H.W.Chen Life blog: Living in Berlin x interview 021: a shop where you can find cozy and lovely clothes

Mina，德國人，父母來自韓國。目前有自己的品牌：Mandutrap，以及一個店面位在Kreuzberg，KleiderSchrank mode & möbel。

Mina comes from Korea but was born and grew up in Germany. She has moved to Berlin for about 8 years. Now she has her own brand, Mandutrap, and a mode shop located in Kreuzberg, KleiderSchrank mode & möbel.

為什麼在柏林？

Why did you move to Berlin?

在德國北部的小鎮長大，然後在漢堡的一所應用科學大學(Fachhochschule)唸書，有兩個學期回到在韓國的家鄉 - 首爾唸書，非常喜歡在那裡的生活，所以畢業之後也想要繼續在大城市裡生活，於是就來到了柏林。

I grew up in a small town in north Germany. Later I moved to Hamburg because of my education in FH (Fachhochschule).I have lived in Seoul, my hometown in Korea, for 2 semesters to study. I enjoy the atmosphere and surrounding to live in big city. Therefore, after graduation, I decided to move to the capital, Berlin. So, here I am.

喜歡柏林嗎？

Do you like Berlin?

喜歡啊。來了七八年，還是喜歡這裡。但是當然也有不喜歡的地方，例如說沒太陽的冬天，灰灰的天空，路上喝醉酒或是一些古怪的人上門來問些奇怪問題，哈哈哈。

I like it. Though I’ve been here for almost 8 years, but I still like this city. Of course there will be some time that I don’t like here, for example, the winter without sunshine but the gray sky, the drunk people on the street and weird people who came into my shop with some bizarre questions.

有什麼可以推薦給我們的柏林景點媽？

Do you have any tips for Berlin?

這問題真是有點難，住在這裡就不會特別去做什麼事情啊。

The question is quite hard. I think, when you live here, you won’t really do some special things.

不過我還滿喜歡Tempelhofer Feld，夏天的時候非常迷人，那是一個很大的地方，有很多人在那裡進行各種運動，或者放風箏，烤肉，非常的舒服。

But I like Tempelhofer Feld, it’s a charming and big place. Lots of people do sports , fly the kite, BBQ or do other activities. It’s really lovely.

還有就是Maybachufer，這裡除了有市集以外，沒有市集的時候沿著河岸走景色也很美麗。

And I also like to go to Maybachufer. You can visit the week market there, and the scene along the riverbank is also very beautiful.

所以簡單來說你的移動範圍都還是在Neukölln和Kreuzberg囉？

So your daily life is based on Neukölln and Kreuzberg?

是啊。

Yes.

你有覺得危險或不安全嗎？

Do you ever feel dangerous or not safe?

不會啊，我覺得很安全，我到目前為止都一直居住在這一個區塊，還沒遇過什麼可怕的事情，因為這裡就算是夜裡也很多人在路上，所以沒什麼好害怕的。

No. I feel quite safe. I ‘ve been lived in this area since I came to Berlin. I haven’t met any dangerous situation, because there are always lots of people fool around, even in the night. There is nothing to be afraid.

那來談談你的店好了，你是為什麼會走上服裝設計這條路？

Let’s talk about your shop, what lead you do be a mode designer?

我是念傳達設計（Communication design）的，但是我同時也有修服裝設計（Fashion Design）的課程，畢業後就漸漸地往這個方向走了。

I studied Communication Design in school, but I also took some classes from Fashion Design. After graduation, my passion leads me to this direction.

在你自己開店之前，你有身為服裝設計師在別人的店裡工作過嗎？

Did you ever work by other people as a Fashion designer before you have your own shop?

作為一個服裝設計師沒有。畢業以後有在別人的公司擔任汽車的平面設計，也有在一間大公司裡面擔任平面與服裝設計師的實習生，其實我可以在那裡繼續工作，從那裡開始成為一個正式的設計師。但是因為唸書時期打過很多不同種類的工，很清楚為別人的公司工作是什麼樣的模式，但我想為自己工作。我想大概在我15歲的時候，就已經想要以後自己當老闆了。As a Fashion designer? No. After graduation, I had worked as a graphic designer in a car company, and in a big company as an intern (Fashion and Graphic Designer) for a while. I could just be a fashion designer there, but I decided to work for myself. When I was still a student, I had a lot of different part time jobs. Thus I know how it works to work for other people. I think, I already knew that I want to be my own boss when I was 15 years old.

那你有設定目標族群或者是什麼底線媽？

Then do you have a target grope or any limitation for yourself?

沒有誒。我就是做我自己喜歡的衣服，沒有設定族群，而我的族群類別非常的廣泛，從20到60的人都有。很多時候同一個剪裁，因為不同布料的運用，買的族群就會有很大的差異。透過跟顧客的溝通，我知道顧客喜歡什麼樣的類型，什麼樣的衣服，然後當然也必須要去適時地做調整。不過我還是會一直做我喜歡的，發展新的樣式，畢竟我才是設計師。

No. I just design and make the clothes that I like. I didn’t have a target group and my clients are also very different, from 20 to 60 olds are all possible. The clients can be totally different when I use the same style but different fabrics. Through direct communication with clients, I knew the favorite of my clients, and I will make some adjustments in time. But I still keep designing what I like and develop new style, since I am the designer.

完全沒有想過設底線這件事情，當然有銷售好也有銷售差的時候，但是我一路這樣走來一直都在經營的狀況都不斷得變得更好。

I never thought about limitation. Definitely there are good seasons and bad seasons, but it keeps moving forward.

除了在店裡面你還有在哪裡販售你的商品嗎？

Where else do you sell your products?

我有Dawanda，還有Etsy兩個網路商店。但是在網路上賣出的商品類型和店裡會有差異。網路上購買的人相對就會購買比較多飾品，但是在店裡面就是洋裝和衣服這些比較好。除此之外我也固定參加市集，Markthalle Neun 大概每個月都有市集，我每個月都會去擺攤。另外就是Holy Shit Shopping Berlin設計聖誕市集，雖然參加的費用頗高，但是非常值得，因為來的人潮非常非常的多，除了可以賣出許多商品以外，也是建立品牌的好機會。

I have two online shops, one is in Dawanda, and the other one is Etsy. Most people will buy decoration or accessories in the internet, but people who came to my shop buy mostly clothes and dresses. The difference is very big. Besides I keep attending markets. Markthalle Neun is a monthly market where you can found me every month. The other big one is the Holy Shit Shopping Berlin – The Design Christmas Market. Though the fee is really high but it does worth, because I got really tons of clients. It is a good chance to sell products and build my brand in the same time.

你喜歡擺市集嗎？

Then do you like to work in market?

哈哈，說不上喜歡，因為其實是一件很疲累工作啊。必須把店裡上架的衣服打包，然後掛上去，然後再打包，在掛上，但是可以和很多人交流當然也是很好的一件事情，我在那裡也認識了許多朋友。

Haha. To be honest I won’t say I enjoy in it because I have lots to do. I need to pack all the clothes from shop to the market, and after the market I need to pack them again and put them on the clothes hangers in the shop again. But it’s also good to communicate with many people and I also get lots of friend there.