Photography by Pia Held. Courtesy of Apotheke Perfume
The coronavirus—and the quarantine that has come with it—has drastically changed life in Berlin. Rising spring temperatures usually draw the German capital’s inhabitants out of their apartments, out to events and into shops in their droves, but owing to the global pandemic, Berliners—just like millions of people the world over—are staying inside, stocking up on necessities and trying to find ways to pass the time. While self-isolating and social distancing are the best bet to flatten the curve and to prevent health services from being overwhelmed, this also means that many creatives and small businesses are suffering financially as a result. Still, the city is nothing if not resourceful. SLEEK spoke to some of Berlin’s creative entrepreneurs, who have adapted their skills to get the city through this crisis.
Perfumer turned hand sanitiser producer
Courtesy of Apotheke Perfume.
For many of us, the coronavirus has been a learning experience, pushing at the limits of what we are capable of—this can definitely be said for Jessica Hannan of Berlin’s small-batch and custom perfumery, Apotheke Perfume. As the city started to shutter its doors last week and gatherings were postponed or called-off, the British-born perfumer found herself sitting at home with enough stock for two cancelled events. At first, it seemed as though the wasted supplies would be chalked up to one of the losses of the disaster, but while conscientiously applying hand sanitiser, she realised that it smelled a lot like one of the main ingredients of perfume: alcohol. “I looked up the ingredients in hand sanitiser and found out that the active ingredient was denatured ethanol, which is actually what is in perfume,” Hannan says. “It is basically 100 percent proof vodka, but it has been denatured so it won’t get you drunk. It just has to be above 70 percent to work.”
Hannan found that she could relatively easily make travel-sized hand sanitisers from her perfume supplies one—of the reasons France commissioned luxury perfumers Coty and LVMH to switch over their scent production to hospital hand sanitisers last week—but staying true to the Apotheke brand, her bottles also contain essential oils.
“Essential oils have anti-viral and antiseptic properties that most people don’t know about,” she says. “But also other things that are even more special and important right now, like calming properties. I put chamomile in mine which like the Uber Plus, if lavender is Uber— it is really calming and special.”
At first, Hannan was only going to make enough for her neighbours, but soon found herself inundated with requests from her immediate circle. In order to minimise risk, she packages her sanitisers—as well aromatherapy oils—while wearing gloves and a mask before putting them on her window sill for local customers to pick up on their way to the supermarket. While the perfumer is happy to produce hand sanitisers to help the voracious demand that has left most store-shelves empty of them, Hannan cautions that people should be washing their hands whenever they can and only relying on the portable disinfectant when they are out of the house.
Fashion designer turned face mask maker
Courtesy of the designer.
As stocks of medical face masks have depleted worldwide, Berlin fashion designer and sewing teacher Ylenia Gortana has turned to making the much sought after item amid the crisis.“Like everyone else, I was panicking and thinking, ‘What am I going to do we going to do now?’” she tells SLEEK. “I heard that the masks are sold out, so I researched on how to make them and what material they were using in the Ppf2 ones that protect against the virus. I found the material in Bauhaus, the construction shop. I am improvising from there.”
While Gortana first started making her masks using fabric scraps for the covering, she has seen such a demand that she not only had to restock on fabric, but also has enlisted her studio mates from Kreuzberg’s Unit 26 to field some of the orders and encourages those with sewing skills to start their own productions. “I don’t even care about the money anymore, people really want them and need them so everyone who can make them should make them,” she says.
Although using a mask when making necessary public interactions can minimise risk, Gortana stresses that it is not a go-ahead to stop self-isolating and social distancing. “This is not a free pass to walk around without worries,” she says. “It minimises things but it doesn’t mean that you are safe.” The designer also recommends following World Health Organisation guidelines for how to use masks, such as only touching the elastic parts and frequently cleaning it.
Juice bar turned milkman-style delivery service
Food is something that is definitely on a lot of people’s minds right now as shoppers empty the pasta and canned tomato aisles of grocery stores. Nutrition, however, has also come into focus. Back To the Roots, or Bttr, a Kreuzberg juice, nut milk, and adaptogen cafe was faced with the challenge of supplying immune-boosting concoctions to their customers, without risking contact. This led them to digitalise fast and rely on bike messenger services to act as modern milk men, dropping off bottles on Berlin doorsteps without physical contact.
“It happened pretty much overnight,” Janne Kaas, Bttr’s founder tells SLEEK. “When the first news hit that this was going to be an aggressive virus people started ordering and since then it has exponentially increased.”
In order to deliver the juices, Kaas turned to the Crow Cycle Courier Collective, which focuses on low-emission delivery, as well as sharing messengers with neighboring café, Albatross, which has also switched to a delivery system to avoid contact. But in order to keep the shop running, the staff has isolated into two teams that work together, taken extra sanitation measures and naturally, upped their intake of immune-boosting shots with turmeric and ginger. “We’re really grateful for the support,” Kaas says. “And I hope this means that the city’s small businesses don’t have to close.”
A lot of people are facing tough times during the coronavirus outbreak, but if you can afford to support local businesses take the time to check out their social media accounts to see if they have tailored their products and services for the quarantine.