The 2 Minute Interview
When Claudia Fischer-Appelt has a creative black out and needs fresh ideas, she has a cold shower and plays a round of skat. No hang on, she goes for a run along the Schlei, fights off giant ducks with a piece of chocolate and then goes and has a drink with them. God help us! We’re lost and highly recommend you read for yourself what one of Germany’s most creative women has in store and to say – to her 18-year old self, about perfect parents and about Karl Anders. That’s the name of her new agency, her “circle of power”, with which she indulges in only taking on meaningful projects that are, above all, fun! „The Brain Runs on Fun“ is her motto and you really can tell. Last weekend, we finally met in person. She was one of the jurors at our Berlin fashion Film Festival. And we promised her that we would in no way whatsoever mention her bank apprenticeship.
Name: Claudia Fischer-Appelt
Age: 39 for ever
Home: Hamburg
Profession: Designer
Show size: 36
Favourite brand: Henrik Vibskov
Contact:claudia@karlanders.de
Why is Karl different?
Karl says what he thinks, takes a risk here and there and always has a clear opinion. And he wants to keep on doing things for the first time.
The best advert of the last 12 months:
Can we agree on the best design? Then there is one clear favourite for me: The corporate identity for the NRW Forum by Kessels Kramer from Amsterdam. Brave appearance, excellent graphic design, good humour. An awesome implementation of the idea of the imperfect, fluid, variable… simply great!
Are there perfect parents?
In my opinion, there are always parents who want to be perfect. That’s why I used to encourage those kind of parents to be a little more relaxed. Nowadays I answer with
Nam June Paik: „When too perfect lieber Gott böse“.
You meet your 18-year-old self. Which advice would you give yourself?
Take your pleasure more seriously!
Which problem would you like to solve?
I get so annoyed when the old go on and on nagging about the young, I’d like to solve that!
Your missing a bright idea – what do you do?
A run. Some Chocolate. A drink. In that order.
Who do you admire?
People who form something incredibly creative and keep on re-inventing themselves, like Marina Abramovic, for example.
Tell us a magical place, anywhere in the world:
There’s a running track alongside the River Schlei by Riesby: Through the forest along the water. It feels like running through a fairy tale.
What are you no good at?
I’m really bad at remembering names. Horrible. But I can remember a face for the rest of my life!
Which piece of art would you like to own?
A light box from Thomas Hirschhorn, the one with the taped-on shoulders.
Would you rather fight a duck the size of a horse or a hundred horses the size of a duck? Awesome question, I had to give that a good think and check my fighting techniques. I think I would take on the giant horse-duck, piece of cake!
What would you cook for us if we came to visit you?
Oh dear, I can’t cook at all. With the exception of simple children’s meals I have never been able to achieve anything in that area, just the shopping already gets me in knots. But because I really love eating really well, I would order Japanese for us.
What are you afraid of?
Something happening to my kids.
When was last time you tried something new and what was it?
I like trying new things as long as it’s not bungee jumping or something like that. I tried surfing in March. And playing Skat, but that drove me crazy – so I don’t think I’ll be doing that again. I wanted to try having a cold shower every morning, but under the shower I remembered I’d already tried it and it just wasn’t for me.
What should no one know about you?
Somebody already spilled the beans on my bank apprenticeship recently. I’m not telling any more secrets :)
Which question should we have asked?
The one about my favourite band.
Last words:
The brain runs on fun.
Photo: Anders Tellerraas
