Book: Freunde von Freunden

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Book: Freunde von Freunden
Artist ’Nomad’ on the cover of ’Freunde von Freunden’, the new book by the German online interview magazine of the same name. It documents the personal spaces of Berlin creatives through photographs and interviews
(Image credit: Alex Flach)

Freunde von Freunden (Friends of Friends), the German online interview magazine, has managed to straddle both the digital and printed worlds this December, with the release of its first eponymous title.

Founded by Berlin-based design studio NoMoreSleep in 2009, the website invites readers into the personal spaces of Berlin creatives, which are documented through a series of photographs and interviews. Now the homes and working environments of the first 28 individuals featured on the website have been compiled into a 336-page book, accompanied by narratives in both English and German.

'We wanted to create a portrait of our friends and creative folks in non-linear careers, which you never usually see in the media', explains Frederik Frede, co-founder of both the website and NoMoreSleep. The result is a tightly edited, yet inexhaustible look into the lives of Berliners, in which the pared down elegance of the enviable high-ceilinged, low-rent residences, which permeate the city's districts, are beautifully portrayed.

Subjects range from artists such as Nomad, whose enigmatic shoot in his Löwenpalais apartment provides the book with its memorable cover, to art collector Christian Boros (who is also manager of Distanz, the book's publisher) whose home, a 1942 former Second World War air raid shelter, is littered with art by prominent artists such as Olafur Eliasson.

With both interviews and photographs generated by a circle of Berlin-based friends and acquaintances, the book successfully differentiates itself from the glut of similar 'personal space' models. Describing the unique 'friends of friends' concept, Adriano Sack notes in the book's foreword: 'anyone who is photographed in the book today will propose the next friend tomorrow; anyone who - as a reader - discovers the website today can be activated to serve as an interviewer tomorrow.'

The Freunde von Freunden website expanded worldwide in September this year, with permanent editorial teams set up in London, Paris, New York, Stockholm and Sao Paulo, as well as the addition of an iPad app. Plans are in the pipeline for more books.

A spread from the chapter on illustrator Olaf Hajek’s apartment in Berlin-Mitte

A spread from the chapter on illustrator Olaf Hajek’s apartment in Berlin-Mitte

(Image credit: Ailine Liefeld)

A spread from the chapter on owner of Bread Exchange, Malin Elmlid’s ’Altbau’ apartment

A spread from the chapter on owner of Bread Exchange, Malin Elmlid’s ’Altbau’ apartment

(Image credit: Ailine Liefeld)

A spread from the chapter on artist Xenia Hausner’s studio in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg

A spread from the chapter on artist Xenia Hausner’s studio in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg

(Image credit: Ailine Liefeld)

Muthesius House in Berlin-Grunewald

A spread from the chapter on gallerist and art collector Thomas and Harriet Andrae’s home, Muthesius House in Berlin-Grunewald

(Image credit: Alex Flach)

Thomas Andrae’s study

Thomas Andrae’s study

(Image credit: Ailine Liefeld)

A spread from the chapter on Malin Elmid’s apartment

A spread from the chapter on Malin Elmid’s apartment

(Image credit: Ailine Liefeld)

A spread from the chapter on art lawyer and collector Peter Raue’s apartment in Berlin-Mitte

A spread from the chapter on art lawyer and collector Peter Raue’s apartment in Berlin-Mitte

(Image credit: Ailine Liefeld)

Peter Raue in his apartment

Peter Raue in his apartment

(Image credit: Ailine Liefeld)

Peter Raue’s book-filled corridor

Peter Raue’s book-filled corridor

(Image credit: Alline Llefeld)

Art director André Wyst and children’s shop owner Ines Colmorgen in their home in Berlin-Mitte

Art director André Wyst and children’s shop owner Ines Colmorgen in their home in Berlin-Mitte

(Image credit: Ailine Liefeld)

US Interior designer and film producer Andrea Willson’s garden in Landhaus, Potsdam-Sacrow

US Interior designer and film producer Andrea Willson’s garden in Landhaus, Potsdam-Sacrow

(Image credit: Ailine Liefeld)

Entrepreneur Conrad Fritzch in his loft in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg

Entrepreneur Conrad Fritzch in his loft in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg

(Image credit: Alline Llefeld)

Dj and producer, Dennis ’Kaos’ Kaun in West-Berlin

Dj and producer, Dennis ’Kaos’ Kaun in West-Berlin

(Image credit: Ailine Liefeld)

Artist and cover model Nomad

Artist and cover model Nomad

(Image credit: Alex Flach)

Illustrator, Frank Höhne in his apartment in Berlin-Kreuzberg

Illustrator, Frank Höhne in his apartment in Berlin-Kreuzberg

(Image credit: Philipp Langenheim)

Architect and designer, Axel van Exel in his loft in Berlin-Neukölln

Architect and designer, Axel van Exel in his loft in Berlin-Neukölln

(Image credit: Ailine Liefeld)

A spread from the chapter on fashion stylist Kirsten Hermann’s Berlin apartment, reflecting her two great passions

A spread from the chapter on fashion stylist Kirsten Hermann’s Berlin apartment, reflecting her two great passions: Margiela shoes and Frederike Helwig photographs

(Image credit: Margiela shoes and Frederike Helwig)

A spread from the chapter on photographer Alex Flach’s apartment in Berlin-Mitte

A spread from the chapter on photographer Alex Flach’s apartment in Berlin-Mitte

(Image credit: Alex Flach)

The converted bunker also houses their extensive art collection

A spread from the chapter on art collectors Karen and Christian Boros’s Berlin home. The converted bunker also houses their extensive art collection

(Image credit: Ailine Liefeld)

Designer and founder of fashion label A.D.DEERTZ, Wibke Deertz in her Berlin apartment

Designer and founder of fashion label A.D.DEERTZ, Wibke Deertz in her Berlin apartment

(Image credit: Wibke Deertz)