Lower East

Why not give yourself a New Year present?

Berlin is a vibrant metropole, a melting pot of young entrepreneurs and fresh ­ideas, funky design and inspiring inviting atmospheres. A perfect spot to be diving into, make you smile, think of old and new ideas, wonder about how funny & crazy some ideas can be – and simply enjoy the love for new, small and bigger beautiful things.

We invite you on an intense 2day safari into this urban jungle with its many creative ­spaces, cool exhibition venues, cosy cafés & restaurants, sparkling start-ups, simply ­beautiful ­magazine- and bookshops and just amazing corners. We have put together an ­inspiring ­journey for you to get a powerful bouquet of the colorful start-up flower power of this city.

This Urban Safari is taking place April 4 & 5, 2013 – and it’s a co-creative initiative of changels (Bern) and Lower East (Berlin and Copenhagen).

Helle Marietta and Jørgen Smidstrup have moved their design company, ­Lower East, from Copenhagen to Berlin by the end of 2011 and have been ­exploring the “arm, aber sexy“ city ever since. Matti Straub-Fischer, from ­changels, have joined the two for visits on several occasions and insisted on ­creating an opportunity for others to this ­diverse mix of creativity, design and ­playfulness. Together they arranged the first succesful Urban Safari in sunny and joyful days in November.

Here is the deal: 

• We will start on Thursday morning, April 4, 2013, at 10:00 in our classroom (tba), at a ­coworking space in Berlin.
• We will be a group of 12-15 curious and interesting people like yourself. ­Invitations will be spread with sure hands in Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Scandinavia.
• We will be safaring on bikes, and on foot, by U-Bahn and again on bikes – the most fun way to explore and stop and go again.
• We will have time to follow our noses, our instincts, enjoy the crème-de-la-crème of the Lower East and changels exploration so far in this town.
• We will have the most wonderful classroom and meeting space, where we can listen and discuss – and share inspiration and our inputs.
• We will have time to reflect, to talk, to draw, to sketch, to smoke, to poke, to laugh and to enjoy.
• We will be done by Friday afternoon, April 5, 2013 at 17:00. Here we finish up at a (start-up and) very cosy winebar NOR (not only riesling) in Kreuzberg with a glass of ­farewell wine.

After the Urban Safari, you will receive a rich visual ­documentation on our days in Berlin.
Matti, Helle and Jørgen will be your scouts, hosts and the facilitators for the Urban ­Safari.

Together with Camillos Paladar, we will all put up a fantastic dinner on ­Thursday night. ­Camillos Paladar is a pop-up (mostly in Copenhagen, Berlin and Bern) ­restaurant with ­gorgeous food and remarkable wines. That alone is worth the ­journey. By chance, Mr. Camillo is similar to Mr. Smidstrup.

Are you ready for this adventure with us?

Here is the small-printed stuff:

• You sign up with an e-mail to Jørgen Smidstrup or Matti Straub. ASAP – it is first come, first serve.
• You book your own flight or travels to Berlin.
• You book your own overnight stays. We ­suggest you some beautiful places like Hüttenpalast, Casa Camper or IMA Lofts. We can get you in contact with some cool private flats as well.
• Your costs will be CHF 850 / €700 (as a private or a one man/woman company) or CHF 1150 / € 950 (if the company pays) for the two days in the urban jungle with food and drinks ­included for the time between Thursday, 10:00 to Friday, 17:00. Bike rentals, U-Bahn ­tickets, and the meeting and kitchen facilities are covered in this.

Empty your head. Bring comfortable clothes and shoes, your notebook, some kind of a camera, some coloured pens, an umbrella (just in case) and your toothbrush.

And if you want to peek, here are a few marbles…
www.huettenpalast.de, www.imalofts.com, www.casacamper.com/berlin
www.prinzessinnengarten.net, www.betahaus.de, www.wostel.de

And if you like, you can of course invite a dear friend or your partner to enjoy the rest of the weekend with you in this mind-boggling place.

Feel free to share this invitation to other potential safarists – and to contact us for any ­questions.

changels 
Matti Straub-Fischer (matti@changels.ch)

Lower East 
Helle Marietta (helle@lowereast.dk)
Jørgen Smidstrup (js@lowereast.dk)