As most of you know, I´m born German although I have lived in Scandinavia for the past 16 years, and my family still lives in Germany. So last week I went down to Kassel, my hometown, to celebrate my mum´s 70th birthday. And I even took a little trip further south to Frankfurt to visit an old friend and explore the city a bit more.
The most distinctive feature of Frankfurt is without any doubt the impressive skyline of the city that is both unique in Germany and gives you the feeling of actually being in America. The city is the financial Capital of Europe and seat of the European Central Bank, and most of the skyscrapers are inhabited by big German and international banks. What is more, Frankfurt is home to the second largest airport in Europe, so the population of the city is very international and you find lots of museums, exhibitions and cultural events of all kinds.
I wanted to explore the craft and design scene a bit, and found that Frankfurt-Sachsenhausen and the area around the Brückenstrasse houses lots of interesting small shops run by independent designers or art co-operatives. My favourite one is called
"Ich war ein Dirndl" and offers a very interesting selection of handmade clothes, art, accessories and stationary.
When I´m visiting shops like this, I´m always searching for inspiration of how to present my products. Whilst I feel I have developped my own very distinctive style over the years in my work, I still struggle to present it when taken out of the context of my own shop. The right packaging and presentation is so important to make the product appealing to potential buyers and make them pay the price you deserve for your handmade goodies, and it´s even important to tell the story behind the product.
I found these small notebooks made from vintage paperware very intriguing, nicely wrapped in compostable cellophane bags and the story printed on the sleeve. Well done, so I bought a couple of them, makers are called "June and August" and you can find them
on facebook.
I even liked these pictures from the same shop very much, a clever combination of vintage fabric and quirky print - just what I like! I´ll buy one of these next time I visit I think.
Another shop with a very interesting concept is
Designe, Kleine! in the same area, where designers and makers can hire a box for 20 Euro per month to display and sell their creations. I might actually approach them and give it a try, just to test the German market!
"Designe, Kleine!" offers everything from quirky stationery over textiles, jewellery, ceramics and glass in the shop and it´s in shops like these where you find the best presents.
After my little shopping round we walked along the river Main to the Liebieghaus, which was built in 1896 as a retirement home for the Bohemian textile manufacturer Baron Heinrich von Liebieg. The city of Frankfurt acquired the building in 1908 and devoted it to the sculpture collection. The museum includes ancient
Greek, Roman and Egytian sculpture, as well as Medieval, Baroque, Renaissance and Classicist pieces, and works from the Far East.
You even find a very cosy cafe in the backyard, with a lovely selection of cakes that I can only recommend to visit should you guest the city.
Well, that was all for now - see you soon :-)
