Lappalainen
Mobiles Hung All Around the World
The collective of objects making up the Lappalainen showroom includes everything from vintage wares, to modern classics, industrial lights and handmade mobiles.
Rivka Baake and Wilfrid Kreutz both live and work in an old industrial building, situated in Hanau near Frankfurt am Main. Here is the studio where they showcase these collections as well as vintage pieces they have reformed and their own handmade mobiles. Their entire entity of living and working falls under one roof.
Sara: So Rivka, how did it all begin?
Rivka: Before we moved in, the house was a pub, and much, much earlier, concerts were held here. The stage was where the polishing bench is now. They played many great bands like My Bloody Valentine and Nirvana. On the ground floor is the studio and workplace, and above is where we live.
Sara: Tell me something about your great mobiles!
Rivka: We admire the work of Alexander Calder and David Smith and developed the first mobile for our living room from a toy. Our friends liked it and soon we got our first "orders". That was the beginning. Somehow we began selling them and since then our mobiles are hung in many places all over the world.
Sara: How do you make the Mobiles and what materials?
Rivka: Every mobile is still hand-made by us in our workshop. We work with brass, copper and iron.
