about

After managing nearly 100 exhibitions focusing on site-specific art and fathering three children, my career took an exciting, new turn. I founded möbelle & umbeau to pursue my passion for interior design and accommodate my new living situation.

After getting divorced, I navigated the waters of starting a patchwork family. My new partner and I had to find an apartment near my ex. In our trendy inner-city neighborhood, the choice was limited, and we knew we’d have to make some sacrifices. Eventually, we settled on an apartment that, at first glance, seemed too small to unite our two households under one roof. But with the help of some pretty radical refurbishing, we made it work.

After remodeling our apartment, each family member had their own bedroom and a piece of custom furniture to go with it. Until the third child came into the picture. Now a blended family, we found ourselves back up against the same question — do we continue carving up our living space or try to find a bigger apartment? Berlin's housing shortage, the cost of moving... oof. So, I returned to the drawing board. This time, I was even more daring — one of the kid's rooms ended up being only cupboard-wide at its narrowest point. The small, wooden architectural construct that complements the room still puts a smile on her face every day.

With all the bits and bobs, the optimization cost around €12,000. Based on our calculations, if we had moved, if we factored in the cost of moving, renovating, rent increase, new furniture etc. we would have paid about twice that in the long run. Not to mention uprooting our children's lives again — a price far too high, in our books...

Ultimately, grappling with these spacial challenges was a profoundly fulfilling experience. So I gave up managing my tiny art space to focus on helping other people who needed to change the tapestry but not the scenery. Because besides gifting people space, spreading joy is still the most rewarding part of my daily business.