Best of MyStylery

The US Residence is located in a white Wilhelmanian-style house in Berlin-Dahlem

Today is Thanksgiving, which, for many Americans, is the most important of all family celebrations. And for Kimberly Marteau Emerson, the wife of US Ambassador John B. Emerson, this is the most important time of the year. I met the professional lawyer in her residence, a white Wilhelmanian-style house in Berlin-Dahlem. As a member of the board of directors of Human Rights Watch, she is heavily involved in the struggle for human rights and equality of women.

“I dedicate a lot of time and energy to human rights, which is important to me and is part of what makes me tick.”

MyStylery: Kimberly, what is so special about Thanksgiving?
Kimberly Marteau Emerson: Thanksgiving was originally celebrated in the 17th Century by the Pilgrims, refugees who were some of the first immigrants to come to the New World. Native Americans had helped the newcomers survive in this strange land called America. Thanksgiving was the Pilgrims’ way to say thank you. It is parallel to what is happening right now with the refugees in Germany. They are experiencing big changes and learning in a new world with the help of Germans who are volunteering and assisting them.

Sitting area and fireplace in the US Residence

MS: What does Thanksgiving mean to you and your family?
KME: To us, it’s the most important holiday of the year, a uniquely American holiday, where everyone comes and cooks together. The central idea is to break bread and be together. Being grateful for what we have and giving back to those who have less. This year we are focusing on the refugees, and we are making donations to the ‘Berliner Stadtmission’ and ‘Doctors Without Borders’ (Médecins Sans Frontières). Christmas is a fantastic holiday, too, but you have to keep trying to find the real meaning of Christmas and not let it get too materialistic and commercial.

Family dog Ginger, a Golden Retriever, welcomes me

MS: Right now everyone in the residence seems to be very busy …
KEM: That’s right. We are hosting three different Thanksgiving dinners this week, so the kitchen is prepping around the clock. It will be especially wonderful to share this holiday with our German friends.

On the coffeetable is the artwork ‘Love-Hate’ by the Berlin artist Mia Florentine Weiss. The embroidered cushions on the chairs are a homage to Berlin and Los Angeles

MS: A Thanksgiving dinner without a pumpkin pie is not conceivable. Tell me about what makes your pie so unique.
KME: This pumpkin pie is one of my family’s recipes. It’s about things you can find from the earth. The secret is the right balance of spices, like cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. They give pumpkin pie a kick. Otherwise you can’t bring out the complexity of the pumpkin. And you should try to add your personal twist, too.

The table is already set: “We will have three different Thanksgiving dinners with approximately 150 kilos of turkey this week and every person is somebody we know and like personally.”

MS: What is yours?
KME: I prefer a little extra cinnamon. And for the topping I only use freshly-made whipped cream.
MS: Sounds great! What do you miss most about Los Angeles and your life in the US?
KME: Well, I miss my family and my friends, even though I have made some wonderful friends here. Also, the beach and the beautiful weather. What I really don’t miss is the driving in L.A. and the permanent traffic jams. (Laughs)

On the piano: family photos and memories

MS: What do you like most about Berlin?
KME: Berlin has something really meaningful because of its history: It’s only been 25 years since the fall of the Wall and before that, the Cold War. I love the creativity of Berlin and the people I meet here. The mix of new and old, before and after. The way it faces its WWII history. It’s a beautiful, green city with edge and grunge. It’s like New York in the late seventies, it offers you so much space to grow and is still affordable. Berlin is a cool place.

The Livingroom: Remarkable is the beautiful wooden ceiling

MS: Your daily schedule is really packed. Do you still have time remaining for your family and hobbies?
KME: I have less time for everything, but I love reading books, even if it takes awhile. I spend time with my kids, and it’s a priority to go see my girls playing soccer. They actually attend a lot of events with us, which makes going even more fun. I make time to play tennis. It’s not just a hobby, it’s about health. And John and I try hard to keep up watching the TV series ‘Homeland’, where one scene of the last season was shot under the Berlin Reichstag in the subway station. Great, right?

Library and small dining room

MS: Absolutely. I am also addicted to ‘Homeland’. Beside this, can you remember the last time John and you spent an enjoyable evening together, just the two of you?
KME: Yes, a month ago we went to an island for one week to celebrate our 25th anniversary. We had dinners on empty beaches, with nobody else around. Honestly, we couldn’t remember the last time we did anything like this. But we also realize how lucky we are to have had that luxury. Now we are back at work and really are dedicated to helping the less fortunate during the holiday season. That’s important for us.

The Obamas and the Emersons

MS: You are already the so called Ambassadorable. Could you imagine becoming an Ambassador yourself?
KME: (Laughs) I have some background in foreign policy and foreign affairs. I got a Masters Degree in French Private Law and spent two years in France. I worked as an official in the US Information Agency during the Clinton Administration. Obviously to have this opportunity would be an enormous honor, but right now it’s not something I think about. Right now I am supporting John to do the best job possible.

The Emersons are art enthusiastics. In the residence they have assembled and brought together a collection of abstract and representational artworks in a variety of media in collaboration with the US Department of State’s office of Art in Embassies. Here the painting ‘In every city’ by Martinez

MS: John’s term formally ends on January 20th in 2017 …
KME: … but fortunately there’s still a year left and we have many things to do. We have enormous affection for Germany and especially for Berlin. This is an important chapter in our lives. We are not ready to leave yet. BvH

This Interview was first published November 25, 2015.

Kimberly Marteau Emerson and me

Contact:

www.hrw.org

Merken

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Best of MyStylery

Livingroom: The painting by Mauritius (1987) shows Sigmund Loewe, the inventor of television next to the physicist Albert Einstein. Sofa by Living Divani, Vintage chair by Hans Wegner

A cool new building in Berlin, in the attic of the summerhouse there is a modern living room with several floors – Japanese Zen-garden inclusive. The man of the house is a bustling businessman, a cosmopolitan, who finds the balance to his intensive travel life in the growing of orchids. Of course with the appropriate greenhouse.

Internet Entrepreneur, author and Art Collector Hubertus Hoffmann – always busy

MyStylery: Growing of orchids is an unusual hobby for a metropolitan amid a metropolis like Berlin…
Hubertus Hoffmann: True. But these plants amaze me since the age of 16. It’s not about money or stocks, but about beauty and exotic. The greenhouse is my romantic little jungle.

Zen garden and green house on the roof top terrace

MS: Your roof garden is a little green dream. Was it the inspiration for the initiative “Green on the Roof”?
HH: Unfortunately there is less and less green in the cities, but huge, unused roof surfaces. Our target of more than 500 supporters of “Green on the Roof” is, to greening half of all roof areas over the next few years. This is technically feasible. Regrettably, the 100 year old, antiquated authority regulations are often in the way, they must be adapted to the needs of today.

Dining area and open kitchen with a portrait of Twiggy

MS: You lived in many international cities. Is there something you miss in Germany?
HH: A lot of the Germans often lack the humor, the airy. Same applies to their flats. Most of them are still fun-free zones and also stuffy.

The reception committee in the entrée is “revolution kitsch” from China. Andy Warhol’s “Cow” keeps an eye on it

MS: Apropos: You draped a funny welcoming committee in the hallway…
HH: …that is revolution kitsch from China. The porcelain-figures I spotted at a flea market in Hong Kong. Above Mao and Co hangs the pink cow from Andy Warhol, that’s a good contrast, isn’t it?

A special souvenir to Hubertus Hoffmann is the biker jacket of the Rolling Stones of one of their last concerts in the US

The photos of Keith Richards have been shooted by Peter Lindbergh

The guitar of the Rolling Stones signed by all band members

MS: Absolutely. What about the framed biker-jacket?
HH: This one’s from one of the last concerts of the Rolling Stones in the USA, beneath is a guitar from a Stones-concert. All members of the band signed it. But I also like the Bismarck-portrait from Lenbach from 1897, which I bought at an auction. Besides stands the officer sword of my father. Every piece has its relevance.

The Bismarck portrait was painted by Franz von Lenbach in 1897, below the officer’s sword from Hubertus father

The home office of Hubertus Hoffmann

MS: Which piece are you especially proud of?
HH: In 1988 I bought a poster from Gerhard Richter for 50 DM in my hometown Goslar by the Harz, when he got the Kaiserring. Back then he also signed the “candle” for me. Today the painting’s value increased a thousand-fold. I also really like my little African collection; especially the antique headman’s chair from Ethiopia or the headman’s jewelry, both pieces cost 700 Euros only.

Gerhard Richter has signed the poster “Die Kerze”

MS: A succeeded lifestyle is…
HH: …when the flat frames as an event, old and new, inexpensive and gallant being combined. My afternoon tea for example simply tastes best from the old Rosenthal-cups from my mother. Important to me are good photographs and paintings on the wall. Many have amazing furniture, but awful art or none at all.

The ensuite bathroom …

… is adjacent to the bedroom. In the background the limited Helmut Newton book “Sumo”

MS: From your point of view, what are furnishing-sins?
HH: TV’s. They are black holes which get bigger and bigger and start dominating rooms. I hang a picture in front of every TV-screen, which, if needed, moves to the side when pressing a button. Often flats are lumbered up. Furnishing should be easy with cozy snuggle-corners.

Art by Christo on the corridor …

… and so it turns to a gallery

MS: Is there an interior-investment, which you wouldn’t repeat?
HH: As a student I lived, probably like most, with Ikea-furniture. Not one piece lived through the years. Since all these years probably around 15.000 DM came about, which I should have invested in art or a good furniture piece. I can only advice against buying mass merchandise. Vintage-furniture and good photo-art however increase in value. By the way, the best deals can be made at online-auctions. BvH

The robot man by Nam Yun Paik

The staircase leads to the upper floor. Again the functional architecture convinced

In the gallery, the photographic work “Pope” …

… and “Dalai Lama”, both by Tom Lemke – created in collaboration with Hubertus Hoffmann – entitled “Champions and The Art of Tolerance”

On the upper floor there is the guest area

A great mix of art and souvenirs

African Art and a photographic work by Michael Poliza

Painting by A.R. Penck

Humor may not be missing in the interior: The figures are flea market finds from Hong Kong. Hubertus bought “Angie” in Berlin. Love it!

For more information

about “Grün aufs Dach” (green on the roof) on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gr%C3%BCn-aufs-Dach/1565000283717883?fref=ts

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IBIZA LOVE Part V

Even the colorful entrance of the World Family Shop has something seductive

Since my first visit to the hippy market of Las Dalias I’m in love with the colorful creations of the Spanish label World Family. Shoes, bags, clothes – everything comes in gorgeous colors, elaborately embroidered and decorated. It’s great that the entire World Family Collection is now under one roof – including beautiful home accessories and small furniture for our home. If you drive the street 733 towards San Juan, the World Family shop is at the height of kilometer 17, right next to Can Curune. Then it’s about either passing the accelerator and proceeding quickly – or getting out your credit card and shop.

A nice couple: Alok and Merel founded in the mid-90s their label World Family Ibiza

World Family is actually a family business behind Alok and Merel, standing with their children and grandmother Joke. Alok, who came in the mid-90s from Barcelona to Ibiza, where he met Merel, a former Dutch model, both looking for a new beginning. They made a tepee, where they lived together with their children coming from previous relationships and the three common as patchwork family.

The amber-colored bag is from the new collection. A moderate hippie look that also works well at home

Sweet: In leather framed, colorful clutch with embroidery and fringed pompons

Cool Leather Boots – for a perfect Ibiza look

Their first findings, which they had discovered on a trip to Morocco, they were selling on the beach of Benirras directly from the back of their rickety Mercedes transporter. Later, they managed to get a stand at the famous hippy market of Las Dalias – that was a breakthrough for their current success with a total of three stores in Ibiza and a showroom in Barcelona.

Aren’t they extremely chic? Turquoise peacock chairs and matching side table

In spite of the demand, each part of the World Family Collection is produced 100% handmade, designed by Merel, lovingly decorated with Indian borders and Moroccan beads. And why have Alok and Merel called their label “World Family”? “Because we all have different backgrounds with own traditions, customs and habits. But we all have in common, that we share this beautiful planet called earth.” BvH

I love these colorful cushions!

Interior and Fashion under one roof – to me, this is the perfect store!

Help, I can not decide!

Even from the outside the World Family Store is an eye catcher

In love with this elaborate embroidered dress. Is this possible? Cecilie says: Yes!

Adiós, World Family, we will be back!

Contact World Family Ibiza:

Crta. San Juan, km 17
07810 San Juan, Ibiza

www.worldfamilyibiza.com

The post Ibiza Love: World Family Shop appeared first on My Stylery.

Classical elegance at Eichholtz: I am a fan of the small, velvet green armchairs with fringe bordures

I just came back from Paris, where I went to the trade fair ‘Maison et Objet’, where I researched the newest interior trends, furniture- and accessories-brands for you. Even though I have been to this fair for almost ten years now the impressions still remain amazing: Almost 3.000 exhibitors presented their collections in eight halls on 121.500 (!) square meters. The most known furniture brands like Gervasoni, Ligne Roset, Flamant, Grange, Jonathan Adler and Andrew Martin are represented here as well as the home collections of fashion designers like Ungaro, Ralph Lauren, Cavalli, Missoni or Fendi.

Playful and opulent are the interior accessories, like here at Asiatides, which you can order at my interior shop

I always head to my personal favorites like Asiatides or Versmissen first, because they offer unique, antique items, which are quickly sold out. Moreover I also order furniture and extraordinary interior-accessories for my interior projects. I love to discover new brands. In goose-step and after an exact ‘pattern’ I run through the eight halls and each time I think what the odometer would say after the day.

Available in all variants: Retro light bulbs and illuminants

Especially in hall I, which always intrigues me with its ethnic-eclectic chic I have found a lot of special and individual newcomers. This season’s motto is called ‘wild’: amidst a more and more technological defined world we start to reflect increasingly back to the beginning and nature.

One of the most innovative brands is Sempre from Belgium; they exclusively make their products from natural or recycled materials. Here a wooden bench with linen upholstery

Of course, the rather minimalistic, Scandinavian design is also an essential representative of the motto and therefore takes an important influence on our homestyle. Many companies like Bleu Nature and Sempre almost exclusively work only with natural materials: Wood, fur, stone and wool. Still very current is also the so-called ‘industrial look’: industrial design paired with shabby chic.

Sempre also has a very inspiring fair stand: dive in, submerge and getting new ideas. Wonderful!

My impression though was that the political turmoils and new social unfoldings influence our way of living and the words safe haven and cocooning gain a whole new importance. I have seen incredibly much opulence. A comeback of the baroque forms with lots of splendor, gold and glitter. Maybe a demonstration for the wish for something familiar. A longing for warmth in the big, cold world. BvH

See for yourselves:

Quite something: posh chandelier over baroque velvet armchair

Mirror cabinet and I in the middle

Some exhibitors present their almost extravagant elegance and take you on a little time travelling journey

After I have developed a great preference for the minimalistic modern trend, my big weakness for the opulent style, velvet-covered sofas and gold-coated mirrors with baroque details newly awakened. Strange, isn’t it?

I have to have this golden sofa! Gorgeous!

A cool understatement with chrome and suede made by Eichholtz

In love with these pretty pink roses!

Very cool: Ceiling lamps à la Sputnik!

Too much isn’t enough could be the motto at Eichholtz

Trend 1: Retro

Elements of the 50s and 60s experience their revival and find themselves in a lot that I’ve seen on the fair, for example on this table leg …

… here again as a diningtable. And a comeback for the peacock chair!

Beautiful arrangement with retro vases

Floor lamp in the stylish 60s look. I’ll take it!

How about an occult décor-item such as this raven on a skull?

Magnificent: Antique books and little treasures underneath beautiful glass covers

Great idea and amazing effect: light chains in big light bulbs arranged in simple glass vases

Currently super trendy are pendant luminaires in different shapes, but all made out of glass! So chic!

… Here is another variant …

Wowwww! This ceiling lamp! If only I had room for it …

Trend 2: Glass-Shades

… And again as tribute to the 50s! Very elegant isn’t it?

Wallpapers are still very trendy. Elegantly staged at the fair stand of Wall&Déco

Beautiful furniture-design by Munna from Portugal

Natural materials also at Gervasoni’s …

… and again Gervasoni: love the lampshades. They look like Ufo’s

Eyecatcher: Antolini Bath-Design made in Italy

What an lavish arrangement!

Illuminated hat-parade!

I don’t know where to look first …

Trend 3: Opulence

Presenting exceptional interior accessories underneath glass covers is still en vogue

Busts: not marble but wood

Glass antlers and details arranged on a lambskin

A new label from Poland with a “schwungvoll” German name …

… which creates industrial design. Amongst other things these flower boxes in shabby chic-style

Candles in gold rush from Lifestyle Home Collection

New décor idea: tortoise shell – looking deceptively real but made from polyresin

Big like: these lampshades made of rattan from Lifestyle Home Collection

This arrangement is getting me in the mood for summer

Also new is this limited ‘Madagascar’ edition of the high-class candle label Baobab. Inspired by the African island the scented candles are being wrapped with colorful bast. Handmade unique models in nine different scents

Trend 4: Back to nature!

The gorgeous, Moroccan Berber carpets might have been in every interior magazine by now but still can’t be missing on Maison et Objet

Atmospheric light for a cozy summer evening with lanterns from Morocco

…Moroccan interior design by Zenza

… including matching cushions

The concrete tile is a traditional classic, which just celebrates a comeback. This trend inspired the Israeli label Beija Flor to design their deceptively real synthetic adaptions, useable for floors and as wall or table decoration. MyStylery loves patterns!

TIP:

You can obtain many of the displayed articles at my interior shop ‘BIRGIT VON HEINTZE INTERIORS’. For more questions you can contact me at contact@mystylery.com

The post Maison et Objet: The latest Interior Trends from Paris! appeared first on My Stylery.

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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Rıfat Özbek was born in Istanbul, studied architecture in London, then moved on to study fashion at Central St Martins. In 1985 he started his own fashion line ‘ÖZBEK’ based in London

In 2005, Turkish fashion designer Rifat Özbek was looking for cushions to decorate his country home near Bodrum. Discouraged by the scratchy textiles and synthetic stuffing pervading the home décor marketplace, Özbek and his partner, Erdal Karaman, decided to design their own pillows, an endeavour that led to the launch of Yastik – Its name means ‘cushion’ in Turkish. Now, ten years later, Özbek has shops dedicated solely to cushions in Istanbul, Izmir and London, as well as retail spaces in exclusive department stores such as the ‘Bon Marché’ in Paris.

Rifat Özbek received twice the “Designer of the Year” award by The British Fashion Council. His work has been featured in many exhibitions including the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Pecci Museum in Prato and the Stedeligk Museum in Amsterdam. This pic shows the shop in Istanbul

What sets Özbek’s designs apart: incredible textiles, rich and intricate patterns, and high-quality down stuffing, which includes dried lavender. Özbek’s attention to detail contributes to his unique vision and steady success. While the back of a cushion might be overlooked by others, Özbek treats the back panel as of equal importance. In fact, the designer intends for both sides of the cushion to be used, and the ‘backs’ often feature contrasting patterns or colors. “Just like a small brooch can uplift a dress, cushions are the brooches of sofas”, says Özbek.

“Yastik means cushion in Turkish, and that is quite simply all we sell”, explains Rifat Özbek. For starters, there are one hundred different colors and patterns to choose from

Yastik stores, including one in Istanbul’s Nişantaşi neighbourhood, are an experience all their own, with dozens of varieties of cushions displayed against stark white walls, creating a gallery effect. At any given time, Özbek stocks more than 100 patterns, drawing inspiration from everywhere: the Majorelle Garden in Marrakech, tribal contemporary paintings, and centuries-old mosaics and tiles.

The pillows come in three sizes, in both rectangular and square shapes, and range in price from 60 €

Each cushion design is produced in limited runs. “You don’t want to go to someone’s home and realize you have the same cushion,” he says. “We keep adding new patterns all the time, and there are some cushions, like those made from vintage fabrics like antique velvet, that we only make a single pair of.” BvH

“Cushions are like brooches”

Yastik cushions are produced in limited editions using hand woven Ikats and Suzeni embroideries

Sourced in remote areas of Central Asia and Uzbekistan, these centuries’ old textile designs have their own language and stories are told using colour, weave and pattern

To add the ultimate sensual touch:

A handful of lavender flowers is added to the luxurious down filling in each cushion: “Just enough to suggest a sense of tranquillity.”

A handful of lavender flowers

Patterns and motifs change. It always come back to new designs

Yastik has gathered an exclusive celebrity clientele: Tilda Swinton, Donna Karan, Jemima Khan, Rupert Everett, Femke Janssen, Cindy Sherman, Daphne Guinness, Daniel Craig, Aerin Lauder, Monica Bellucci, Elizabeth Hurley, Lily Allen, Graham Norton

Contact:

Şakayık Sokak 13/1
Teşvikiye, Şişli
İstanbul,Turkey
www.yastikbyrifatozbek.com

The post Rifat Özbek’s Cushion Paradise in Istanbul appeared first on My Stylery.

The livingroom of Anna Jill Lüpertz and Markus Keibel in their cosy old building

When two people move in together, it happens that two lives and two households are mixed together. But what if one doesn’t like the couch of the other one or finds it even ugly? When the Berlin gallery owner Anna Jill Lüpertz and the artist Markus Keibel met each other eight years ago and shortly afterwards decided to create a shared home in Anna’s 170 square meters flat in an old building, there was no approach for a discussion. ART-piece, the apartment was literally empty.

Markus Keibel and Anna Jill Lüpertz

Anna Jill Lüpertz: When I moved in I had nothing except for a bed and a couch.
Markus Keibel: And I brought things that were missing. This has been a good supplement.
MyStylery: Are you always so harmonious?
AJL: Mostly (laughs). The Farrow & Ball-wallpaper in the corridor still comes from the predecessor. We didn’t remove it, because we couldn’t decide on a wall color. I love colors like the one in the living room, a mixture out of old silk and DDR-anteroom-optic.
MK: True, every color is being discussed. I wished myself at least one white room. Nevertheless I was able to assert myself in the kitchen. Basically Anna likes to have more, I like to have less.

Right on the wall the Neon-Installation ’I‘ by Pietro Sanguineti

MS: More or less of what?
AJL: I love small things and so called bits and bots. For example I can’t have enough of vases! Markus always puts everything away and believes that I won’t notice it. It’s important to him, that everything is clear, clean and tidy.
MK: For me it’s quality before quantity. And that the things tell a story. After the end of the war, the empire-secretary has been pulled through whole Western Pomerania in a handcart by my grandmother. It accompanied me like the banana-plant throughout my whole life.
AJL: The other plants we purchased together. Markus got the green thumb.

At her eleventh birthday Anna got portrayed by the big A.R. Penck and gave it to her afterwards. Above the house-bar on an antique sewing table, in which Anna still stores needle and thread

MS: What is important to both of you in your home?
AJL: To me, the bed is the most important place. This is where I work, here I live. And books…
MK: … Exactly. Our books are our joint smorgasbord. I find apartments without books disconcerting. This is also an expression of quality of life.

After the end of the war, Markus grandmother moved the antique secretary in a small wagon hundreds of kilometers

MS: Do you always agree on art or are there different points of views?
AJL: When I met Markus, I was afraid, that his art could be bad trash. Then I secretly googled him and was totally relieved afterwards.
MK: I’m concept-artist; this is the contrary of what influenced Anna in her childhood by the art of her father. Art is a new issue of attitude, not of the taste. BvH

On the commode you can see Anna’s vase collection, above A.R. Penck: ‘Anna with horse’ of 1980. “My horse was much bigger in reality”, says Anna laughing

Above the sofa an ink-drawing of Peter Stauss. On the right and beneath sketches of Anna’s father Markus Lüpertz

“I clearly have a bio-craze”, says Anna about the loaded ecologically correct content of the shelves in the kitchen

A present of Anna’s stepmother: kitchen-chairs by Arne Jacobsen

On the wall photographs of the family

Anna on her balcony in her apartment in Berlin-Moabit

In the floor Anna stores the rests of the glass menagerie of her grandmother: “I’m especially sorry for the emaciated Chernobyl-fawn”, says Anna Lüpertz and grins

In the book shelve a small aquarelle, a present of Anna’s stepmother. “She says this is how I look when I drink red wine.”

Cozy corner in the bedroom, beneath a sketch of Peter Stauss. “On the left hangs an old line, which Markus pasted over. An early work”, says Anna Lüpertz winking

Impressive stucco, no matter where you look at

In the bedroom a new work of Markus Keibel: Ultra Amnesia, ash, gouache, pigment, acryl on canvas, 2015

James Lee Byars: ‘Letter to my mother’, beneath a Chinese commode with a ceramic sculpture by Veronika Brovall

On the Asian cupboard in the guest room you can see a picture from the family property: Still life with Spanish women

Photographic work by Robert Montgomery: ‚Forster-Fire-Poem‘ from 2014

In the vitrine that is placed in the floor a work of Markus Keibel: ‘Lampedusa’. The graphical wall paper behind originates back to the previous resident, the actor Inga Busch

Black and silver: a work by Markus Keibel. Without a title, acrylic paint on aluminum. Markus spotted the old dining table in a pub, above a lamp by Moooi

The skateboard collection of Markus Keibel, who attended European championships when he was younger and also drives nowadays: “Those skateboards stand here for a reason, not just for aspects of decoration”, emphasizes Anna and laughs

Contact:

Anna Jill Lüpertz Gallery
Potsdamerstr. 98a
10785 Berlin
www.ajlgallery.com

Berlin Art Week:

Tableau, 2000-2007, Artist Book by Pola Sieverding
Wednesday, the 16th of September
Potsdamerstraße 109 / Kurfürstenstraße 28, 10785 Berlin
from 8 to midnight.

Opening hours:
September 17/18/19, noon-10pm
September 20, noon-6pm

New exhibition:
Der Falke glüht am Firmament – A Solo Show by Harald Hermann
Exhibition:
12th of September – 31st of October 2015

Opening hours:
Tuesday – Saturday 12 – 6 pm and upon appointment

Special opening hours during Berlin Art Week:
16th of September 12am – 9pm
17th of September 11am – 9pm
18th/19th of September 12am – 7pm
20th of September 12am – 6pm

The post A visit to Anna Jill Lüpertz appeared first on My Stylery.

Jil Sander once resided in this beautiful villa in Hamburg Pöseldorf. Now Susann Eschenfelder lives here since ten years together with her husband and Parson Terrier Nelly

„There’s only a very little market in Germany for what I’m doing”, explains designer Susann Eschenfelder in her Hamburg atelier and points on her extravagant, elaborate pillows. “The Germans prefer a rather reserved interior style and don’t really like experiments.” That’s the reason why she spends the weekdays in London, as there are lots of interior design bureaus with international clients.

Designer Susann Eschenfelder in her Hamburg residence

Susann Eschenfelders works are total artworks that consist out of high-quality fabrics. Those are embroidered with semi-precious stones, gold- and silver threads, nacre and tortoiseshell or elaborate veiled with fur. Of course everything is individually made by hand and specially tailored to customers. Like a cushion lined with sable and embroidered with gold threads for the yacht of a Russian obligator.

“I like animal printings and my leo-sofa”, says Susann Eschenfelder. “The snake- or croc patterns are embroidered, no animals had to die for them.”

Such a luxury costs in the higher, four-digit area. Susann Eschenfelder designed an elaborate embroidery for the wall with suiting silk curtains for an apartment in London at the Hydepark. And the private cinema of the client got a silken wall covering with filigree cherry blossom branches in Chinese stile. Of course, the fabric-refiner doesn’t say anything about the names of her clients or about the prices.

The cushions of the Eschenfelder-collection are unique pieces – prices are based on the project depending on the working effort and use of material: “At special prices the price scale isn’t limited.”

One of Susann Eschenfelders favorite furniture is a vintage Pucci-fabric covered French sofa

“The individuality and the exceptionality are very important to my clients”, explains Susann Eschenfelder, who creates not only romantic but also modern motives. “Nobody of my client wants something the others already got.” Thereby the Saarlander already made the experience that money and taste inevitably don’t have something in common: “I’m always happy when my pillows complement a succeeded spatial installation.”

“I like watching my French Chinoiserie”, says Eschenfelder about the wall panel that was painted on paper in the 50’s

Eschenfelder, who worked for Jil Sander and Wolfgang Joop for years, loves graphical-floral and colorful Pucci-fabrics, throughout her colorful lampshades are being made – meanwhile sought objects at her clients. The vintage-fabrics aren’t easy to find and accordingly expensive.

On an antique French desk Suann Eschenfelder decorates an 80’s candleholder from Migeon and Chinese Foo Dogs

It can take weeks until a pillow is finished, depending on effort and embroideries. “And then especially the German customers come to me and ask, why the cushions are so expensive”, says Susann Eschenfelder. “My foreign clientele appreciates the craft and rejoices the beauty of extraordinary materials. And isn’t it wonderful to afford oneself something to create a luxury surrounding?” BvH

The designer spotted the Foo Dogs that stand infront of the antique fireplace in London

Susann Eschenfelder loves a homy atmosphere in her studio

Parson Terrier Nelly deeply relaxed

Great contrast: Golden frame meets purple fabric

Here everything is just right down to the details, even the door handle

Contact:
www.susanneschenfelder.com

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