Escentric Bedfellows
It’s the coolest store in Berlin, maybe even the world. Escentric Molecules’ stockist, Andreas Murkudis, is where Geza Schoen goes browsing for green trousers and brown paper hats… Here are a few of his favourite things.
“Andreas has an incredible eye. He finds the best things you could imagine, and some you could never imagine, like the massive leather teepee he had in here one time costing €60 000. It was so big it couldn’t fit in at first and had to be customised. Andreas used to be the director of the Museum der Dinge (the museum of things) here in Berlin. You hear people using the word ‘curate’ for stores all the time these days, but Andreas really does curate the stuff in here. It’s a beautiful space, enormous, with high windows and ceiling somewhere up in the clouds. It used to be the old printing works for the Tagesspiegel newspaper. And it smells good – you can just catch the faint background aroma of old, worn-down wooden floors.”
In Geza’s imaginary shopping basket...
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01Daffodil lamp ‘Ssymmank’
Mawa Design“This is like something from The Magic Roundabout. Zebedee would have loved it, a daffodil light that bounces from side to side if you give it a little push. Who wouldn’t want one of these in the apartment?”
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02Green pure new wool suit
Mr Smith“Soft to touch, comfortable to wear, cut by craftsmen – it’s made in a family workshop in Naples. But maybe the best thing about it is that it’s a great shade of green. Turns out I am into green. Strangely. I’m wearing green(ish) trousers right now by Balenciaga. I got them here at Andreas Murkudis years ago and loved them so much that I went back and bought 7 more. They are pretty much all I wear.”
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03Tower of china
Reichenbach Porzellan“This is like a wedding cake, each layer getting smaller and smaller till you reach the top. You can buy the boxes seperately. I know because I actually have the top three, the littlest ones. I use them at home for storing paperclips and so on. I’m tempted by this big flat one at the bottom. But what would I put in it? Oh yeah - Domino’s pizza.”
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04Limited edition Arizona Exquisite sandals
Birkenstock“To me Birkenstocks are like a concentrate of bad taste. But this pair are genius. Andreas designed them and he turned everything bottle green. I mean everything, including the metal buckles and the soles, which he also changed from cork to leather – instantly much nicer. Bottle green leather Birkies – I mean, come on!”
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05Brown paper Sou’wester
Comme des Garçons“Wow, a brown paper hat covered in plastic that costs €245. Let me put it on your head Aurora. Hey! You know what? It works.”
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06‘Carpet Reloaded’ in green re-dyed wool
Golran“Golran is a really old Iranian company. One of the things they do is find a vintage carpet, then they bleach it, then they re-dye it. They call it ‘carpet reloaded’. Yes on one level these are just old, messed-about-with carpets. But they look like Abstract Expressionist paintings. I especially like ... the green one.”
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07Copper-coloured leather shoes
Marsèll“These look like they could have come out of NASA but they are soft enough to be your slippers. “
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08Meditation tablet
Kostas Murkudis and Gustav van Treeck“It was Andreas’ brother, Kostas, who designed this. But what is it? I’m gonna have to ring him and find out ... ‘Kostas? Hey I’m in the store and I’m looking at this block of glass with circles and dimples on it... . Yeah. A what? ... Ok!’ He says it’s a meditation tablet. Based on an antique Japanese tray used in the tea ceremony. Who wants an Apple tablet when you could have this beautiful thing around the place instead?”
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Andreas Murkudis Store 81 is at Potsdamer Straße 81, 10785 Berlin. www.andreasmurkudis.com
