We Love…Vintage Berlin

Last week we went to Berlin for a long weekend for Adam’s birthday present. Chosen for its interesting history, fab food and great style…it sure lived up to it.

Fist up, is the apartment I booked for him. Browsing through lots of Ikea filled apartments, I just couldn’t resist booking one called Back to the 70s. It was covered in original wallpaper as well as an amazing mural from the 70s.

We started day 1 with a hot chocolate, a waffle (the Germans make such good cakes…I couldn’t stop eating!) and consulted our guide to vintage shopping.

Vintage shops in Berlin split into 3 categories really. Firstly there’s the warehouse spaces that are crammed to the rafters with stock, merchandised by product type. The clothing is very young and hip, and is very similar (if not almost the same) as the items you buy in the UK vintage wholesalers. This one called Colours was huge! Long boots, faux fur coats, costume jewellery, denim and rails and rails of dresses. The era was mainly 80s/90s with a bit of 60s/70s thrown in- there was very little, if any earlier items.

Then there’s the boutique shops. My favourite by far was called Dress Code. With small rooms with handpicked womenswear – it was both cool yet elegant at the same time. The counter area formed a great working bench to make, repair and customise jewellery. It was obviously more pricey than the other type of store, but it was worth it. I love the customised glasses, the horns displaying necklaces and the ice cream necklace was AMAZING!

There are a lot of second-hand shops which feel more lile a boutique than ours are. With some vintage mixed in, you could buy something a few years old or from the 1960s. One we went into was merchandised by size which I loved.

Dotted on the streets were random markets. We stumbled upon this one filled with cool desk lights and small furniture.

Adam loved this shop called Blau 4. They had made lamps from old car parts and used bottle tops for shades. I’m not sure if they had done it themselves or bought it in, but the finish was brilliant (and gave Adam lots of ideas)

My favourite shop was called Pony Hutchen. Filled with a mixture of fashion and home, industrial and vintage, it was an alladin’s cave. Free standing kitchenettes next to old school lockers makes me happy!

Germany is known for its mid-century design so naturally there are shops with higher end, well designed pieces. We drooled over Stilspiel, all that orange, rosewood and lighting was enough to make anyone go weak at the knees.

Then there’s the flea markets on the Sunday. WOW…it was raining so only a few stalls opened which were literally thrown together. Who would think that in boxes of what appeared rubbish you would find Danish pottery? (Make sure you haggle!) We bought a lot and carefully took it home in our suitcases. Never has someone been so paranoid about their case! We will be keeping a few items and the rest will be in our shop: Your Vintage Life soon.

There’s so much more to Berlin than vintage of course.

The markets are stacked with glorious home-grown food and even cooler posters.

The planters on the streets inspired me for my garden.

The food is amazing (have I mentioned the cakes!). We ate Lebanese food which was affordable and yummy under these gigantic glass lights.

Of course there is the history. This café was filled with old newspapers and flags to highlight the once divide, and with their ambient tunes and (yet more) cake it was a great relax after the flea markets.

Overall we had a great time…even finding the time to get our piccies done, in a retro photo booth of course!

 

 

Have you heard about our new venture VintageBizClub? It is a year long distance learning version of our popular Vintage Academy, broken into 4 terms of 12 weeks that covers all (and more) that your would learn at our one day events.

We have a scholarship to give away. All you have to do to apply for this scholarship is email us as info@vintageacademy.co.uk tellingl us about yourself, why you would love to win a place at our club, how you would benefit and how it could change your business!

Please label the email VintageBizClub Scholarship. Remember to share your website address, social pages and anything relevent to help your application. We will choose the worthy winner on Monday 7th April and announce it at #vintagebizhour on Twitter 9-10pm.

So want to join our club? Find our more on the website and if you have any questions, ask away!