cognac colored Egg Chairs infront of the fireplace are from Arne Jacobsen

Image with Pitbull Terrier: A work of Russian artist Kalonin. “When I acquired the picture, the concept of ‘fighting dog’ did not exist yet.”

In the large hall with the original fireplace the Ball Chair by Eero Aarnio …

… and the historical stucco ceilings, which were no longer available and were reconstructed according to old models

Always there: The Jack Russell Terrier Lady Ena (7) and Mr. Pipo (4)

The colors for the walls had to be mixed: “Two shades of blue, which vary depending on the room and the light incident. From light blue to blue-gray.” The ceilings are white as a contrast.

In the guest room the oil painting “Alice” by Stefan Rinck

The façade with the green-red wooden elements reminds us more of architecture from southern Germany

Watched through the wooden pier: From here you can admire a wonderful view …

… that is also loved by the two dogs

Living where others go on holiday

Lush rosaries line the 4,000 square meter lake property

Under the terrace is a sheltered seating corner …

… where you can sit comfortably even in indifferent weather

Ivana Jeissing loves gardening

In her garden there are roses, lavender and fruit trees …

… and shady places under old trees

Mr. Pipo checks the situation: The doggies like to take over the water

Pure idyll on the boat bridge – it doesn’t get any better, I think!

Ivana Jeissing found her first Jack Russell Ena over a note in the horse stable. “My Greyhound had just died. I cannot imagine a life without a dog. “

Small still life with apples from the garden

Contact Ivana Jeissing:

metrolit.de

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Haralampi Oroschakoff in his studio …

The atelier of artist Haralampi Oroschakoff is located in a 30’s building of an industrial district in West Berlin. Although I know the Austrian-born for many years now, this is my first visit to the nearly 300-square-meter studio, which offers huge windows with a view into a garden settlement. Light shines into the loft-like rooms in which the largely sized pictures of Oroschakoff arise. The avowed Wiener comes from the Old Russian noble family of the Boyars Haralamow-Oreschak, which can be traced back to the eleventh century. For 16 years the internationally successful artist lives with his wife, Countess Diana von Hohenthal und Bergen and the joint children in the German capital. His works hang at the walls of celebrities like Vicky Leandros, Jette Joop or Princess Firyal of Jordan. Nevertheless, his artistic career has always been a struggle for recognition.

… which is located in a 30’s building of an industrial district in West Berlin

MyStylery:  An artist’s studio automatically associates the idea of creative chaos. I’m amazed by the tidiness of your place – it’s downright homely…
Haralampi G. Oroschakoff: To me the atelier is not only a think tank, but also the last place that offers me some personal freedom. I also need to feel comfortable and this is why the rooms haven’t been reduced in their expediency.

“I need to feel comfortable and this is why the rooms haven’t been reduced in their expediency.”

MS: What does the initial ‘G’ in your name stand for?
HGO: Georgijewitsch.
MS: Your father was a successful steel producer in Vienna, where you spent parts of your childhood. You could have followed his footsteps.
HGO: My father never got over the loss of the Russian Empire and the fall of the aristocracy. I should have taken over the factory, but after a year it was clear that this wouldn’t be something for me. I often overslept, thought it’s more amusing to go for Lunch instead of driving to construction sites. My father was also a mathematician and structural engineer, for example he built the Franz-Josef train station in Vienna. I, however, was an incredibly bad student who flew from ten boarding schools.
MS: Did your father make you feel that?
HGO: He never talked with me, only talked to me. Even when I exhibited at the Biennale in 1988, he remained implacable. Only when Forbes listed me as newcomer star next to Jeff Koons and Franz West in 1990 my father understood and even came to an exhibition in Belgrade.

On the wall in Haralampi’s office posters of his exhibitions

MS: That must have been very sad for you to experience no recognition as a young person.
HGO: As a child I was a silent, soul-searching powerhouse. I have much compensated by sport, I played tennis, rode horses, later drove classic car rallies. And I painted. For me drawing was thinking with a pencil.

Haralampis great-great-grandfather was the Royal Regent of Serbia. On the left: “Different Worlds (17)” , 2013; On the right hand side: “Different Worlds (30)”, 2014

MS: Why did you quit the Viennese academy of arts after only three months?
HGO: The structures were too rigid. I always hated dogmas and ideologies. It’s an inner ambivalence in me. As an artist I have to destroy things to create something new. I have actually damaged my career three times itself.
MS: What do you mean?
HGO: In the 80s I got the needed media attention to be considered as successful. But this was not enough for me and in the 90s I felt I had to face up to Eastern Europe, also as a tribute to my roots. At the turn of the millennium I went to Berlin. However my gallerists didn’t support my decision. It was always a new beginning.

“True personalities only exist barely those days. Nowadays it’s all about consumption and verbal egalitarianism.”

MS: The extreme lifestyle and the provocation seem to be parts of your personality.
HGO (laughs): The dandy and aristocrat always irritated the art scene, merely by their appearance. I also maintained these relationships, including drinking bouts and brawls – but always with the necessary elegance.
MS: The ‘Paris Bar’ in Berlin has been your second living room for years. Nowadays you seem to be very brave. Don’t you miss something?
HGO: Let’s say it like that: I mostly said adieu to vodka. I’ll come back.
MS: You describe yourself as a family man. Does family play such an important role to you due to your childhood experiences?
HGO: I consider myself a “penultimate member” in the family series. That’s why I have to give more living tradition to the next generation. This does not only include friendship and respect, honor and responsibility. I also hope that later, my children are going to preserve my work. BvH

Argo 3, 2012

With the double-cross series Haralampi Oroschakoff succeeded an international breakthrough. With the historical fiction book “Die Battenberg Affaire” (“The Battenberg Affair”) Oroschakoff also made himself a name as book author

Today, paintings, drawings and texts are from equivalent expression for Oroschafkoff. Here the artwork “Different Worlds” (31), 2014

Haralampi Oroschakoff: A Dandy in the art scene, who turns up rock music of Lou Reed and Metallica whilst working

Haralampi Oroschakoff: I’ll come back

While the large-format works of Haralampi Oroschakoff arise in the studio in Berlin, he paints Aquarelle on the family estate in Cannes: “With a sea view and an incredibly beautiful light.”

A real Grandseigneur: Haralampi Oroschakoff speaks Russian, French, English, Bulgarian – and Viennese.

Contact:

www.oroschakoff.com

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The Straußberger Platz in Berlin-Mitte

I ring the bell, the door opens and Müller welcomes me fawning. Müller is a truly cute, black-white-fury, French bulldog and is used to the current stream of visitors. Most of the guests, who are giving themselves the handle at Straußberger Platz in Berlin-Mitte, are refugees, who Mueller’s master grants his private rooms to. By now, the warm-hearted man already hosted 54 people from eleven nations in his 112 square meters design flat. “I actually have a screw loose”, describes Andreas Tölke himself and his willingness to help. “I don’t know the people. Who knows, maybe you’ll get assassinated in your sleep.” Andreas Tölke grins and sips at his glass of water.

Bulldog Müller presents his toy. Tölke discovered chair and table with green felt at Villa Harteneck

Tölke, who is a confessed dyslexic, studied social worker, experienced waiter and proven model booker earns his money nowadays as demanded journalist with portraits about people, art and architecture – inter alia for ‘Welt am Sonntag’ and the ‘Lufthansa Magazin’. The passionate writer finds interviews with actors tedious. “They already talk enough and don’t have to say something to everything”, finds Tölke, the storyteller. “Sarah Jessica Parker was one of the few exceptions, as she has something to tell. But I don’t want to ask Iris Berben, how she’s coping with her age.”

Andreas Tölke in front of the original DDR-cupboard by architect Irene Henselmann, whose husband significantly designed the Karl-Marx-Allee and besides drafted the Television Tower

When Tölke, who originally comes from the Weserbergland, moved into his apartment at Straußberger Platz ten years ago, the area was dominated by vacancy. Nobody – and certainly nobody from the East – wanted to go there. How can you actually live here? This was a question even his estate agent asked him and noticed the background noise by the steady traffic stream. You get used to everything, says Tölke. By now the rents at Straußberger Platz increased twice and there’s a long waiting list of architecture fans that would love to move into the former showcase of the DDR. The longest, connected housing ensemble of the Karl-Marx-Allee already has a landmark status for a long time.

The living room: the big sofa by Armani Casa stands opposite the daybed. The floor lamp is by Serge Mouille, the table by Noguci, the pillows by Calvin Klein

Three rooms, kitchen, bathroom are the involvement of Tölke’s refugee-approved hideaway, which welcomes the guests in an entrée with a size of 18 square meters. 3 and a half meters big walls and double doors, originally obtained details like parquet flooring and Bakelite-handles: “Where does this still exist?” rejoices Tölke and pensively looks at the Berlin Television Tower, which rises directly in front of his window and looks especially attractive in the noon sun. And he admits: “For other apartments I’m definitely filthy.”

The sight of Benno Kraehahns ‘Namenloser Frauenakt’ (listless act of women) probably irritated one or another refugee: “I explained them, that here, nobody is upset with the sight of naked women.” At the kitchen table are chairs in a DDR design, a “stolen Panton-Version”. “There are no pressed table linen,” explains Tölke his men- and dog household. “And as long as I don’t have my dream table by Saarinen, the creased blanket will stay on the table!”

Tölke also fell in love with the house community that consists out of 120 neighbors. Here everybody knows everybody, one greets and one talks with each other. There’s a little exchange platform on the heating in the corridor. Things somebody doesn’t need anymore make someone else happy. From sweets to books or Christmas decorations. His hospitality towards refugees mobilized the neighborhood. Doors also open now for asylum seekers. “It works”, summarizes Tölke. “And it doesn’t cost a lot of effort and collects karma points.” BvH

Collecting karma points

This is Müller in front of his – sad to say – empty, but therefore chic, luxury feeding bowls by the designer Paul Smith, who personally sent them to Müller

Office-atmosphere

“This looks like a Bauhaus-furniture, doesn’t it?” comments Andreas Tölke on his black desk. He found the 70s lamp at a flea market, the chair ‘Softpad’ is from Eames

The legendary ‘Wingchair’, above an quarrel by Carla Primera

“The revolutionary trash is from China”, explains Tölke the ceramic figures. “Nowadays for sure a lot worth, but back then I got it for a very low price.”

“I allow everyone onto my Recamiere – exceptionally. But only as long as I want it to happen”, says Andreas Tölke. “I have to admit: I love luxury.” Next an ‘Artemide’-lamp in front of a picture by Munoz Balda

“I love luxury.”

Room with a coveted view: The Berlin Television Tower

Mister Tölke and Müller bed themselves in their bedroom on a modell by Ligne Roset, the sidetables are from Lambert, the table lamps by Tobias Grau

Above the ‘Swan-Chair’ in the corridor by Arne Jacobsen an aquarell by artist Oda Jaune

Art by Jörg Immendorff and Pjotr Nathan

Picture with pistol right next to Oliver Mark, on its left you can see works by Uwe Arens, the 50s lamp is a discovery from Munich

Also the apartment doors are original obtained in the house at Straußberger Platz

Contact and Infos:

beanangel.direct/

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