Hanging out with the Messemaennchen….
The mitteldeutsche handwerksmesse is currently taking place, along with the ‘Haus Garten Freizeit‘ trade fair, so if you are in need of a new Schornstein (chimney) or fancy trying a new hobby, then this is the place to be this weekend – the fair ends on the 19th.
Kim and I went along to speak to some of the craftsmen and craftswomen taking part in the handwerksmesse as the May-June issue of LZ has the theme ‘Crafty Leipzig’. We managed to meet lots of interesting folks, along with some interesting animals…we also got a wave from the Messemaennchen (see LZ issue 16 May June 2010), who posed for some photos for us.
And, naturally, after a fair few hours of walking around (pardon the pun), we partook of some of central Germany’s finest food and drink offerings and enjoyed a hearty bison bratwurst washed down with some delicious German pils. We can definitely confirm that the German craft and manufacturing spirit is alive & kicking in central Germany!
Forget all those fashion bloggers - the Messemaennchen is the essence of style! Photo credit: Christina Nielsen-Marsh
Marc Binder Scores One for Passion
Studio 54, photo: Maeshelle West-Davies
A year ago Marc Binder would have never expected to be doing this interview. He was just doing what he loved; decorating. With his own flat finished, he looked for something else to turn his attention to.
His job is to buy energy from renewable sources to sell on the energy exchange. His territory is Germany and he has a home office. Sometimes the bed is closer than the computer, so he thought it’d be nice to take a studio as an office. Once he had decorated it, it seemed a waste to use it as an office, so he offered it up as his own little guest flat for incoming visitors. Just to see what would happen, he placed it on several accomodation sites. And the rest, as they say, is history. In no time at all, he was booked between 70-80% of the time.
Since the space was a studio and the street number was 54, he decided to call it Studio 54, but you won’t find any disco balls there. Instead you enter to a tastefully designed space where you immediately feel at home.
Marc Binder enjoys a cup of tea at Studio 54, photo: Maeshelle West-Davies
In January he won Landlord of the Year 2011 from Home Away in the category of creative services. Of course he did! He has a great concept. The space is centrally located and because you are in a normal residential building, you feel like you live here rather than like you’re a tourist. The flat has a fully equipped kitchen, dining area, flat screen tv that swivels to your view no matter where you are, a full bed, a couch that folds out into another full bed, use of two bikes, free coffee and tea, wi-fi, plus free pick-up service from the airport or train station. How’s THAT for service!
Marc says that since receiving the award his hits have gone from 150 a month to 1500. Things have been going so well on Reimannstr that he’s opened another place on Paul List St. He really likes making people happy and they definitely feel at home in his space. He says the guests fall into a wide range and come from all over the world. He’s had people in for the Goth Festival to a group of four women from the US and UK who studied here and come back for a reunion every five years. Being on the German holiday rental site Fewo Direkt automatically puts you on the Home Away site and people from all over can easily find it.
One year later, and 10 years younger, he’s franchising the idea under the name of Studio 44 throughout Germany. So now you can open your own in your city and benefit from his success and he still gets to have his passion. Each location will be unique and yet recognizable through the same bedding and color scheme.
Festival of Lights 2011
Last night we went along to the Festival of Lights, to celebrate, along with many other Leipzigers, the amazing events in 1989 that led to the fall of communism across eastern Europe. Joining us via satellite link-up from Danzig were the Polish Baltic Philharmonic orchestra, who gave a concert which was screened onto the front of the Opera. The effect was quite impressive, as images from the concert hall were interspersed with historical photos from the period.
As with previous festivals, Leipzigers were invited to create an ‘89′ out of tea-lights, and short speeches were given by the Mayor of Leipzig, Burkhard Jung and Dr. Marek Prawda, the Polish Ambassador for Germany.
Watching the Polish Baltic Philharmonic perform live from Danzig. Photo credit: Saskia Rupp
The concert from Danzig was shown along with historical images from the struggle for freedom in Poland. Photo credit: Saskia Rupp.