Veronica Ferres and I had a relaxing cup of tea in a hotel lobby in Berlin – we enjoyed our tea from hand-painted Kurland cups from KPM

It’s Valentine’s Day. Veronica Ferres sits in a hotel lobby in Berlin and shows me photos on her phone, showing two huge rose bouquets. “From my husband,” she reveals and smiles. Veronica Ferres is one of Germany’s most prominent actresses and is the star of numerous TV and film productions. For six years, the 54-year-old has been married to the German financial entrepreneur Carsten Maschmeyer. They live in Munich with their daughter Lilly.

Despite her busy calendar, Veronica Ferres took her time for our reunion and the Meet me for tea interview

MyStylery: Congratulations, Veronica. You recently filmed the drug thriller “Dreamland” with Oscar winner Gary Oldman. Does this make the dream of Hollywood come true?
Veronica Ferres: Hollywood has never been my priority. Nevertheless, I have played in twenty-three English-language productions since the Oscar nomination for ‘Schtonk!’. In Los Angeles I go to every casting. Mostly it doesn´t work. Here it did and I’m happy.
MS: Many German actors dream of a career in the USA. Was that the reason why you moved to Los Angeles in 2016?
VF: When you’re shooting in America, this is seen more critically here in Germany. It indicates that one is not available for the German market. In 2016, we wanted to live abroad again with our daughter for a longer period of time, before she came to secondary school in Germany, where she graduated from high school last year. And since our son was studying in Los Angeles at the time, we all lived under one roof.

There’s always something to laugh about with Veronica – we’ve known each other for more than 20 years

MS: How nice that you speak of Carstens children as your sons.
VF: They also call me mother.
MS: Really?
VF: Yes. They love me. And I love them. My daughter is in the truest sense my stomach child, the two boys are my heart children.
MS: That was not always the case.
VF: Yes, at first it was difficult. Every patchwork family faces big challenges.

Veronica Ferres: “Supermodel instead of superwoman? At some point I accepted myself as I am.”

MS: Children find it difficult to accept the new partner. How did you manage to convince the sons of you?
VF: By speaking openly about my feelings and making it clear that certain things hurt me. Both have developed great respect over the years and have seen me as a hardworking yet warmhearted woman.
MS: At that time they were almost grown up.
VF: I think infants are more open than kids in puberty.
MS: Pubescent children are characters in their own world, always in search of themselves.
VF: Exactly. My daughter is eighteen and a half (laughs). The most important thing is to empower children in their talents, to give them so much love that they are rooted in the earth and yet have the wings and the courage to explore the world. Incidentally, I learn more things from my daughter than she does from me.

I met a relaxed Veronica Ferres who is completely by herself. And even though she didn’t really want to reveal anything private in the interview, she still gave insights

MS: As a young woman you were significantly more Veronica than today. Were diets a topic then?
VF: I was and am an aficionado and wanted to be thin at the same time. Supermodel instead of superwoman. At some point I accepted myself as I am. Living with my husband has also shaped me. He is a marathon runner who is physically active every day. And my daughter too. There is nothing left for me to do but to participate. I regularly train ‘Black-Bike’, a kind of spinning where I spend an hour on the pedals, along with thirty other women in a darkened room. And I train daily with the app ‘8fit’, a workout based on deadweight. It´s good for arms and happiness.
MS: You say seasonal nutrition is important to you.
VF: In the US, I discovered Kohl, ‘Kale’, which is a big topic there. Suddenly, there are vegetables that were totally out of style, like beetroot. Our grandparents lived with the seasons. Today, raspberries are nothing special for our children. In my childhood, they only existed in late summer, when we picked them from the bushes.

Veronica Ferres loves tea

MS: Do you cook yourself?
VF: Yes. When I’m not shooting, I’m in my production office during the day, and in the evening, the family gathers to eat together at home. During the semester break, also our sons are there. The elder studied at Oxford and is now self-employed. The younger studied design in Pasadena and is still doing postgraduate studies in LA.
MS: And you drink tea.
VF: A lot, actually. However only in autumn and winter. For me, this is the cozy season in which I celebrate my rituals: In the evening before going to bed there is a bedtime tea and in the morning a detox tea. I love ginger tea, but I only drink it until 5 pm because it cleanses and induces the body. When I work and the days are long, ginger is my universal weapon and secret recipe. In addition, ginger tea strengthens the immune system.

“Turning fifty was no problem at all. I go through life with the same passion and curiosity.”

MS: You are often confronted with the status of a billionaire’s wife. Was that why you came up with the idea of ​​separation of property?
VF: That’s a matter of course to me. I also relinquish maintenance and inheritance. Carsten and I meet at eye level. I think that’s the secret of our love. My mother, who sold potatoes and coals, reminded me how important it is to stand on your own two feet. I love my husband and that’s why I married him.
MS: How was turning fifty for you?
VF: No problem at all. I go through life with the same passion and curiosity. And professionally there have been great productions since then, for example with Til Schweiger in the American version of “Honey in the Head” on the side of Nick Nolte as well as films with Keanu Reeves, Helen Mirren or Keira Knightley. I also teach in Munich at the University of Television and Film and the encounters with young authors and filmmakers inspire me very much.
MS: Do you get more demanding as you get older?
VF: I’m getting more and more relaxed. The main thing is, I’m with the right people. BvH

Veronica Ferres on Instagram

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

The post Veronica Ferres: “Ginger is my secret recipe.” appeared first on My Stylery.

Teatime at Michael Michalsky’s office: MM pours the tea and enjoys it black, without milk and sugar

We know each other for years and have the same northern German roots: Fashion designer Michael Michalsky was raised near Bad Oldesloe, I was only 35 km away in Lübeck. And we both love fashion and tea. Since 24 years Michalsky is active as fashion designer. He designs sets of cutlery and tableware for the German brand WMF, his perfume is a bestseller. After he conferred the fashion circus with a vociferous refusal last year, he is nowadays more present than ever. The chosen Berliner started his comeback in 2015 with the haute couture series “Atelier Michalsky”. And today he is even a TV-star.

Michael Michalsky and I drink tea from hand-painted big “Office Mugs” of the tradition series “Kurland” by KPM

MyStylery: Michi, I cooked Earl Grey for us, I hope you like it!
Michael Michalsky (laughs): How great that you brought some tea! I never experienced that at an interview before. And those cups. I would love to have them as well! I love English tea. When I’m in London I always go to Fortnum & Mason and buy Earl Grey classics.
MS: Have you always liked to drink tea or did you become a tea drinker in England?
MM: I was always anglophile. I lived six years in London and this characterized me. Every morning I drink a big bowl of tea as more goes inside than in a normal cup. Currently I also like to drink the Earl Grey Blue from Mariage de Frères.

Delicious cupcakes from Berlin brand “Just a Bite”: So yummy!

MS: Do you also drink green tea?
MM: No, always and only black tea.
MS: Also in the evening? But can you sleep afterwards?
MM: After four o’clock I’m not drinking tea and coffee anymore. Otherwise I could stay awake until eight in the morning. But those days are long gone. There’s nothing more beautiful than an English-celebrated teatime with scones, clotted cream, sandwiches with salmon and cucumber, everything nicely decorated onto étagères. I love this.

Since the TV show GNTM (“Germanys next topmodel”) he often gets recognized on the street and asked for selfies. “But rather in cities such as Hamburg or Munich. The Berliner are too cool.”

MS: What else than tea connects you to England?
MM: As student I often drove to England to officially work on my English. My main motivation was of course the fashion, which emerged there like the music did. Everything I liked in the 80ies came from London. I saved money to buy myself clothes that you couldn’t find in Germany. Nowadays you’re getting the same things everywhere anyways.
MS: Are you an online-shopper?
MM: Absolutely! Just yesterday I bought myself a plaid shirt and a black hat. I love Mr. Porter. That’s the greatest online shop for men. I mean isn’t it wonderfully comfortable? Everything is getting delivered, I can try it on at home, preferably clothes from Maison Margiela, Prada, Haider Ackermann, Comme des Garcons and also of course Michalsky.

“London is a great city. I had a very exciting time there. I’m in London one to two times a year. There I would like to travel more often.”

MS: One year ago you launched the haute couture series Atelier Michalsky.
MM: And this was accepted very positive. This is the beacon of my Michalsky-brand environment, which expresses my love to fashion. Next to it there are other areas like carpets, perfumes, furniture, the cooperation with WMF. I’m now working freer of constraints, what I really like. My clients accept that they have to wait for a garment. The exclusiveness, longevity, quality of materials and individuality are more important to them than a quick availability.
MS: Why runs the fashion industry so hard?
MM: Fashion has become very fast paced. I think it’s great that fashion has democratized. If I would ask the people on the street whether fashion is important to them, safely nine out of ten would say yes. Only 20 years ago the people on the street looked very different. Then fashion had much more to do with exclusivity. Today fashion from the rod doesn’t cost much, there’s a permanently sale, people throw things away just because they don’t like them anymore. This is completely alien to me. Earlier I had jobs so that I could afford to launch a little bit.

We try the delicious cupcakes: “When I’m in a foreign country, I accommodate myself and in the USA it’s clear that you drink more coffee and less tea.”

MS: Since 2015 you’re also active in television as juror of a famous casting show and everybody’s darling.
MM: GNTM came completely unexpected. I didn’t plan to start a television career. Standing six months in front of the cameras, the responsibility to take care of twelve young women who I didn’t know before, that was a completely new experience from which I didn’t even know, whether I would be able to do it.
MS: At least you have pampered yourself in a luxury hotel while you were filming in Los Angeles.
MM: Yes, nearly four months. When I had breakfast in my room, they actually already brought a latte plus a pack of cigarettes. That’s what I call service. (Laughs) By the way I really liked the latte at Chateau Marmont.

Michael Michalsky is happy: GNTM season with him was the most successful season of the last five years

MS: What was your biggest challenge?
MM: I did not only see myself as juror, but especially as mentor. Authenticity was in this case extremely important to me. I’m a meritocratic human and I believe in Prussian virtues like order, assiduity and punctuality. I know that you have to work for everything. And this is a special, new territory for some girls, a territory they didn’t know before.
MS: Is that a question of generation?
MM: No, it’s a question of education. The children of my friends are well educated, as they got conveyed with the right values. But they’re still free and creative in their acting. But you’re not a philistine, just because you appear on time and are prepared for a date.

“My wish for the future? To stay healthy as long as possible.”

MS: Only some of the previous winners were able to establish themselves in the professional modeling business. What are the girls taking from this TV format?
MM: It depends on the volition of every single girl. At GNTM they’re doing kind of a training, in which they got to know the fundamental know-how. Supermodels know that the job is really hard work. One has to fight for the jobs and one has to burn for the thing, even if it doesn’t work out at the first onset. I’m speaking from personal experience. Seize every given opportunity! Today many young people lack the bite. They get a rejection and then they don’t know what to do.
MS: What would you do different today by looking at your experiences?
MM: Education is the most important thing and one should take everything one can get. I regret that as a student I haven’t accepted further education courses to learn French or Spanish. I was surprised by some candidates that we casted in Berlin. 16 years old girls who still went to school. They would have interrupted or even quit school just to take part on the show. With the consent of their parents. My parents would have never allowed this.  BvH

Contakt Michael Michalsky:

www.michalsky.com

“Meet me 4 tea” is supported by KPM – Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin (Royal Porcelain Factory Berlin)

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The post Black or Green, Michael Michalsky? appeared first on My Stylery.