Striking resemblance to her great idol Marilyn Monroe: Suzie Kennedy in the Berlin lookalike show “Stars in Concert”  (Photo credit: Stars in Concert)

When Suzie Kennedy walks into a room, everyone in it takes a trip back in time. With her bleach-blonde hair, bright red lips and porcelain skin, she’s the spitting image of Marilyn Monroe. The similarities are not just skin-deep; she sings, speaks and even moves just like the glamorous Hollywood star. All in all, the resemblances pay off, not least when portraying Monroe in the internationally-renowned tribute show “Stars in Concert” as Kennedy has done for the last eight years.

“Acting was never my dream job”, Kennedy says. She wanted to be a vet, but her family couldn’t afford the tuition. She was born to a teacher and a draughtsman in Grants Pass, a city close to the Californian border in Oregon, USA. Kennedy’s parents separated when she was two years old.

She looks confusingly similar

She and her older sister grew up in London, and their father died when Kennedy was just a teenager. Her talents for singing and dancing were discovered by sheer stroke of luck, when, at the age of 15, she applied for work experience running errands for a dance school. The school let her take free ballet classes every day as payment. Afterwards, when Kennedy was studying for her A-Levels at college, people began commenting on her likeness to the Hollywood icon. An agent sent her to an audition, and she landed her breakthrough job: filming an advert for Nestlé with supermodel Naomi Campbell. From then on, the jobs came rolling in. Kennedy has worked for the likes of Citroën and Pepsi, and has appeared in international theatre, TV, and film productions. Acting alongside stars such as Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, she’s had roles in the documentary “Who Killed Marilyn Monroe”, the Italian film “Io & Marilyn” and “Blade Runner 2049”.

In 2016, Kennedy modelled Monroe’s iconic clothes for the auction house Julien’s Auctions. By happy coincidence, she is the same size as Marilyn was. The star was known for her curvaceous figure, but, as Kennedy stresses: “Marilyn was actually very delicate. She almost had a fragility to her.” Kennedy drastically changed her diet several years ago. Today, she is a vegetarian and stays trim thanks to her discipline, daily jogging, and working out with weights. Maintaining her flawless alabaster skin is simple in comparison: She doesn’t smoke and religiously applies a cream with SPF 50.

“I can’t just take off this look”, Suzie Kennedy says. (Photo credit: NOVA Productions)

Kennedy’s wardrobe contains 40 replicas of the Hollywood legend’s iconic outfits. Her collection includes a dress identical to the one Monroe wore when she famously sang “Happy Birthday, Mr President” for the former U.S. president John F. Kennedy: a skin-tight silky number with thousands of crystals hand-sewn onto the fabric. The original sold for 4.8 million dollars at an auction to Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum in America. Kennedy – the name is another happy coincidence – is regularly booked to perform the birthday song, with audiences including American TV star Eva Longoria and British businessman Sir Richard Branson.

In 2017, Kennedy won the accolade “Best Female Double” in Las Vegas for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe. It was also in L.A. that she was discovered by “Stars in Concert” producer, Bernhard Kurz, back in 2010. Since then, she’s appeared regularly in the line-up of the internationally-renowned tribute show.

Kennedy becomes Monroe on-stage, but even off-stage, she lives and breathes the spirit of the Hollywood icon. She has read every biography and watched every film Monroe has acted in. “Marilyn is my soul mate. I’m just like her: vulnerable and a little shy, but I know exactly what I want.” They also share a difficult childhood; both women grew up without a father. “I admire Marilyn for the uncompromising willpower that helped her become the most famous woman of her time.”

Marilyn, her soul mate

Six years ago, Kennedy got her first tattoo out of gratitude towards her idol – a portrait of Monroe on her right wrist. “Marilyn changed my life. Everything I do, I do because of her.” Since then, the Hollywood star is always with Kennedy. “While I was getting this tattoo, I could feel her becoming a part of me.”

Kennedy has a twinkle in her green eyes when she confesses that there are, of course, some differences between the two women. For one, Monroe’s eyes were blue, and Kennedy believes that her idol got mixed up with the wrong crowd. “I’m lucky to have such wonderful friends, not to mention a great relationship with my mother”, she reflects. “But for me, the most important thing is my faith in God.” Even when she’s performing in Berlin, Kennedy prays every day and goes to Sunday services at the American Church.

Kennedy regards Berlin as a home away from her real home in London, where she lives with her pug dog and two cats. She loves the cosmopolitan vibe of the German capital, which is relatively affordable compared to London. Her favourite spot is the “Thai Park”, where an informal weekly food market sells fresh Asian delicacies for just a few euros.

Six years ago, Kennedy got her first tattoo out of gratitude towards her idol (Photo credit: NOVA Productions)

Does she always channel Monroe in her day-to-day life? “I can’t just take off this look”, Kennedy says. She is often mistaken for Monroe when she’s out and about in the supermarket or in restaurants. “It has its benefits. I always get a table”, she laughs. However, her sensuous look has its downsides, too: some see her as a “blonde bimbo”, a stereotype that Monroe also struggled against all her life.

Is it difficult, always pretending to be someone else? “Lots of people would probably be happier if they were able to escape themselves now and then”, Kennedy answers with a smile. She has been portraying Monroe for over two decades now, but she won’t be able to play the starlet forever. Although she looks much younger than her 42 years, Kennedy is now older than her idol ever was – Monroe died at 36 under mysterious circumstances. Kennedy is well aware that the bookings will eventually dry up, marking the end of her career as a look-alike. Marilyn Monroe is her defining role, and she can’t imagine ever playing another person. “Being Marilyn isn’t a job, it’s an honour.” BvH

Suzie Kennedy hopes to perform as Marilyn Monroe in the Berlin “Stars in Concert” show at the Estrel Hotel soon again (Photo credit: NOVA Productions)

Contact and Infos:

stars-in-concert.de

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Jörg Woltmann prefers to enjoy his tea from his Kurland cup “Royal Noir” with gilded relief edge

Thirteen years ago, he bought KPM, the Royal Porcelain Manufactory in Berlin – and that before its insolvency: Jörg Woltmann, Berlin’s old hand, banker, entrepreneur. A visionary who, contrary to all expert advice, bought the long-established Berlin company for 13.5 million euros, which today employs more than 200 people, around 120 in porcelain production alone. KPM is one of the world’s oldest luxury brands – founded in 1763 by Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, it has since belonged to seven kings and emperors. Since 1872, the company has resided on the historic factory premises in Berlin-Charlottenburg, directly next to the Tiergarten, where Jörg Woltmann welcomes me in his elegant office furnished with English antiques. Tea is served between wood-clad walls and a portrait of “Old Fritz”. Of course, from KPM cups. A “Meet me for tea” interview about the love of porcelain and the preservation of a cultural asset.

The shape of the cup dates from 1790 and is still one of the classics of the KPM range. In the “Royal Noir” version with gold edge, the cup costs 1,190 euros each. I drink from a coloured Kurland cup, a so-called decorated cup. For two years they have been dishwasher safe thanks to a special glaze developed by KPM

MyStylery: What was it like when you acquired KPM 13 years ago?
Jörg Woltmann: I can still remember exactly that the notary appointment lasted from 4 p.m. in the afternoon until 5 a.m. of the next day. Continuously. Many legal subtleties had to be taken into account. The only interruption was the pizza delivery boy.
MS: In retrospect, would you invest the purchase price and the follow-up costs again?
JW: I have never regretted having bought the KPM, although many things came differently than expected. In the end, it was like building a house where everything is more expensive than previously calculated.

At the age of 32, Jörg Woltmann was the youngest banker in Germany. Today the entrepreneur is the owner of Allgemeine Beamtenbank (General Civil Servants’ Bank), hotelier and since 2006 owner of KPM Berlin

MS: KPM was on the verge of collapse. What went wrong back then?
JW: After the Second World War, the state of Berlin became the owner of the manufactory. First and foremost, efforts were made to preserve the cultural asset KPM for Berlin with state subsidies, instead of running the business in an entrepreneurial manner and promoting exports. KPM was subordinated to the Cultural Senate, which commissioned artists for the design. The only thing that disturbed them was the customer. Basically, it is difficult to make a porcelain manufactory profitable.
MS: What is the challenge?
JW: Table culture has changed a lot.
MS: Although young people nowadays spend more money on living and eating again, they save on what they have and buy their tableware from Ikea.
JW: Many lack the appreciation for the craft and the idea of how elaborate the production process of a single cup alone is. If you consider that 25 craftsmen work on a Kurland cup, that it takes 14 days and 29 steps to make it, and that it then undergoes ten quality controls, you should be respected. Today I still walk through the manufactory with great humility. What is done here is world class. I therefore hope that people will rediscover the sense of a stylishly set table, of sustainability and craftsmanship.

The son of a dressmaker has achieved his own success. “It took a little naivety to start my own bank at the age of thirty,” he says in retrospect. “I’m glad I had that naivety.”

MS: Today, many young people prefer to study handicraft. Does KPM have problems with recruiting young people?
JW: On the contrary. There are 15 to 20 applications for a porcelain painter, although the training takes three and a half years. After that, the porcelain painter needs another ten years of practical experience to be able to meet the high-quality standards. We are one of the few training companies in this field and proud of the fact that our apprentices always score top marks.
MS: Must a budding porcelain painter have talent for drawing and be able to paint “correctly”?
JW: Yes, the applicants must submit sketchbooks before they can prove their talent for this job over several days of selection. This profession is ultimately a vocation.

“I bought the manufactory when I was 59 – the right time for me. I didn’t have to prove anything anymore,” says Jörg Woltmann. “When I was almost sixty years old, I had the knowledge and experience that I could face up to this task without getting upset.”

MS: The younger generation in particular buys almost everything online today. How does KPM’s online trading work?
JW: We are very satisfied, although I had doubts at the beginning. I always thought a haptic product had to be touched before making a purchase decision. But quality and reputation speak for themselves. In the magazine “Bunte”, the mention of the must-have of the week is enough, and the number of clicks is already going up. We have developed products especially for the target group of young consumers, such as the “LAB” series, retro coffee filters and mortars. Instead of drinking from a paper cup, you now drink your coffee-to-go from the “To Go” cup from KPM.
MS: Is KPM profitable by now?
JW: If I didn’t invest so much, I could be in the black. Every year I spend between 500,000 and 800,000 euros on preserving the cultural heritage alone. This includes the archive with over 250 years of German cultural history. Drawings and forms that the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel and the sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow once held in their hands have to be extensively revised today. That’s why I established a foundation three years ago, into which the cultural assets are gradually being transferred. The production remains unaffected by this.
MS: You could sleep more peacefully if you hadn’t tied this task to your leg.
JW: Probably. But I bought one of the last luxury brands still available in the world. And which entrepreneur gets the chance to acquire a cultural asset? I prefer my commitment here to running around on the golf course. (laughs.) I come from the dax-controlled world of banks. Through KPM, a completely different circle of people from art and culture has opened up for me, which I find enriching.

Besides porcelain, Jörg Woltmann cultivates his second passion: cars. Among them is his favourite car, a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster from 1960, black with dark green interior. “It has never been restored before, everything is original, including the paintwork,” enthuses Jörg Woltmann. “Unfortunately, these are today more standing vehicles than vehicles.”

MS: As a post-war child, you grew up beyond luxury. Your mother brought it up from a tailor to a successful entrepreneur. Remarkable.
JW: I had a very happy childhood in which I grew up with great love and affection. Our house in Berlin’s district Lichterfelde also accommodated the production, so that we were always close to our mother. I remember how for the first time I didn’t have to wear my brother’s clothes, but got something of my own to wear: A pair of velvet trousers. That was very special, like the fine tableware, which was only served on Sundays.
MS: Did that shape your sense for porcelain?
JW: Absolutely. When I was 28, I sold my first company and bought a porcelain service from the proceeds: Kurland from KPM, which we still use at home. Daily and not just for special occasions.

“The only time I was permanently employed was during the three years of my apprenticeship at Bankhaus Hermann Lampe. After that I always worked independently and created things.”

MS: KPM in the morning, banking in the afternoon. How long do you want to face the daily struggle?
JW: My wife knows that I’m going to work till I fall down. (laughs). I’m taking it slower today and I’m also taking some vacations. We enjoy dinner together, then I relax with a swim or in the sauna. I have largely retired from active day-to-day business. But I represent the company to the outside world and network. Each day I have four invitations, four of which I receive each week.
MS: You are also an enthusiastic tea drinker…
JW: Yes, the morning begins with a freshly squeezed orange juice and a cup of tea. Then I have to eat muesli. (laughs). By the way, I get my tea from Taiwan business friends who give me green or black teas, which are not available here. Tea is my constant companion, even in the office there is always a pot in front of me. By the way, I always drink from a Kurland office cup. The tea simply tastes best from it. Taste is also connected with haptics.

International guests visiting the Federal President of Germany in Schloss Bellevue, of course, dine from tableware by KPM Berlin

MS: What happens next with the KPM?
JW: As far as personnel is concerned, KPM is well positioned. I have great confidence in my employees, many of whom are better than me. A large market today is Asia, where there is a strong demand for high-quality painted porcelain. That’s why I’m confident that the company will earn a lot of money again. KPM is the oldest manufacturing company in Berlin and I would like to preserve the manufactory for Germany.
MS: For your patriotism, the political leaders here would have to shower you with praise and recognition all the time.
JW: They do. I have already received the Federal Cross of Merit. Well, that doesn’t cost any money. (laughs) Nevertheless, I find that a cultural asset belongs in principle to the state. It just has to be managed correctly.
MS: Does it annoy you that the Berlin Senate has acted so carelessly here?
JW: Yes, from my personal point of view it does. On the other hand, I also say that – if the state is not in a position – the citizen is asked to get involved. You can’t always just hold out your hand. You also have to give something back.  BvH

Jörg Woltmann calls Prussian virtues the cornerstones of his success: diligence and sincerity. And he is proud that he and his family have always kept their feet on the ground

Contact

KPM Berlin

More “Meet me for Tea”-interviews you’ll find here.

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“The picture with the ice bubbles was taken on the lake “Lake Abraham” in Canada. Despite the warnings of the lodge owner I went to the lake with its almost black ice. The picture is quite abstract, could also be pop art,” says Tom Jacobi

It’s Gallery Weekend in Berlin! Already last week the Hamburg photographer Tom Jacobi opened his exhibition “Into the Light” in the Berlin gallery SRC. Some of his large-format, black-and-white photographs were printed on silk by the Paris luxury label Hermès, which is unique to date. Tom Jacobi was a fashion photographer and art director for Stern magazine. Thereby he almost lost his passion for photography.

MyStylery: Congratulations on your coup with Hermès! How did that happen?
Tom Jacobi: Everybody takes photos on paper and so I had the idea to print on fabric, because I always look for a relation to nature. Silk was an obvious thought. Talks and tests followed and Hermès gave me an unexpected promise. Now the pictures are produced on original silk by Hermès in France.
MS: How old were you when you first held a camera in your hand?
TJ: 14 or 15. I was given a Novoflex and photographed the cat on the windowsill and sunsets.

Tom Jacobi: Peaceful Mind

MS: Back then, did you already have the idea of becoming a photographer?
TJ: Not until I was 17, when a photo of me was published in a book. It showed a Kendo master fighting with a Japanese sword. A sport that I practiced myself at that time. When you see a picture of yourself printed on paper for the first time, it’s a magic that I still feel today.
MS: Do you still print private photos?
TJ: Oh yes, I made a serious mistake when I gave my wife a photo album for her first birthday after we met, with self-adhesive photos, created layouts and handwritten comments. Since then I have been obliged to document our entire private lives and travels in old-fashioned photo albums. (laughs)

Tom Jacobi: Black Line

MS: Your father was the legendary journalist Claus Jacobi, editor-in-chief of Spiegel, Stern and BILD-Zeitung. Did that stop you from going into journalism yourself?
TJ: Totally. I would have exposed myself to the constant comparison. Through my friendship with Sven Simon, the son of publisher Axel Springer, I came to Bonn and worked there in his photo agency. I primarily photographed politicians such as Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt and Helmut Kohl. Later I was a photographer for the “Stern”. With all the risks. During a reportage in Iran they put me against the wall and wanted to shoot me because I was considered a spy.
MS: Was that the reason why you haven’t photographed for 14 years?
TJ: No, that developed during my time as a fashion and advertising photographer. This commercial work and the wishes of the customers, to shoot the coat from the left or rather from the right, the car from above or below, completely drove me out of passion at that time. And why should a well-filled bank account be of any use if all creativity is lost? I just wasn’t happy with it anymore and even sold all my cameras because I was convinced that I would never photograph again.

Tom Jacobi: The Majestic

MS: Now you’re back with the camera. For the current exhibition “Into the Light” you even travelled around the globe for two years together with your wife Kati.
TJ: That was an exciting time, also for us as a couple. We love to be together. Kati also has a big influence on what I photograph. She is my corrective. (smiles) You become humble when you are travelling in the White Desert of Egypt, camping there with two Bedouins, without worrying about safety. In retrospect, it was risky.
MS: It happens that you sit on a cliff for five hours waiting for the right light. What is the right light, the right moment?
TJ: That I cannot say. It’s a feeling. My work has a lot to do with patience and discipline, often I wait days for the right moment, although I have researched the motifs very carefully before.

Tom Jacobi and I in front of a photo in the Berlin gallery SR Contemporary Art, which shows a huge salt desert in Bolivia at an altitude of 4,000 meters. Only during the rainy season water stands on the salt and creates this perfect mirror effect

MS: You are often far away from everything. How do you bear silence?
TJ: I like that very much. Not everyone can stand silence. Once I was accompanied by a friend who got nervous after a short time, which stressed me again. At that moment, I decided not to take anyone with me anymore. I am completely one with myself, there is something very contemplative about it.
MS: Was there a dangerous situation on your journey?
TJ: As a photographer, you’re always a hunter who takes risks. In Iceland, I wanted to go to a waterfall, where I fell several times over an icy surface and slid down a slope. A wasteland without a mobile phone net or the chance to be found. Then I bought a satellite-supported emergency call system. To die because of a broken ankle is quite unnecessary. BvH

Exhibition “Into the Light”

Tom Jacobi’s art exhibition in the Gallery SR Contemporary Art, Niebuhrstraße 11a in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Until May 20

Contact Tom Jacobi

tomjacobi.de

More art stories you can find here.

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“Meet me for Tea” with Berlin fashion designer Anna von Griesheim

For 25 years, fashion designer Anna von Griesheim has been an expert in elegant evening dresses and daywear. Born in Munich, she dresses celebrities and politicians such as Chancellor Angela Merkel and advises women on style issues. She commutes between Zurich, Mallorca and Berlin, where I meet Anna for a cup of tea and a little chat.

Anna von Griesheim loves the KPM office cup: “The craftsmanship, the colours and the size make the cup perfect.”

MyStylery: Anna, has a woman who goes shopping in sweatpants given up on fashion?
Anna von Griesheim: When I go to yoga, I also wear sportswear. And nothing is more comfortable than cashmere trousers for a cuddly day at home. But jogging pants as a constant companion are a no-go.
MS: Why do successful women dress like their male colleagues? Does the trouser suit stand for competence?
AvG: Yeah, still. The pantsuit serves as a shield, especially in male-dominated professions. I encourage my female customers to wear dresses. We live in a time in which intelligence, success in life and femininity are not mutually exclusive. Women in an androgynous look miss their femininity.
MS: You advise female leaders on their appearance.
AvG: Women want to be well dressed without worrying about their outfit every day. When they go on a business trip, they expect a wrinkle-free, comfortable wardrobe that fits in their hand luggage. They don’t want any recognizable logos or a sexy-hexy look. Clothing is a form of communication. It conveys an attitude to life and expresses what one wants to portray and convey.

“Most women are overwhelmed by their own wardrobe”, says Anna von Griesheim

MS: Not every woman looks good in every colour.
AvG: That’s right. Look, my skin tends to yellowish, which is why I harmonize with warm colours. You, on the contrary, are a light skin type that is well suited to blue tones, for example. I recommend every woman a well-founded colour consultation on which to build wardrobe and makeup.
MS: My wardrobe is really not small. Nevertheless, I stand in front of it and wonder what on earth to put on. Most of the time I wear the same pieces.
AvG: Well, we all know that. Some women have a keen sense of fashion, they start to mix happily: Zara, Hermès, plus a vintage piece, that’s their perfect look. But that’s rather the exception. Most women are overwhelmed by their own wardrobe. Why not go back to the tried and tested? We often find our counterparts interesting because we recognize them. Jackie Kennedy has remained true to her iconic style and always looked great.

MS: It’s like cleaning out clothes that haven’t been worn for two years or more. Now it’s time for velvet blouses, which I disposed of in the 90s.
AvG: But honestly, would you wear them again this time? I advise you to regularly sort your wardrobe. Get an overview by putting together complete outfits, including accessories. If you don’t want professional advice, ask your best friend. First of all, put the pieces aside well packed and decide after a certain time whether you want to part with them for good.
MS: Trends don’t really bother me anymore. When Leo patterns and berry tones are hip this winter, I don’t really care. How do you feel about it?
AvG: Exactly the same. That’s why I’m not looking for the latest trend for my collections. My designs should accompany customers for a few years.

„KPM is a special brand of great German tradition“, says Berlin fashion designer Anna von Griesheim

MS: Does good taste depend on the size of the purse?
AvG: The variety of fashion today is bigger than ever. With a bit of intuition, you can put together great outfits at low cost labels. So, good taste has nothing to do with budget. What I find terrible, however, is the production of cheap clothes by child labour, which are so full of plastic that they can never be dismantled again. This is irresponsible from an ecological point of view.
MS: What do you do with mispurchases?
AvG: Don’t let it happen in the first place (laughs). If I want to do something good for myself, I’d rather buy a book, go to an exhibition or do yoga. This is balm for the soul.

MS: What belongs in the wardrobe of a mature woman?
AvG: Two well-cut dresses made of soft material like jersey, which you wear during the day with sneakers and in the evening with pumps or ankle boots. A trouser suit whose blazer also works well with a pair of jeans. The white blouse provides a fresh complexion. And a classic trench coat. My favourite piece is a knitted coat, which I can quickly throw over.
MS: And what should we avoid?
AvG: Too tight tops that emphasize disadvantageous areas instead of concealing them. I find the partner look very creepy in the leisure sector and both in the same outdoor jacket. Leggings may be comfortable, but they are not leg flatterers at all. And please always buy the right size and not a size too small in the hope of losing weight. Beware of wild patterns. With a plain look, you are on the safe side. Combine it with a colourful scarf or patterned cloth.
MS: A friend recently said that she doesn’t wear knee-length skirts. She persistently wears her minis.
AvG: Not everything that looks younger makes younger. Our body changes over the years. Unfortunately (laughs). Often the upper body looks more compact, which is accentuated by a skirt that is too short. Women who used to get compliments for their legs look like a barrel on two toothpicks. Everyone has something beautiful about them and that should be the focus.

Anna von Griesheim: “Compliments are part of everyday life in France and don’t end up in the Metoo debate.”

MS: Why are French or Italian women dressed so much better than German women? Even when they go to the weekly market, they do it very elegant.
AvG: This is due to the traditions and self-image of women. Elegance seems to be arrested in their DNA. I’ve lived in France for a long time and I know that compliments are part of communication and have something playful about them. They are part of everyday life in France and don’t end up in the Metoo debate. This also has an effect on the dress style. In Germany, the natural feeling for femininity was eliminated with the Second World War.
MS: There is a North-South divide in clothing issues in Germany. While Hanseatic women dress more classically casual and Munich women like to dress traditionally elegant, the style of the Berlin woman has something indefinable.
AvG: Berlin is a reservoir is for individualists. This longing for uniqueness is not compatible with given dress codes. Nevertheless, young women in Prenzlauer Berg all look the same. They want to come across as casual and easy-going, but they seem rather uniform. By the way, also a kind of dress code.
MS: I only think about how German actors walk the red carpet: They come in a T-shirt instead of a tuxedo shirt. What has gone wrong? The liberation from the fashion dictatorship or just bad education?
AvG: Good question. Maybe a lack of mindfulness. Or an after-effect of the 1968ers and the associated urge for freedom, which could hardly be lived out in the closed-off Berlin. A tuxedo is not only a sign of esteem for the artists on stage or the musicians in the orchestra pit, but also symbolizes an attitude to life. I hope for a renaissance of good manners.

Anna von Griesheim: „My first KPM tableware was ‘Arkadia’, I was a student then and for me KPM was the epitome of luxury. Nevertheless, I was happy about the dishes every day and have been adding new pieces ever since.“

MS: Apropos, may I pour you some more tea?
AvG: With pleasure. Tea is my wellness program through the winter. I grew up with tea. My grandparents lived on Sumatra, where they had plantations, from where my father brought the tradition of drinking tea to Germany. And I have been used to drinking tea since childhood. Every morning my mother woke me up with a toast and an Earl Grey tea. Today I drink myself through the whole range of black, green and herbal teas. Always served in an antique silver pot, which is in daily use with us.
MS: You started with your own label in 1991 and have been represented with your own brand in Germany ever since. Have you ever thought about expanding abroad?
AvG: There have been international inquiries. But in retrospect, I’m very happy to be working only in Germany. I decide alone and don’t have to ask anyone. You can only do big things with big partners. And I never wanted to be the plaything of different interests. BvH

Contact Anna von Griesheim

AnnavonGriesheim.de

The interview-series “Meet me for Tea” is sponsored by KPM – Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin.
More MyStylery interviews you’ll find here.

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Me in the bathrobe mode: Arriving in the SpaSphere of the Vienna House Andel’s Berlin and firstly drinking a tea

A city trip to a city such as Berlin can sometimes be quite exhausting. Sightseeing and miles of running around, plus the permanent noise level. Phew, that really takes it out of you. My tip: Book a hotel with a spa – like the Vienna House Andel’s Berlin. The advantage is the combination of location near the city and the possibility to retreat in a relaxing oasis, which is equipped with everything to relax for a few hours.

Then I explore the sauna area of the SpaSphere

The Vienna House Andel’s Berlin is located in Berlin-Lichtenberg, less than ten minutes from the center and the vibrant Alexanderplatz. Known for its star restaurant ‘Skykitchen’ on the twelfth floor, also the hotel’s SpaSphere on the second floor offers views over the capital. Anyone who sweats in the Finnish sauna – or as I prefer the moderate temperatures of the biosauna – can enjoy the look over Berlin. For me, by the way, always a big plus, if spas and gyms are not banished into the deepest catacombs and thus benefit from the light of day. Speaking of gym: In the Vienna House Andel’s Berlin, one trains on equipment by TechnoGym. If you like, hop in the large Jacuzzi, or get some fresh air on the roof terrace and then visit the steam room. After that I am ready for a beauty treatment of a special kind.

Silva, the head of the SpaSphere, is my fairy godmother of the day

My fairy godmother on this day is Silva and expects me already with a “Mountain Herb” tea from Ronnefeldt, before she leads me into my treatment cabin. Here I give away, together with my bathrobe, the daily ballast. I am bedded on a wonderfully comfortable – and heated – couch and let myself go for the next 55 minutes of total deceleration. “Velvet and silk” is the name of the treatment for which Silva first washes the body with sea foam, which is massaged into the skin with a peeling glove. With practiced hands and pleasant pressure Silva begins with the legs and then goes up to the back and décolleté. Showering is not required: the vitamin-rich sea foam is removed with moist compresses – and I am allowed to keep lying down.

My skin turns to velvet and silk: a feel-good treatment that should not end. By the way, SpaSphere uses products from Thalgo

The blood circulation of the skin is now running at full speed and is ready for the pack of  maritime algae, jojoba and almond oil, which smells wonderful. The defenses of the skin are thus mobilized, which is quite an advantage in this autumnal season. In the meantime, I have transformed myself into a wrap, thanks to Silva’s packaging arts with tiling and towels. But before I get to see this look, I prefer to leave it in Silva’s care. As the pores of the skin open up and the pack turns my skin into velvet and silk, it gets to your face. A gentle cleansing is followed by a moisturizing mask, which Silva – fascinatingly, because totally in sync – applies with two brushes. In gentle, flowing movements, the substances remaining on the skin are finally massaged in. Then, a day care is applied on the face. And I’m ready for the big city jungle again.  BvH

A look into one of a total of five treatment cabins…

…with beautiful details and candlelight

Info SpaSphere:

The 550 square meter SpaSphere at the Vienna House Andel’s Berlin is open daily from 10 am to 10 pm, on Sundays and public holidays from 9 am to 8 pm. The fitness area is available to hotel guests 24/7. When booking an application SpaSphere and fitness room can also be used by external guests. Towels, bathrobe and slippers are ready for the guest.

Between the sauna sessions, I enjoy the fresh air on the roof terrace…

…before it goes into the bubbling Jacuzzi

A footbath in between brings my circulation up to speed

Relaxed and silky-velvety, I feel after the treatment

Contact SpaSphere:

viennahouse.com/de/andels-berlin

The Vienna House Andel’s Berlin invited me to visit SpaSphere.

The post The SpaSphere at the Vienna House Andel’s Berlin appeared first on My Stylery.

Berlin’s Großer Wannsee – Twelve kilometer long and so beautiful!

“Have you ever been on the Peacock Island,” I asked my lovelies on the weekend, while we sat on the terrace of the in 2015 reopened restaurant Wannseeterrassen  (Wannsee terraces) and enjoyed the magnificent view of the Havel and its many sailors. Of course, none of us had been, because who would be a tourist in their own city, if not foreign friends or out-of-town friendships wanted to be entertained. There was general shrug and then also a confusion with the Villa-Island Schwanenwerder. There now seemed to be needed some clarification: Less than ten minutes later we reached the pier of the ferry, which took us with a short ride on the Havel to the island.

The proud peacock accompanied by his rather pale brownish feathery partner … Fortunately, this beauty classification does not apply to us bipeds

About a hundred peacocks currently live on the Peacock Island and so it is not surprising, that we promptly ran into one after our arrival. Accompanied by his rather pale brownish feathery partner – unfairly distributed by nature, by the way – the proud peacock unfortunately still did not show us his colorful feathered fan. But then, the nature, the flora and fauna of the island is just unbelievable beautiful: In the 67 hectare landscape Park, declared in 1990 by UNESCO as a world heritage site, is a green paradise and a haven for rare plants and animal species. And the Peacock Island is also closely linked to the Brandenburg-Prussian history.

Me infront of the castle on the Peacock Island, color-matching the beautiful, blue hydrangeas

Once, the Peacock Island served the Prussian kings as a retreat, Friedrich Wilhelm II, nephew of old Fritz, let there be built an air-castle from 1794 onwards at the southwestern tip of Werder’s for himself and his mistress Wilhelmine Encke – later Countess Lichtenau. Thus, the great period of the island began, which only then really became the Peacock Island. His son Friedrich Wilhelm III. instructed the completion of the initiated landscape park in the English style. A Meierhof for milk production had been created and the cavaliers-house for noble guests with original Gothic facades was expanded. Great artists of the time such as landscape architect Peter Joseph Lenné and architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel created, with the help of the court gardener Fintelmann from the island, an artificial paradise in the 19th century. There were kangaroos, bears and a lion, shade palms and Ailanthuses, the South Sea Islander Maitay who had been summarily renamed Heinrich Wilhelm, a giant named Karl Friedrich light and dwarfs.

My favorite place on Peacock Island: The gardening

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And the dwarves with their very own history were the reason why I had a desire to explore the island and the history associated with it. Specifically, since I read the novel „Pfaueninsel“ (Peacock Island) by the German writer Thomas Hettche, in which the author brings the dwarf-siblings Christian and Maria Dorothea Strackon and the other mentioned figures, including the island of history, to life. A gift from my friend Christine, which I devoured in a few days and took me to another world. It is the love story of the dwarf Marie, the historic documented castle mistress, who comes as an orphan at the age of six years to the island, including dwarf brother Christian. Marie falls in love with Gustav, the nephew of the court gardener who grows up with her. Who too always loved her, but can not be with her because her smallness, her crooked legs, the flat nose and high forehead gradually made her to someone else, a stranger from another world, which is also no longer with love possible to be integrated in the emotional life of the rational, now successful man and not integrated into the always reasonable expectant age itself, the incipient Maschinenzeitalter, the industrialization. Hettche’s love story tells about the adjustment of nature, of human dignity, the nature of time and the sensitivity of the soul and the body – and not least of love in its multiple manifestations, on which traces I now walked around the island. Dipping into Marie’s world, which Thomas Hettche describes so sensitive and multifaceted in his book.

In memory of his big love Queen Luise, Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III. has built the Luisen Temple on the Pfaueninsel

And so we walked from the castle up to the Meierei, past the cavalier-house and picnic area where refreshments are served. My favorite part was the garden with its flowerbeds and shrubs and the rolling hills that lead down to the Havel river. Here, I want to open my picnic basket next time and just lie in the grass. And further dream myself into the world of dwarf Marie and the Prussian kings. BvH

Like a magnificent frame the trees line the view at the Wannsee

I’m waiting for the ostentatious walks and the hoarse cries of the peacock. Unfortunately, in vain!

Ballroom above the dairy (Meierei)

The facade, King Friedrich empathized like a Gothic building

MyStylery in action: Anyone at home?

Prussian Paradise

Gorgeous vistas like here to the Luisen Temple

Beautiful old barn

Old tree populations characterize the island

The Cavalier House with its historically faked Gothic facades is still inhabited today

The Peacock Island got declared a conservation area in 1924

Unesco World Heritage

A marble monument in honor of the actress Mademoiselle Rachel – a star of her time

By the way, the island is car free and smoke free. Even the carrying of bicycles and animals is prohibited here

Open this gate to the gardening …

… and the rolling hills that lead down to the Havel river

The Peacock Island is located in the Havel in the southwest of Berlin …

It goes green

… It belongs together with the palaces and parks of Sanssouci in Potsdam and the Glienicke Palace for Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg …

… and is listed as a world heritage at UNESCO

In 1821 King Friedrich Wilhelm III. gave his garden director Peter Joseph Lenné the job to build a rose garden, a palm house and a menagerie on the site …

… And so that the rare plants and animals were not sitting on dry land, a pump house had been installed on the south bank, whose steam engine drew the floods of the Havel by voice lines in all corners of the island the following years

The rose garden

Former stable

The scent of lavender

The scent of lavender – to me, this is the scent of vacation, sun, summer

At times of the dwarf Marie not only representatives of exotic flora and fauna such as kangaroos, shade palm trees and a lion lived on the piece of land in Havelsee

On this ferry you get from the mainland to the Pfaueninsel

Before visiting the Pfaueninsel I had Lunch at the chic restaurant Wannseeterrassen

… from there you have a fantastic view to the Wannsee

Info Pfaueninsel

The island lies in the forests and waterways district Wannsee is 22 kilometers from Berlin city center and five kilometers from Potsdam away. Nestled in a complex, multi-layered historical cultural landscape, the peacock island with an area of 88 hectares, including 67 hectares of land area is designated as a nature reserve since 1924. The reserve is reported as Fauna-Flora-Habitat and part of the EU bird sanctuary. The Peacock Island is also called “Prussian paradise”.

How to get to Pfaueninsel

The Peacock Island can be reached from the center of Berlin by bus line 218 from Theodor-Heuss-Platz Underground Station through the Grunewald and continues on Wannsee S-Bahn station. Then the short ferry to the Peacock Island follows.

The post The Castle Mistress from Peacock Island appeared first on My Stylery.

Designer duo Johnny Talbot, Adrian Runhof and I in their Berlin showroom

For 26 years, the Munich fashion label Talbot Runhof stands for classic elegance and feminine eveningwear. When US actress Kristen Stewart appeared years ago in a black Talbot Runhof robe during the Oscars, the designer duo also made the international breakthrough. Not just celebs appreciate the timeless look of Johnny Talbot and Adrian Runhof. It is important to both designers that women of normal proportions also make a good figure in their clothes. I have an appointment with the two Munich residents in Berlin, where they live in a pied-à-terre in the back of their showroom, which opened in 2017 in Berlin-Charlottenburg. However, Meet Me for Tea takes place without Johnny Talbot, who spontaneously assists a client with her bridal gown selection. An interview with Adrian Runhof. Not just about fashion.

Meet me for tea with Adrian Runhof in his Berlin pied-à-terre

MyStylery: It’s cozy here…
Adrian Runhof: The apartment has been completely renovated. The previous occupant died in this room. So firstly we had to get rid of the “bad vibrations”.
MS: I always find it exciting to see who has lived in such an old apartment before.
AR: Me too. In my Hamburg apartment in the Schlüterstraße, at the corner of Johnsallee, lived a Cape Horner once…
MS: A sailor?
AR: Exactly, one who sailed around the Cape Horn. I happened to meet my neighbor on the street in the middle of the night, when he told me en passant that the captain had died in my apartment. From then on, I could not be in the apartment any more, imagined a one-eyed person with a wooden leg, saw him ghosting around in my apartment at night. Suddenly, I also realized that something was always creaking in the apartment. That was scary.
MS: Seems like the childish fantasies appeared then. Do you like to think back to your childhood?
AR: No, not really. Although, of course, I am grateful to have been born and raised in this country.

“Generally I do not like to think about the past. I’m a forward-looking person who lives in the here and now.”

MS: How did you experience your childhood?
AR: As a kid, I felt locked up. My parents’ house was not the environment, in which a child could to grow up happily. It felt more like a bourgeois museum where nothing was allowed to break. My parents were always worried about us, they were afraid of kidnapping. We lived in a huge Art Nouveau villa, from whose windows I could watch the other children playing in the street. I was not allowed to play, because we always had to stay on our property, on which there was a large garden with a swing, slide and sandpit. The other children were not allowed to come to us either. My siblings and I always played in threes.
MS: Hmmm…
AR: Do you feel sorry for me?
MS: Yes. Your parents probably had their reasons. But for you children that must have been difficult to understand.
AR: That’s true.

Adrian Runhof thoughtful during the Meet Me for Tea interview

MS: You come from a wealthy home. Did you want to prove anything to your parents by doing your own thing?
AR: That was not the point. It was important to me to never depend on my parents. They made it clear from the beginning that I would not get anything anyway. While other children from the well-heeled circle of friends of my parents were overridden real estates. The fact that I later actually inherited something was a big surprise.
MS: And how did you free yourself from the childhood trauma of being locked up?
AR: I went to Munich, that was always my absolute longing. As a teenager I browsed through the Bild Zeitung and Bunte magazin, saw the column of the author Michael Graeter and thought, there can be nothing better than Schwabing. I studied in Munich and met Johnny. That was my lifeline.
MS: And then came Paris.
AR: I already knew Paris from my youth, was street-smart and felt like I belonged there. Actually, I’m someone who likes to be everywhere at the same time. When we were in Amsterdam, I wanted to move there straight away, and I felt the same way with London.

MS: In which Parisian arrondissement do you live?
AR: In the first. We are there every two months. But I also like to be in Berlin and I am glad that we have our little apartment here. We also visit Zurich regularly and commute between the cities.
MS: Living out of the suitcase. That sounds like a certain restlessness…
AR: …that I do not like very much. I like to arrive. But do not like to leave. But this is brought along by the fashion circus (laughs).
MS: And which of your locations do you prefer?
AR: Munich. Munich stands for continuity, nobody moves away, everything is in its place. In Paris, you never know before, whether it was broken in, there was a water damage or a mouse infestation during your absence.

“Berlin is not in the forefront in international fashion business. Although the local street style influences young labels. Berlin is undoubtedly a metropolis in which fashion is created.”

MS: You have been in the fashion business for 26 years. How do you manage to survive in the industry?
AR: It has a lot to do with discipline. We have to design 32 pieces per collection, the show in Paris is coming, there’s a lot of pressure on us. You have to be good at different things at the same time. Creativity, courage, a good product, commercial know-how, contact care are among them. But you also have to recognize your own potential, explore your own limits, always be honest with yourself. We have a good team. As for Johnny and me, we both do everything.
MS: It did not always work out for you. Your cleaning lady had to help you with a cash injection in the beginning.
AR: That was really the case. Since then it has been uphill, though in small steps. We still have to do our calculations today. Thus we are self-financed. We do not have the big investor in the background.

MS: Your strength?
AR: I can hide my dilettance well. I have learned nothing and cannot do anything really well.
MS: Is this supposed to be fishing for compliments?
AR: I can do a lot a little good. I cannot read balances, cannot draw, have no patience, can not express myself creatively.
MS: That sounds a bit desperate. Maybe you put the scale on yourself too high.
AR: No. That’s my self-image. During my studies, I always bought all the books that were recommended to us. With the purchase, however, I also thought that that’s enough. I had not even read a single copy. Nevertheless, I came through somehow.

“Inspirations for the next collection? For example, the embroidered collar of your blouse may be an idea for the next dress. The street, the television, books – one is bombarded with impressions. But you have to filter them.”

MS: You made it fast into the international market. What else can come now?
AR: The industry is very dynamic, new markets in Asia, countries that I do not really care about, but still need to be served. The status quo there and the pure brand orientation isn’t for me. I miss the subversiveness.
MS: Strange that big online shops such as “Net a Porter” or “Mytheresa” do not carry your brand.
AR: Yes, and that offends me. Presumably, it’s because we do not have relevance in the new media. We just do not make printed logo shirts, where you can immediately tell, who they are from.

MS: What do you think of fashion bloggers?
AR: When we had publications in a magazine in the past, there was a measurable demand. On blogs or posts, on the other hand, there are only a few reactions. Then, a Caro Daur must have worn our dress on New Year’s Eve in Dubai. With 70,000 likes, maybe two people will get in touch and ask, where they can buy the dress.
MS: Is the hype about the fashion bloggers maybe a bubble that bursts at some point?
AR: Quite possible. But the budgets of the high-end brands are very high, they do not run out of steam so quickly. It is interesting that in the USA still 70 percent of the advertising budgets flow in print media and only 30 percent online. Here, 90 percent of digital media are consumed and only ten percent in the print sector. We rely on good PR. At the heart of our public relations work is the Defilee in Paris, where not only a great deal of energy, but also a lot of money is invested with the goal of far-reaching media coverage.

“I really like the KPM cup because it’s classic but still modern,” says Adrian Runhof about the KPM Kurland porcelain

MS: What is your own digital user behavior?
AR: Of course, I also spend time on the phone all the time. Recently there was a technical problem. Then the feeling of a slight panic sets in. It’s terrible without a cell phone (laughs).
MS: Are you an online shopper?
AR: Only. I buy every spoon online and nothing in real shops anymore.
MS: The cow you milk should not be slaughtered, they say. After all, you also own stores.
AR: As a customer, I’ve always found stores horrible. How many jeans have I bought in my life, which the sellers claimed, oh, but it fits perfectly. The opposite was the case, as I found out in retrospect (laughs).

MS: Is it difficult to survive alongside the industry giants in Paris?
AR: You cannot make the mistake of comparing yourself to labels or the shows of Louis Vuitton. But it would be stupid to show the best show in Berlin and nobody comes. Whereby the Berlin Salon is a pleasing and important exception.
MS: How do you manage to separate job and private?
AR: Talbot Runhof is our project and that connects at all levels. Even though we now live separately in Munich, we do a lot together. In Berlin, we shop together at the KaDeWe, in Paris, on the market. The German actors Nadja Tiller and Walter Giller were once asked for the recipe for a long partnership: You just have to accept that you cannot change the other one. And there is some truth in it. Johnny stands closest to me, that’s a very special kind of intimacy, and that’s great. We also have a common dog, a Border Terrier, an important and connecting factor.

“When we had 10,000 Euros, we always made sure we did not spend more than 11,000. This is a ubiquitous problem in the industry. Our motto is: It’s all about knowing when to stop.”

MS: And you drink tea…
AR: Absolutely. In the morning we start with ginger tea. Detoxing and staying healthy is important to me. By the way, the KPM cups are great. I was spontaneously happy, when I saw them here earlier and hoped that they would be our latest achievement. The colors match perfectly to the green of our walls (laughs). Of the many dishes I inherited from home, there are very few things that I like. A glass series from the sixties of Theresienthal with a gold rim, for example, that stood in a showcase at my parents’. At ours it is being used. Even at the risk that something breaks. That’s part of it.
MS: You manage to reinvent yourself over and over again. Talbot Runhof features films such as “High Society”, you designed “Fashion 2 Sea” for the MS Europa2 and “Couture feather tops” for the Meiersche Art Institution.
AR: That’s right. Whenever we meet people who we find interesting, we say: Let’s do something together. We do not go out of ideas so fast.  BvH

“The antique cabinet is an heirloom from my mother,” says Adrian Runhof, who was born in Mainz and grew up in Wiesbaden. “In Munich, it does not fit into our living concept. Everything is very modern and more design-like. In Berlin it has now found a good place.”

Contact Adrian Runhof

talbotrunhof.com

The post How about a cup of tea, Adrian Runhof? appeared first on My Stylery.

Meet me for Tea with H.P. Baxxter, Frontman of Germany’s most successful band Scooter

He has been mixing up the Techno scene like no one else for 25 years: H.P. Baxxter and his band Scooter. When the native East Friesian, who in real life is called Hans Peter Geerdes, enters the stage and roars “Hyper, Hyper” and “How much is the fish”, there is nothing stopping him. Then the crowd rages and 13,000 fans of all ages in the sold-out Berlin concert hall “Velodrom” get into happy frenzy. Who gets to know him, is sometimes surprised: H.P. Baxxter, who has invented shouting for his hits, is rather cautiously quiet and very polite in private. Meet me for Tea with the hydrogen-peroxide-blonde successful musician and a strong East Frisian mix in the cup.

H. P. Baxxter prefers East Frisian tea, a blend of Assam, Ceylon and a dash of Darjeeling, a very strong tea. Cream and candy are needed for refinement

MyStylery: Does the East Friesian make East Friesian jokes all the time?
H.P. Baxxter (laughs): The East Friesian drinks tea, however making the jokes is not true.
MS: You are an enthusiastic tea drinker since childhood. What brought you to the taste?
HPB: As long as I can remember, we had tea after lunch. I thought that was the case all over the world. In the morning for breakfast black tea, in the afternoon also with friends a cup and then for dinner. Black tea never prevented me from falling asleep either.
MS: So tea is strongly linked to your childhood memories …
HPB: Exactly. As a child, I liked to have a sleepover at my grandma’s. I was allowed to stay up late there. And it was our tradition to sit in the kitchen just before going to bed and drink black East Friesian tea, but with lots of candy and cream.
MS: This reminds of English tea drinking habits …
HPB: I also like to take PJ Tips tea bags from England. Especially when we are in the studio and the leisure is missing. At least there are tea mugs with the likeness of the Queen and Prince Charles (laughs). At home I especially like to drink the mixture “Bünting Privat Ostfriesentee”. This is a very high quality tea, which is important in the rather moderate, very calcareous water quality of Hamburg. In East Frisia, the water is much softer. I drink coffee very rarely, for example on Sunday afternoon with the cheese-cake.

Me and H.P. Baxxter in his suite at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin

MS: Does anyone still call you Hans-Peter?
HPB: Yes, my mother. Mostly. Sometimes she says HP. The name Hans-Peter was a problem for me as a child. I was so glad when my chemistry teacher in the 11th grade came up with the idea of ​​calling me “HP”. I suspect the idea came to him through the TV series Dallas and the villain JR. (Laughs)
MS: Are you checking in at the hotel under the name Geerdes or Baxxter?
HPB: When I’m officially with the band, always under Baxxter. In such a moment I get angry, when it says Hans-Peter Geerdes. This is private and is used when I order a craftsman for home. Although at first I always had to laugh when my manager at the front desk asked if the suite for Mr Baxxter was ready. In the restaurant I get the better table, if I order under the name Baxxter.
MS: Does your popularity sometimes annoy you?
HPB: When I’m stressed out, arriving the airport last minute and just then get into a bachelor party, where I’m asked for selfies and autographs, then that’s exhausting. On the other hand, of course, an indicator that you are still on the radar.

“The cups from KPM would also do well at my home,” says H.P. Baxxter

MS: Scooter has been Germany’s most successful band since 1993. This year you have the 25th anniversary. You are still the only founding member. Actually, you could sit back and relax now.
HPB: Music has always been my life, which I have never considered work, but always a great pleasure and a lot of fun.
MS: You always have to come up with something new …
HPB: Like the co-operations with Vicky Leandros or Status Quo, which are mostly spontaneous. We used to go back to the studio immediately after each tour and continue to work. Sure, there were phases when we could not think of anything. We then took nine month-break. A creative break, so to speak. Why didn’t we do that more often? I wonder.
MS: With the end of the “Love Parade”, some also saw the end of the Techno era. Is Techno still up to date?
HPB: Techno has changed a lot, but is still a matter. And this since more than 30 years now. There are different currents like Minimal or Electro House. In the clubs in Ibiza like the Pacha exactly these beats are played again. The sound of the gigantic open-air festivals eventually has its roots in Techno.

H. P. Baxxter remained on the ground: “It was a stroke of luck that we had slaved away without success for a long time, and when success came, it did not seem natural to us.”

MS: How do you explain the great success of Scooter abroad, of all things in Scandinavia or Russia?
HPB: In Russia with the political circumstances and the euphoria caused by the fall of the Iron Curtain and the Wall. Our sound was and is the connection between East and West. The Russian fans are also very loyal. They have heard us in their youth and still do today. And younger ones come after.
MS: Children want to become locomotive drivers or astronauts. You dreamed of a career as a musician.
HPB: I was totally fascinated by the glam rock era of the 70s, by bands like Sweet and T. Rex. The highlight of the week for me was when the shows like Beat Club or Disco with Ilja Richter came on German TV. At 14, I had my first student band. There was no one in my hometown of Leer who took this as seriously as I did. Some lacked the discipline to rehearse three times a week. For many it was just hobby-like rumbling. There I sometimes stood alone with my guitar.
MS: Can you actually sing properly? You have never been in the church- or school choir, right?
HPB: No. I always refused. My singing, the shouting, was the inspiration of a spontaneous idea. I actually saw myself as a great guitarist. When I became interested in electronic music and New Wave, like Depeche Mode or Simple Minds, I could not do anything with my guitar. So I switched to singing, although I had never sung at the time. The advantage of the 80s was that everyone had sung wrong. Expression and stage presence were crucial. So I became a frontman and a little later we founded Scooter.

H. P. Baxxter has a preference for the English way of life: “Last year, I made a dream come true and drove the Oldtimer through the Highlands, descended in old castles and drank a Scotch whiskey by the fire in the evening.”

MS: Many musicians take drugs. How do you manage to keep your hands off?
HPB: I’m watching the Narcos series on Netflix right now. Insanity, if you imagine how many tons of coke alone the Pablo Escobar clan has shipped and to what extent the people have always been taking it. For me, that was never an issue, even if I sometimes felt like the stupid, clueless redneck. Sometimes I regret that I’ve never been so Rock’n’Roll, not someone who just blew up all conventions. I do not have this self-destructive gene of an Amy Winehouse. I’m just too conservative for that.
MS: And you live that way too. Have you always been so Anglophile?
HPB: As a child I loved English series, “Captain Weasel”, “ Upstairs, Downstairs“, “All Creatures Great and Small“. I have always liked the dignified English way of life. Rock musicians like Mick Jagger then lived like English landlords, drove Rolls Royce and were simply cool. At the age of 16, I was in England for the first time, where I made a bike tour to London with a buddy. That blew me away.
MS: Some interpret this as a petit-bourgeois way of life. ‘HP and his stuffy antelopes’ was the title of an article about you.
HPB: Many have this pigeonholing. Does a musician always have to live in a minimalist industrial loft? I like to break with conventions. I do not consider gnu, tiger or zebra as hunting trophies, with which I adorn myself, but as part of my furnishing concept. I love this bizarre.
MS: And you find that in Hamburg-Duvenstedt? Why do you not live in Berlin?
HPB: I need the rural as compensation. I’m rarely home enough. Last year I was on the road for months straight. I really enjoy sitting around the fireplace for five evenings in a row, watching shows and drinking my tea!

“I need the rural as compensation. I really enjoy sitting around the fireplace for five evenings in a row, watching shows and drinking my tea”, says H.P. Baxxter

MS: Your career is interesting: You were a law student in Hannover …
HPB: That was the only way to get out of the small town. After all, I was in college for three weeks. (laughs) Then I decided on a commercial apprenticeship, two and a half years in a dental wholesaler. I would recommend anyone an apprenticeship as a professional basis.
MS: Did you ever think that you would also be a member of the TV casting shows DSDS and X-Factor jury, as well as having guest appearances in some German TV series?
HPB: No and I will certainly not start as an actor. These were not character roles. (laughs) Rather short appearances where I say, “How much is the fish”. But it’s fun to get involved in something new.
MS: You were married twice. Will there be a third time?
HPB: Three times is “East Frisian right”, is a saying in East Frisia. I would not bar it. I also believe in fate and do not do anything compulsively.
MS: You are a family man with close contact to your mother and the children of your sister. Do you regret not having your own children?
HPB: It just didn’t come about. Sometimes I find it a pity not to have a son with whom I could do pub tours today.

“When it comes to cars, everything stands still for me. That’s my biggest passion after the music. I have four vintage cars, two old Jaguars, a Rolls Royce, a lime green Bentley.”

MS: Do you feel a bit alone in your big house? You do not even have pets, you just hang around with those stuffed things.
HPB: Yes, that’s the way it is. Sometimes I have to talk to my gnu. (laughs) In my time as a single, there was one or the other lonely moment. But I am in a new relationship since a year and a half.
MS: Your girlfriend is 26 years younger than you. Not just a slight age difference…
HPB: It makes a difference whether your partner is 18 or 28. A certain life experience is certainly not a disadvantage. My previous partner was the same age as I, and I thought, she knew about life with her maturity. Everything would be relaxed, I thought. The opposite was the case. I need a woman by my side, who also has power, likes to go out and has a certain independence.
MS: How important is the encounter at eye level through similar experiences? You can look back on moments, where your girlfriend was not even born.
HPB: Yes, I agree with you. But after three years you do not talk about it anymore. Common interests are much more important to me.
MS: Speaking of planning for the future: Scooter and no end in sight?
HPB: I do it for as long as it’s really fun, full house, people are having fun and everything feels good. It was a long way to be able to perform at major mainstream festivals like Highfield. Traipse round discos with my hits that I played 30 years ago would not be my world. I think I’ll just fall dead on stage someday.  BvH

Info H.P. Baxxter and Scooter:

No German band ever had as many top ten hits as Scooter. With 30 million records sold in over 50 countries, Scooter is the most successful German band – consisting of H.P. Baxxter, Michael Simon and Phil Speiser – at all.

13.000 Fans – and me – at the Scooter concert in the Berlin concert hall “Velodrom”

Dates for the anniversary tour „100% Scooter – 25 Years Wild & Wicked Tour“:

Fri            08/17/2018          Hamburg (Trabrennbahn Bahrenfeld)

Sa            08/18/2018          Dresden (Elbufer)

Sa            08/25/2018          Beverungen (Weserufer)

The interview series “Meet me for Tea” is sponsored by KPM – Königliche Porzellan Manufaktur Berlin.
More interviews you’ll here.

The post H.P. Baxxter: Hyper, hyper craving for East Frisian tea appeared first on My Stylery.

The Livingroom of Thomas Dellert-Dellacroix in his Loft in Berlin-Kreuzberg

In the 70’s, Andy Warhol decided that Tommy Dollar sounds better than Thomas Dellert. That was the time of the ‘Sex Pistols’ and Dellert was a punk rocker and follower of Warhol. Wether ‘Phantom of the Opera’ or ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’: The multi talent Dellert left out hardly any art- and music genre. Since five years, the native of Stockholm, with compassionate connections to the Swedish royal house, lives in Berlin Kreuzberg. The 120 square meter loft of the former Berlin Wall painter is full of memories and dedicated pictures from Yoko Ono and Michael Jackson to Nina Hagen. One isn’t surprised that the antique Samovar was a present of the Russian tsar family to one of Dellert’s ancestral and that he enjoyed the, meanwhile empty, caviar cans together with the erstwhile Shah of Persia and his wife, Empress Farah Diba.

Multimedia-artist, actor, singer, painter & film maker: Thomas Dellert-Dellacroix

MyStylery: Your life took you to many different cities, Paris, London, New York. Today you live in a former chocolate fabric in Berlin. Does an artist have to be here nowadays?
Thomas Dellert: No, to me, Berlin is only a stopover. I’m restless and in thoughts already somewhere else. Maybe I’ll go back to Paris or Stockholm next.

Highheel on telephone: Artpiece by Thomas Dellert

MS: In your loft you live with your wife and two children. And you also work here…
TD: I never separate work and privacy. My life is my work.

This is what the home of a manic collector looks like

MS: Two times within five years you got robbed. Do the things that stayed with you become a different meaning?
TD: Yes, such as Miles Davis’ trumpet or my collection of stockings from the 30s and 40s. Among is also a pair that Marlene Dietrich gave to me in 1973. Especially the things that can’t be replaced are the important ones. Therefore I saved all my projects on harddrive, which I keep in a hundred years old, very thick steal-safe.

Dellert loves provocation – even and especially in his art

MS: Wherever you look around here, you always find something new. Have you always been a collector?
TD: Yes, a passionate one. My style is creative and full of love. The carpets I designed myself. But I also like Danish design, such as the chair from Kjaerholm.

The black leather chair is by Kjaerholm, the carpets are Dellert-Design

MS: How did you get the idea of wallpapering your bedroom with a leopard print?
TD: (laughs) Since I was 18 I always had a leo-wallpaper. It’s the energy from back then, which I hope for and thereby get back. Now I am 60, three times divorced, survived fires and car accidents. Today I’m standing in the Autumn of life and look back.

Wherever one looks, there is always something new to discover

MS: Kitchen furniture, floor, lampshades, nearly all walls are black here. Why?
TD: I never really thought about this. Black isn’t a color, it’s a powerful basis, a symbol and has something sedative. When I close my eyes, I see black, but also all the other colors. Actually black is the beginning and ending of everything.  BvH

Besides Andy Warhol, Dellert is the only artist who ever designed a SL-Edition for Mercedes

Thomas Dellert’s likeness as a bottle label – also an expression of his versatility

Dellert – who was named Tommy Dollar by Andy Warhol – was enthusiastic about pop art and inspired Warhol to his camouflage series

VIP toilet: On the walls pictures, autographs and dedications from Nina Hagen to Michael Jackson

Former Berlin wall painter Dellert, who was born just eight years after the end of WWII, deals in his works with the war theme, the Holocaust and the division of Germany

Thomas Dellert in his bedroom: Here he also keeps treasures of his collection such as the snakeskin-heels of Leni Riefenstahl or a stage outfit of Jimi Hendrix

Dellert’s art is represented among others in ‘The Absolut Vodka’ Collection and ‘The Heinz Collection’ and the Holocaust Memorial Museum

Dellert was already fascinated of leoprints as a jung man. Today his entire bedroom is papered with it

Memories of Africa. Dellert lived in New York, Barcelona, twelve years in Paris, eight years in London, in Barcelona and in Stuttgart

Customized workplace

Dellert has a certain penchant for the morbid

And again Leo: this time not a print, but a real one

Contact Thomas Dellert:

www.thomasdellert.com

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