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EDITORIAL DEAR READERS, Christmas time = home time – this year, it’s even forced. This is why we put together an issue for the stay at home season – filled with articles for the stay at home season.

the world described. If you are looking for the right pastime with the family, we picked out great card games and described them. It’s not always easy but definitely diverse!

The focus is of course on our sisterMAG Patterns Homewear collection. From bathrobe to jogger pants, you find the right clothes for your morning routine, comfortable working time or relaxation at home. To show you how hard-wearing our designs are, our working student Sahra agreed to put everything to the test at the shooting. We hope you like the clothes as much as we do and we are looking forward to your versions of the designs.

And how do we bridge the days without visits at the café or the restaurant? Exactly, with the right coffee equipment for home. Together with our partner Krups, we present you our big coffee special. Test which coffee type you are, learn about the history of the coffee machine and be inspired to try some coffee delicacies with our influencer special. Of course, we provide you with Christmas spirit as well! The mystic Christmassy set that rather looks like a castle in Scotland than an AEG industrial facility in Berlin was the location for our advent calendar shooting.

So that you don’t get bored at home, we asked Marina Klaric this time to put together the best books. Use the stay at home time to start reading a really long book and to lose yourself in

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If you follow us on Instagram (@sister_mag or @sistermagpatterns), you surely admired the wonderful pictures with Theresa and Caro from our content team. There is something for everyone: For the seamstresses among you, there are 6 great patterns to sew, beautiful packages for the Christmas presents and Christmas flower decoration to dream about. The floral artist Hßrriyet // Botanic Art has come up with something quite extraordinary with the hydrangea tree. A little tip: She sells some of her great shots as prints – a very nice Christmas present. And with that we release you into the hot Christmas phase and the new year. Make yourselves comfortable at home. Maybe you find the time to try out something from this issue. If so, we are very happy about every tag and every message.

All the best

Your sisterMAG Team

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TABLE OF CONTENT AT

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Do clothes make the language`?

Culinary Christmas at home

Elisabeth Stursberg discusses proverbs and sayings

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Food Feature by Dyutima Jha

Colourful on the outside, delicious on the inside!

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The famous Nuremberg Lebkuchen beautifully and sustainably wrapped by Pfeffer & Frost

Simple decoration ideas for your home Our inspiration for the Christmas decorations

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Coffee cultivation and regions Different kinds and production areas of the coffee plant

Our festive collection

Illustration: Ezbah Ali

Our dark Christmas Wonderland with patterns, decoration ideas and beautiful floral highlights

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When enjoying coffee became simple

sisterMAG BeautyFUL Picks

A short history of the coffeemaker

The favourite beauty products of our sisterMAG team

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Our favourite coffee monents

Kintsugi and a quick DIY guide for those in a hurry

We talked to some of our favourite Instagrammers about this nice topic and asked them for their special coffee moments

Japanese craftmanship 2/2

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Impressum

» At home...« … when stuck at home, then with drive, action and excitement – we want to play!

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Our home wear collection Homewear shorts and the matching jumper, our elegant sweatpants or pyjamas made of foldover sheet

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Book column Reading at home with tips by Martina Klaric

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CONTRIBUTORS

TEX T

PRO OF

Otto Balkenboden

Ira Häussler

Nicole BattefeldMontgomery @nbattefeld

Claudetta Böttcher @doitbutdoitnow

Martina Klaric @buchberuehrung

Alexander Kords kords.net

Elisabeth Stursberg @lizziemariees

sisterMAG Team

P HO TO & VIDE O Hürriyet Bulan @botanicart

Jaclyn Locke jaclynlocke.com

Jordan Montgomery @umjordan

Alexander Kords kords.net

Amie McCracken amiemccracken.com

sisterMAG Team

T RANSLATI ON Ira Häussler Alexander Kords kords.net

Elisabeth Stursberg @lizziemariees

FOOD & D RI N K S Dyutima Jha @dyutima_myfoodlens

STYL I N G Evi Neubauer @evi.neubauer

Cris Santos

Theresa Baier @theresa.baier

Dani Herold @dani_nanaa

Elisa Klinkenberg @press_liz

Carolin Kralapp @caromilon

Jan Moeller @jan.cm

Sahra Mohamed Abdulaahi @sahramoa

I LLU S TRATI ON sisterMAG Team Ezbah Ali @aliezbah

Malgosia Cvetinovic @malgosiacvetinovic

HA I R & MA K E -U P Franziska Dominick

@csantosphoto

@franziskadominick

sisterMAG Team

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MOD E L

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DOWNLOADS & MULTIMEDIA

OU R COV E R MODELS

Theresa Baier Carolin Kralapp OUTFIT Evi Neubauer

Dundee Cake

Eton Mess

Grape-Thyme tart

Cheese and fig Canapé

PHOTOGRAPHER Cris Santos HAIR & MAKEUP Franziska Dominick Many thanks to the whole team who created our beautiful fashion collection and the new cover. By the way, you can find the entire collection as patterns in the @sistermagpatterns Online Shop.

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FEATURE SEWING PATTERNS

60-1 HOMEWEAR SHORTS

60 -2 HOMEWEAR JUMPER WITH EXTRA LONG SLEEVES

57-3 JOGGING PANTS

XMAS-1 ELEGANT SWE ATPANT S WITH PIPING

29-5 OVERSIZED PARK A DRESS

60-6 BREECHES

60-4 DRESSING GOWN

31-2 WOOL WHITE TOP WITH POM POMS

XMAS-4 PYJAMAS MADE FROM COVER SHEETS

06-4 DARK BLUE CROCHET SLIPOVER

09-1 BODICE DRESS WITH BUT TONS AND BOW DE TAIL

37-3 BACKLESS DRESS

48-4 WHITE CALICO BLOUSE

48-6 WHITE BLOUSE WITH OVERSISED COLLAR AND RUFFLES

6 0 - 5 PLE ATED FLARED SKIRT WITH WIDE WAISTBAND

60-7 SLIMFIT MAXI SKIRT WITH VENT

60-8 WIDE BLOUSE WITH VOLANTS

60-10 WRAP WITH ABLE

60-3 SHIRT WITH LEGOF-MUT TON SLEEVES

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PLE ATED SKIRT UNBOT TONSTRAPS

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DO CLOTHES MAKE THE

e g a u g n a L Text: Elisabeth Stursberg Illustration: Małgosia Cvetinović

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According to a German proverb, you can recognise the bird by the feathers.

If proverbs were language’s feathers ‌ what would their use reveal about us? Without metaphors, we could hardly communicate at all. Proverbs and idioms are also nearly indispensable, yet sometimes underestimated. In this column, Elisabeth Stursberg discusses why that is and why it should not be, bringing to mind many of our favourite fashion-related examples.

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guilt: gossip, »washing dirty linen«. In doing so, we reveal a lot about our inner self because we get more easily carried away, airing observations, statements and judgments which normally we would not represent. Our choice of words is also much more affective.

IN THIS ISSUE

Underwear comes first

A second aspect occurred to me when I came across a quote by the

In this column we look at the relationship between clothes and language, namely formalised language that comes in the form of proverbs, idioms and expressions. And we have so far focused primarily on the signal effect of language towards the outside, we now turn our attention inwards. We look at: our hidden self. Some people say that we all have three egos – and no, not the Freudian ones. What is meant here is: professional, personal, private (in other words: jacket, shirt, vest). With homewear and lingerie – informal clothing in general – we find ourselves somewhere between the second and the third. And I think it’s worth looking at the personal and private elements of our language for a moment. Let’s start with a habit that nearly all of us – it’s true! – indulge in every now and then or perhaps a bit more often, probably with a slight feeling of

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»washing dirty linen« wise Bertold Brecht, which seemed strangely current in a year that has so far brought us rampant divisive political rhetoric as well as a renewed, profound awareness for anti-racist language: »One has one’s own laundry, / one washes it from time to time. / One does not have one’s own words, / and one never washes them.« Our language betrays our inner convictions. The proverbs, idioms and metaphors we have in our vocabulary, even passively, consciously and unconsciously influence our view of the world. From infinite linguistic possibilities we must actively

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»One has one’s own laundry, / one washes it from time to time. / One does not have one’s own words, / and one never washes them.« Bertold Brecht

acquire those that are not only as precise, appropriate and beautiful as possible, but also uncompromised by past rhetorical shifts or by being or having been used in the service of injustice. In this context it is interesting to note that we now tend to use »dirty« laundry as a metaphor for explicitly negative content, for instance, whilst divulging unpleasant details during a public divorce. Surely not all gossip women used to exchange while washing clothes was negative, rather, their interactions were about exchanging unofficial knowledge in general (I assume). However, the word »dirty« is powerful and, secondly, the critical revision of one’s own language requires a certain discipline.

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The inner voice, how we talk to ourselves, belongs in this context too. Also here, proverbial phrases can be hidden, for it is precisely their smooth applicability that makes them so popular. We already had the quoteturned-world-famous-saying by Karl Lagerfeld, who had such a distaste for sweatpants. What I would really like to know is how effective such statements can be in an individual case. Do we believe him? Do we start doubt, even if only for a tiny moment, whether we really still have »control« over our lives because, just today, as an exception, we went to get groceries while wearing sweatpants? Or, similarly: Do we still subconsciously perceive a man in a hat as more respectable, and more powerful? Karl Kraus was alluding to something else when he observed: »With a woman, it’s not only the outer appearance that counts. The lingerie is also important.« Satire, obviously. But humour and gender-specific role models are relevant here too. If »white lingerie« stands for innocence and purity, what do we mean by innocence today?

Why do so many of us still wear white wedding lingerie? Proverbs that refer to our clothes always aim to define who we are, what we are and what we believe. Sometimes I wonder whether a gentle handwash from time to time is actually enough.

»The proverbs, idioms and metaphors we have in our vocabulary, even passively, consciously and unconsciously influence our view of the world.«

*Translations by the author sister-mag.com

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»With a woman, it’s not only the outer appearance that counts. The lingerie is also important.« In each issue, Elisabeth Stursberg discusses proverbs and sayings related to fashion and their general qualities.

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SIMPLE

DECORATION IDEAS sister-mag.com

FOR YOUR HOME 18

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Decoration: Evi Neubauer Photos: Thea Wittemann

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Christmas started very early this year for many of us, because all those little lights, peaceful angels and beautiful gifts sweetened our time in November and early December. Thus, for all of you who feel like redecorating or haven‘t even started yet, we put together a few simple ideas. On the first page you see the so-called »Minna« by sisterMAG Mama Evi. A white country house style cupboard decorated differently every year to give it a Christmassy glow. This year it is populated by elongated angels. The chandelier becomes an absolute Christmas highlight with branches and green baubles.

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Less is more. Whether on a ledge, windowsill or landing: 1-2 incense burners or nutcrackers look best alone and without much decoration around. If you are looking for special gifts, we recommend the Seiffen wooden toys from the German region »Erzgebirge«. These are also nice yearly collector‘s gifts.

More is more? But always colour-coordinated! Lushly decorated trays with green branches, candles and baubles in pink and white or in shades of yellow and gold with Sicilian lemons as a splash of colour.

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If you are looking for a very special Christmas wreath for next year or even in the new year - dried hydrangeas not only make beautiful bouquets, but can also be tied into a wreath. By the way, the hydrangeas are from our ÂťFestive CollectionÂŤ production. The Christmas tree dried slowly and the flowers were then used for this wreath.

Floral Design & Photos: Botanic Art

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And what does your Christmas decoration look like this year? Send us a photo to @sister_mag or tag us in a picture! We love reposting your prettiest corners. Merry Christmas!

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OUR FESTIVE

Collection

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If you follow us on Instagram, you already saw our dark Christmas Wonderland with patterns, decoration ideas and beautiful floral highlights in the past few days. In celebration of the season, we festively spruced up old and new patterns and enhanced our shop sistermagpatterns.com with many new products. Here you find an overview of all patterns. As models, we also photographed Theresa and Carolin from our team here. Theresa is responsible for many shootings for sisterMAG, knows well about shoes and enriches our project management team. Caro passionately takes care of our sisterMAG magazine and manages our social media channels and the backends of shop and website. A magical day with a small team brought these results that transformed our studio in Berlin-Wedding into an old style castle, including a hydrangea Christmas tree – a creation of the florist Hürriyet Bulan.

Photos: Cris Santos Styling & Design: Evi Neubauer Hair & Make-up: Franziska Dominick Set and floral design: Hürriyet Bulan / Botanicart Models: Theresa Baier & Carolin Kralapp

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An outfit for the cosy and festive Christmas Day and beyond: The pants, so-called breeches, are currently super modern and are buttoned at the sides. They are really comfortable with high waistband and wide hip region. Combined with: a wide viscose blouse with lush flounce pleats.

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LOOK 1

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WIDE BLOUSE WITH VOLANTS buy now

60-6

BREECHES buy now

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What we love about these patterns: They are very versatile. You already know the flame nettle blouse from sisterMAG48 with Sophia’s shooting in the Rußwurm mansion (»Rußwurmsches Herrenhaus«). Here it’s combined with a flared skirt with high waistband and pleats that can also be worn with a casual jumper.

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48-4

WHITE CALICO BLOUSE

buy now

60-5

PLEATED FLARED SKIRT WITH WIDE WAISTBAND

buy now

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LOOK 3 Our first crochet pattern is online as well and Caro shows our slipover here with a long skirt with a high slit. How do you crochet the pattern? You find a short video of designer Eva here. You are wondering how our set came about? We also put together a small timelapse you can see here.

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06-8

DARK BLUE CROCHET SLIPOVER buy now

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60-7

SLIM-FIT MAXI SKIRT WITH VENT buy now

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You know our dress with back cutout in the short version from sisterMAG37. In this shooting, it is long and wonderfully embroidered for an extra festive note. Even the bar at the back got a rhinestone equipping.

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BACKLESS DRESS buy now

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LOOK 5

A favourite of our team and the designer Evi: The parka dress is a pattern we already introduced in sisterMAG29 – then in dark blue. The coup: You can wear this item with tulle underskirt as a dress, as you can see here, but also as a real parka over jeans and blouse.

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OVERSIZED PARKA DRESS buy now

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Perfectly suitable for beginners: our narrow-cut skirt with long slit. The slit is kept on the side with a brooch and also gets a small sparkling detail in styling. Here we combined the skirt with a very cosy cardigan by SĂŠzane (model: GILET TONIO).

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SLIM-FIT MAXI SKIRT WITH VENT buy now

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LOOK 7

A wonderful addition to our shop: a wrap pleat skirt with straps. Here it’s combined Eli, nostiam, quidet L. Hor unti, omnos, with our white blouse with big nihilius hil ve, videlario urberes iaessi concollar. True to the 2020 style we tere intiam inat pores coma, nontercerum designed it especially festive ta, ocapece stellerta, sena nonsces tur, vo, with cotton lace ruffles. publium more iam numum ine consuntiam tem, Cat, quam, tastri pertimihi, que men testiu si simum opublium consul

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WHITE BLOUSE WITH AN OVERSIZED COLLAR AND LACE RUFFLES

buy now

60-10

PLEATED WRAP SKIRT WITH UNBOTTONABLE STRAPS

buy now

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Last but not least, an oldie but goldie: Already in issue 09 (!) we showed you this bodice skirt with buttons and shoulder ribbon with blogger Lindsey Tramuta in Paris. After 7 years, we still love this pattern and wear it regularly as business outfit at the office. Great to combine with a blouse or cardigan.

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48-6

WEISSE BLUSE MIT GROSSEM KRAGEN UND PERLENKNÖPFEN BODICE DRESS zum Shop WITH BUTTONS AND BOW DETAIL

09-1

48-4

WHITE CALICO BLOUSE

buy now

buy now

60-10

WICKELFALTENROCK MIT TRÄGERN

zum Shop

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PR

SAMPLES

sisterMAG

BEAUTY

Picks

ful

NATURAL COSMETICS FROM MUNICH At the sisterMAG-office we are often allowed to test out various beauty products, so it only makes sense to ask our team: »What do you use at home?« In this issue: our social media and content manager Norell.

I used to use the exact same series of skincare products from the drugstore for the longest time – until I found that they really weren’t doing my skin any good anymore. Next to impurities, my skin now kept swinging between being incredibly dry and super oily. By chance, I found the online shop of NKM - Naturkosmetik München and immediately loved the company for the transparent values they represent. They use regional herbs and cold-pressed local oils for their products and are vegan, cruelty free and offset their emissions. At NKM, you can buy products as a DIY-set to mix up at home or go for the ready-mixed option. I chose the ready-made variety of their »impure skin-routine«.

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PR

SAMPLES

Four months later, I can definitely say that I’m a huge fan of the three products included in the range. For my skin and the feeling the skincare leaves, it was a bit of a switch to go from oil-free products to moisturising oils but I have seen such a clear improvement in my skin. I think especially the mild cleanser has helped bring my natural skin barrier back into balance. shop.nkm-atelier.de

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[01] MILD CLEANSER This cleansing oil uses sunflower oil and squalane. It doesn’t only remove makeup but also cleanses gently while leaving the skin’s protective barrier intact and reducing impurities and inflammation from a variety of causes.

[02] ANTIMICROBIAL TONER

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This toner contains niacinamide and zinc next to various natural extracts taken from trees and flowers of the Black Forest. It reduces impurities and inflammation and evens out the skin tone. After spraying it on, you leave the toner to sit for around 30 seconds and remove it with a cotton pad before spraying on another layer as the foundation for the deeply moisturising intensive oil.

[03] INTENSIVE OIL For the intensive oil, the ingredients range from wild roses from the island of Sylt to sea buckthorn from the Baltic coastline, plants from the vineyards of the region of Pfalz and elderflower from the mountains of the foothills of the Alps. It doesn’t only deeply moisturise the skin but also supports the antiimpurity and anti-inflammatory properties of the other two products. Simply massage it into moist skin after using the antimicrobial toner.

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Culinary Christmas Recipes und Photos: Dyutima Jha

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Grape and thyme tart Makes 1x20cm tart, Cut into 4x10cm squares

Ingredients 1 ready rolled puff pastry sheet (approx. 165g) 340g whole grapes, seedless 1 Tbsp raw sugar 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

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Method 1. Preheat the oven to 220°C. 2. Combine the sugar and thyme in a bowl. Set aside. 3. Place the pastry on a baking tray lined with baking sheet. Keep the square shape or cut into round using a stencil. 4. Lightly prick the surface of the pastry using a fork. 5. Brush the pastry lightly with water and sprinkle half of the sugar-thyme mixture on it. 6. Leaving 1,5cm border around edges, spread the grapes and sprinkle the rest of the sugar on the grapes. 7. Bake for 20 minutes until the pastry is golden. Remove from the oven and let it rest. 8. Cool completely before slicing. Garnish with fresh thyme and serve.

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Dundee Cake Makes 1x18cm cake – 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients 115g Mixed nuts (cashews, walnuts, almonds), chopped 170g seeded raisins, chopped 170g currants 30g glace cherries, chopped 50g blanched almonds, sliced in half 60g mixed peel, chopped Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated 225g plain flour 170g butter 1 tsp baking powder 115g caster sugar 1 tsp cinnamon powder 1 Tbsp honey 3 Tbsp milk 3 large eggs

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Method 1. Preheat the oven at 180°C. 2. Grease and line a 18cm round cake tin with baking sheet. 3. Sift flour and baking powder together. 4. Beat butter, sugar and honey for several minutes till light and creamy. 5. Add one egg at a time, beating well each time. 6. Gently fold the flour, milk, nuts, fruit, cinnamon powder and lemon zest. 7. Pour the mixture into the baking tin and line the top with blanched almonds in a radial pattern.

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8. Lower the oven temperature to 160°C and bake for 10-15 minutes. Further lower the temperature to 120°C and bake for 90-120 minutes. After 45 minutes, keep checking the doneness by inserting a toothpick or metal skewer in the center. When done, the skewer should come out almost clean. Do not overbake so the center is soft. If necessary, cover the top with a metal tray to avoid excessive browning. 9. Cool for 10-15 minutes before releasing on cooling rack.

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Cheese and fig Canape Makes 6 canapes Ingredients 6 crackers 6 Tbsp dome de Boulogne cheese (or any soft, spreadable cheese) 6-8 pistachios, chopped 6-8 raisins, chopped 6-8 dried mulberry, lightly broken 2 fresh figs, sliced in quarters Maple syrup ½ tsp fresh rosemary, chopped 2 Tbsp pistachios, crushed Method 1. Combine pistachios, raisins, mulberry and rosemary in a bowl. 2. Add cheese to the bowl and lightly mix together. Do not overmix. 3. Spread about 1 Tbsp of mixture per cracker. 4. Add 1-2 slices of figs on top and drizzle with maple syrup. 5. Garnish with crushed pistachios.

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Eton Mess Makes 6 servings

Ingredients 425g strawberries, hulled and sliced 1 Tbsp fine sugar 200 ml whipping cream 3 Tbsp icing sugar Âź tsp vanilla extract 6 readymade meringue nests or 30 readymade meringue kisses (approx.)

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Method 1. Mix fine sugar and chopped strawberries in a bowl to begin the process of maceration. Set aside. 2. Lightly break the meringues into bite-sized pieces and set aside. If using meringue kisses, keep a few whole ones for garnish. 3. Take a chilled mixing bowl and on medium speed, whip the cream till it begins to thicken. Add icing sugar and extract. Beat only until nice, soft peaks form. Do not over-beat. 4. To assemble, take serving glasses. Add a layer of meringue at the bottom, top with a layer of cream and then macerated strawberries. Repeat the layering till glass is full to desired level. 5. Garnish with meringue kisses.

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Notes Soak sugar and strawberries together for no more than 30 minutes. Eton mess is best assembled just before eating so that the meringue remains crisp after adding the cream and fruit. 67

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COLOURFUL ON THE OUTSIDE,

delicious on the inside!

The famous Nuremberg Lebkuchen beautifully and sustainably wrapped by Pfeffer & Frost It always comes round much faster than you think – Christmas time. Especially this year, celebrating the holidays is more important than ever and so is the question of how to bring joy to your loved ones, especially if you might not be able to see them in person. And we’ve got just the thing for you! Pfeffer & Frost sell the well-known and delicious Elisen-Lebkuchen and add an extra special touch with the

annually changing designs of their boxes. This turns a treat for the taste buds into a treat for the eyes as well! We’d like to introduce you to Pfeffer & Frost , founded in 2018, and show you why their products are so special – and why their goodies are the perfect present to put a smile on the faces of family and friends.

Text: Carolin Kralapp

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THE LEBKUCHEN The Lebkuchen – a type of gingerbread from Nuremberg – is well-loved in Germany. It can be covered in white, milk or dark chocolate or even a sugary icing. A mixed box of these treats is sure to please anyone. The Lebkuchen are made using traditional methods at the bakery Bock, using only the finest almonds, marzipan, hazelnuts and regional honey from Rügland.

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ÂťGroundhogs and ibex greet the hikers of our colourful mountain world. Our design is purposely not seasonal so you can use it all year round to store away little trinkets and decorate your home.ÂŤ - Pfeffer & Frost

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T H E PAC K AG I N G A special novelty is the packaging design at Pfeffer & Frost. Each year, they bring out a limited edition Lebkuchen box made from cardboard with a twistable lid that makes different characters come to life. A range of artists and illustrators design the box with a specific theme in mind – this year, the Spanish duo Cachetejack unleashed their creativity with the topic of »Hiking«. One thing is for sure: the drawings are instant good mood boosters! The Lebkuchen remains fresh thanks to an innovative compostable foil, free from plastic. A great sign for a plastic-free future!

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THE ONLINE-SHOP Next to the big, colourful Lebkuchen boxes, there are smaller sample boxes as well as cute postcards and a set with a book of 11 delicious pasta recipes. So if you’re looking for a new gifting idea, you’ll definitely find something here. We at sisterMAG are always fascinated by the delicious treats, the product design and the gorgeous packaging, and we love presenting our loved ones with these goodmood boxes.

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V I RT UA L H O L I DAY C E L E B R AT I O N S W I T H P F E F F E R & F RO S T A wonderful idea: if you’re planning on celebrating the office Christmas party virtually because of this year’s socialising restrictions, you could spruce up your video call by sending some surprise Lebkuchen, Glühwein spice or coffee to your colleagues in advance. For more information, write to servus@pfefferundfrost.de . Together with Pfeffer & Frost we’d like to wish you a wonderful Christmas time – it’s the most wonderful time of the year, after all! Enjoy your treats!

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COFFEE CULTIVATION AND REGIONS DIFFERENT KINDS AND PRODUCTION AREAS OF THE COFFEE PLANT

Photos: Jordan Montgomery Text: Nicole Battefeld-Montgomery Claudia Bรถttcher sister-mag.com

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COFFEE IS A VERY COMPLEX TOPIC – AND THAT STARTS LONG BEFORE IT IS EVEN BEING ROASTED. BUT WHICH KINDS OF COFFEE EVEN ARE THERE AND WHAT SHOULD YOU LOOK OUT FOR WHEN BUYING IT?

The coffee plant belongs to the species of Coffea and has been known for over 1,000 years. Long before the preparation we know today, the coffee cherries and leaves were consumed for their reinvigorating purposes. What many people don’t know: Coffee is a fruit and there are many different kinds.

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The coffee plant belongs to the species of Coffea and has been known for over 1,000 years. Long before the preparation method we know today, the coffee cherries and leaves were consumed for their reinvigorating purposes. What many people don’t know: Coffee is a fruit and there are many varieties. Comparable to the different kinds of apples we know (such as Granny Smith, Pink Lady or Boskop), these carry different flavour and texture profiles (sweet, sour, mealy etc.). This also goes for coffee – although the two most popular kinds being grown today are Coffea Arabica

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and Robusta. Even though both are coffee, they are very different. Like the name suggests, the Robusta kind is very robust and sturdy and can withstand a multitude of harsh environments, lower climates and diseases. Arabica, a mountainous coffee, only grows at certain heights (at least 900 metres above sea level) and is a very demanding and careintensive plant. What else other than their regional factors distinguishes these plants? Their caffeine content for example. Despite the popular belief that coffee only contains caffeine that wakes us up, this particular substance has

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another, biological use: It protects the plant from pests. As Robusta grows in lower climates, the plant is subjected to more of these and thus needs a much higher caffeine content – up to four times as much as the one found in Arabica coffee! For many people, this can lead to an uncomfortable feeling after consumption. Additionally, Robusta contains a high level of chlorogenic acid, a natural substance that is

found in coffee and can lead to strong reactions in combination with the acids of the human stomach. Therefore, Arabica coffee is much more easily digestible and tastes more subtle too.

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COFFEE PRODUCTION The quality of a batch of coffee depends on a long list of factors. The most important are the variety; the height of the production area, its climate, micro-climate; and the nutritional value of minerals in the ground. The Arabica plant for example takes five full years before it can be harvested for the first time. It then goes on to grow coffee for around 20 years. Per year, one plant produces around four kilograms of coffee cherries, which end up being around one kilogram of beans. After drying and roasting this amount, the final output is only around 500 grams of roast coffee! Just as important as the kind of coffee plant are its production and care. After the harvest, the coffee cherries are dried (natural) or washed. Dry cherries are only washed very briefly

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and then go on to dry in the sun for around two weeks, giving the final product a sweeter, fuller flavour. For the wet method of production, the coffee cherries are washed several times and left to ferment for anything from 12 to 72 hours – until the flesh comes off the stones. Then they, too, are left to dry for 4 to 10 days. This results in a fruity, clearly defined flavour profile. How can you distinguish the beans once they are roasted? A washed bean always has a white, silvery skin in its centre, while the dried bean will have a darker skin. No matter which production method is used, after they have been dried the beans must be left to rest for two months before being sorted into groups by quality and shipped off for roasting.

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COFFEE REGIONS The first commercial coffee farm was probably somewhere in Yemen. From there, coffee made its way to the Netherlands during the 17th century. With the process of colonisation, coffee production spread farther and farther. Today, coffee is being commercially grown in over 50 countries all over the world. Depending on the continent on which a coffee farm is located, the taste of the coffee changes. In Africa, the ground is often full of minerals such as iron which gives the soil its characteristic red tint. This high concentration of minerals affects the plant and, 83

ultimately, the flavour of the coffee. Coffee from Kenya often has very clear notes of fruit and berries. In South America meanwhile, the soil is extremely nutritious, making for a nuttier and chocolate-flavoured coffee in combination with the climate present there. And in Asia, the phenomenon of the monsoon results in very wet soil and coffee that often tastes slightly woody and spicy. As you can see, coffee is a very complex topic – and that starts long before it has even been roasted. In tropical regions, coffee is also sisterMAG 60 | 2020

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an important economical factor and secures the income of around 25 million households. Sustainable farming is thus highly important. There are successfully implemented certifications that work for fair wages (Fairtrade, UTZ) and organisations that focus on sustainability in agriculture (Rainforest Alliance, BioSiegel). These however do not tell you anything about the quality of

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the coffee – to stay informed as a consumer, a visit to your local coffee roasting facility is recommended. They can usually give you lots of information on the product because they are in direct communication with the farmers themselves. Conventional supermarket coffee is sadly very rarely produced sustainably or of high quality.

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Photo: A New Day Studio

Nicole Battefeld-Montgomery

Claudia Böttcher

AUTHORS Nicole Battefeld-Montgomery is a German Barista-Master, German Coffee-Cocktail-Master and in fifth place in the worldwide ranking. Next to countless competitions, she works as the head barista, roaster and trainer at Röststätte Berlin. More on her website. Claudia Böttcher is a coffee lover and writes a coffee column for doitbutdoitnow. The two women met through their love for coffee and love getting others into coffee.

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Text: Alexander Kords Illustration: Ezbah Ali

When enjoying coffee became simple A short history of the coffeemaker Coffeemakers make brewing coffee especially easy. As you know, there are different kinds of these machines. In our article, we describe when and how they were developed. We also give some tips on which coffeemaker is best suited for whom.

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Coffeemakers are a fine thing. They make brewing coffee really easy and let us get the stimulating hot drink quicker. Find out here how the different kinds of coffeemakers were developed.

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Making coffee is not a very complicated procedure: You pour hot water over ground coffee beans and soon after, you can enjoy the drink. However, the preparation of coffee involves some tasks. The water must be heated and the coffee powder has to be kept away from the ready made <coffee. In order to simplify the whole process, clever people started dealing with developing machines 200 years ago. It was the British scientist Benjamin Thompson who made a breakthrough in the early 1810s. Decades earlier, Thompson was army minister in Bavaria and shook up the armed forces of the kingdom properly. Among other things, he equipped the soldiers with decent uniforms and warming underwear. Because he found out that coffee was beneficiary for the energy of the soldiers, he also started thinking about a method that would prepare the drink quickly and in bigger quantities. Ulvtimately, he came up with the following principle: Water should be heated in a vessel on a heat source. Then, it will rise through a tube where it can pass over a layer of coffee powder. The finished coffee is collected in another vessel. The same procedure is used for moka pots until today.

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The filter coffeemaker is born However, it wasn’t Thompson who built the first machine that makes coffee this way. It was the Parisian smith Joseph-Henry-Marie Laurens in 1819. For more than 130 years, his percolator was the only device that took over the task of making coffee at home. Only in 1954, the German businessman Gottlob Widmann patented the world’s first filter coffeemaker – and made brewing coffee as easy as never before. Widmann’s machine also heated the water, which was then poured over coffee powder contained in a filter. The ready-made coffee trickled out of the filter into a jug usually made of glass. The jug stood on a heated metal plate that kept the coffee warm.

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A coffeemaker as internet pioneer Widmann launched the first machines with the name FK-1; soon after, the product was renamed to Wigomat. Other companies reacted quickly and developed similar devices. Our partner Krups also recognized the potential of filter coffeemakers. In 1956, the company put an electric coffee grinder on the market that sold more than one million times in the first year. In 1961, Krups launched its first coffee maker named Onko. Preparing delicious coffee became an important business area for the company and the range of machines was constantly growing. Funny enough, a Krups coffeemaker even made internet history. In 1991, scientists of the University of Cambridge pointed a camera at a coffeemaker and had it take photos regularly. The pictures were transferred to the computers in the PC lab via the internal network. The reason for that: The employees no longer felt like walking to the coffeemaker to check if there was coffee in the jug. Thanks to the camera, a look at the screen was enough. When internet browsers were able to display images in 1993, the signal was also sent to them – the world’s first webcam was born. Only in August 2001, the camera and the Krups coffeemaker were taken out of service. The latter is now on display in the Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum in Paderborn.

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Coffee from a capsule In 1991, Krups entered a collaboration with NestlÊ that had a serious impact. The companies launched Nespresso, the first capsule coffeemaker in the world. The now widely used principle was a sensation back then. The user just had to insert a capsule into the machine that was filled with just the right amount of coffee powder. Then they pressed a button – and the hot drink flowed into the cup. This system also found imitators and was launched in a similar form by several companies in the 1990s and 2000s.

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With high pressure through coffee powder Next to the percolator, the filter and capsule coffeemaker, there is another popular device for making coffee: the espresso machine. It uses high pressure to push hot water through compressed coffee powder. This also creates the characteristic foam that is also known as crema. The Italian Angelo Moriondo patented the first espresso machine in 1884. Although he continued to develop his invention and had the patent renewed regularly, Moriondo was not aiming for serial production. Instead, he manufactured some machines himself and placed them in hotels and bars he owned. Only in 1905, the businessman Desiderio Pavoni started to produw1933, the Hungary-born Francesco Illy developed a machine that pushed water steam instead of water through the coffee powder. Today, espresso machines are mainly found in cafĂŠs and restaurants but there are also devices for domestic use. A special kind is a fully automatic coffeemaker that promises a particularly convenient coffee enjoyment. It not only makes the coffee automatically but also grinds the beans beforehand.

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Filter or capsule coffeemaker? The choice of coffeemaker depends on your own preferences. However, we would like to make a few suggestions. Most likely, the classic filter coffeemaker will bring back memories of cosy Sunday afternoons with coffee and cake for most people. Operating the machine is quite easy, but the finished drink is not really suitable to make coffee connoisseurs happy. However, filter coffee is definitely suitable for the caffeine kick in the morning. If you like variety, you get your money’s worth with a capsule coffeemaker. The capsules are available with powder in different flavours. A lungo today, a ristretto tomorrow and a vanilla-flavoured coffee the day after? No problem with a capsule machine!

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Everything under control If you know a lot about making coffee and want to control the procedure, you can purchase an espresso machine. With it, the grinding degree of the coffee powder plays an important role, as well as the pressure used to press the powder and to push the steam through it. Experts are able to always elicit new taste nuances from the ingredients. The same applies to the percolator, which allows you to experiment with the degree of grinding and the temperature of the water. However, a rather strong espresso is not for everyone. In contrast, a fully automatic coffeemaker is extremely convenient. Some models even foam milk and therefore leave no coffee wishes unfulfilled.

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OUR FAVOURITE COFFEE MOMENTS All coffee lovers among us know them: these very special moments that only become complete with a cup of fresh coffee. Whether in a favourite cafÊ around the corner, as a morning ritual on the balcony or comfortably cuddled up in bed, coffee can be used in various situations and can be a little helper to pause for a moment and just enjoy. We talked to some of our favourite Instagrammers about this nice topic and asked them for their special coffee moments‌

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Foto cre dit: Agap e Fotografie sister-mag.com

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VICKY How do you prefer to make your coffee? I like to make my coffee with the Hario V60. It uses a dripping method with a filter that lets the coffee aromas emerge particularly clearly. Even though the preparation is a little more elaborate you celebrate the brewing of the coffee in a special way.

»cupping« – a coffee tasting. All the different aromas from blueberry to walnut were a total surprise for me and opened my eyes for the world of coffee! From 1 December, Vicky offers her own coffee roasts on demand and by subscription on her website and her Instagram account – drop by!

Where do you like drinking coffee most? Cosy in the morning on my windowsill. Is there a beautiful memory you have with a cup of coffee? A year ago, in a coffee roastery in Bergen (Norway), I had my first 101

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BELKIS How do you prefer to make your coffee? In general I prefer manual brewing methods. I use coffeemakers like Hario V60 and Chimex that pour water over the coffee powder. It’s a tradition in Turkey that I prepare Turkish coffee almost every morning after breakfast. Where do you like drinking coffee most? At home, whenever possible. Before the pandemic I worked as a freelancer in coffee houses. I had the chance to drink lots of coffee in many different places. My favourites in Istanbul still are Petra Roasting and Story Coffee Roasters.

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Is there a beautiful memory you have with a cup of coffee? Whenever I drink my coffee today, I miss the great coffee festival that takes place in my hometown every year. (Except for this year because of the Covid-19 restrictions.) This was such a beautiful experience for coffee enthusiasts. Trying different kinds of coffee all day, getting information from professionals, attending workshops and discussions, listening to good music, hanging out with coffee lovers – these are things I remember the most. I hope I can be there again next year.

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CATRIN How do you prefer to make your coffee? Coffee – coffee – coffee – it’s essential for me! Coffee is one of my absolute favourite drinks. I live by the saying: Please don’t talk to me before my second cup of coffee! But seriously: I keep it Italian, just a little less caffeine and above all, it’s over at noon. The day starts with two or three cappuccinos. Later I have an espresso, usually at noon – but that’s it for me with coffee. As much as I love it, I don’t even like the taste anymore after that.

Is there a beautiful memory you have with a cup of coffee? I always associate coffee with the most beautiful memories – and most of them are connected to Italy. We love the country and usually spend a lot of time there – for us, Italy is only 30 minutes away by car – so this is definitely always one of my best memories. But for us, coffee always provides beautiful moments that are connected to relaxation. I also love using coffee for cooking. I like to refine cheesecake with espresso. You can find an overview of all coffee recipes here on the blog!

Where do you like drinking coffee most? To be honest, I love drinking my coffee in my »happy place« – a house in Tuscany, on the terrace or by the pool with view of the vineyards – but mostly of course in my kitchen. I have my own little medium-sized bar for quick snacks and for drinking coffee. This is where I drink most of my coffee in the morning – usually when I am already working.

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JANINE How do you prefer to make your coffee? Actually, I started liking the taste of coffee relatively late. Maybe this is the reason why I not only drink coffee but enjoy it. However, my coffee contains mostly milk and my morning ritual consists of preparing the milk in the milk frother and making coffee with my espresso maker on the stove. At the moment, we use ready-made espresso powder. But I fancy a coffee grinder to grind the beans ourselves. And a portafilter machine would be nice too. Sugar is a must for me and there are also only certain cups from which I drink my coffee. Everybody has their quirk. ;-) Where do you like drinking coffee most? We have three children, therefore it’s usually very loud and bustling in our house. The question of where is less relevant than the question of when. The perfect moment is when there is silence in the morning – either when the children are still sleeping or when they are already out of the house.

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Only then, can I enjoy my coffee in silence and drink it hot, and this is my personal coffee ritual. Is there a beautiful memory you have with a cup of coffee? I don’t have a particular place where I like drinking my coffee. But moments I love are, for example, when I sit on my terrace on summer mornings and watch the sun rise. Or when I cuddle in a corner of a nice café and observe the going-ons inside and outside with my coffee in my hand. This works in every city and has a calming and inspiring effect on me.

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TINA How do you prefer to make your coffee? I like my coffee best when it runs through a porcelain filter directly into my cup. I also like my Chemex very much. Where do you like drinking coffee most? The best coffee is the one I pleasurably drink in bed on weekends. This is the best start of the day for me. Is there a beautiful memory you have with a cup of coffee? There are many great coffee moment memories. But I especially remember the coffee I had in the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. There was (I don’t know if it’s still there) a small kiosk with the best coffee I have drunk so far. Plus the view over this wonderful city…marvellous!

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DORIS How do you prefer to make your coffee? Preferably as cappuccino or quite classic as espresso. I like to start the morning with a cappuccino. Later I do without milk and switch to espresso. Where do you like drinking coffee most? Preferably cosy at the kitchen table with breakfast, newspaper and plenty of time to enjoy. This way, the day starts with coffee aroma and cosiness.

A few years ago, we were in Canada, in Toronto and surroundings. It was a wonderful, autumnal atmosphere. There were lovingly designed and cosy cafÊs everywhere. They always put a pinch of cinnamon instead of cocoa on the foamed milk. I’ve been doing this too since then, and especially in autumn and winter I put a pinch of the aromatic spice on my cappuccino. Doris also shared a great recipe for a caffeine-free coffee variety with us, the acorn coffee!

Is there a beautiful memory you have with a cup of coffee?

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Acorn coffee In the past, acorn coffee was only drunk in times of need. However, it has received more attention lately because it has good qualities for our health. It doesn’t contain caffeine and was already recommended by Sebastian Kneipp for strengthening the whole organism of young and old. The roasted acorns used for brewing are said to help with gastric weakness, poor digestion and abdominal cramps.

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Ingredients:

100 g ground and roasted acorn flour 1 1/2 TL cinnamon 1/2 TL ground cloves 1 TL turmeric 1/2 TL ground ginger Pinch of nutmeg and cardamom

Preparation: 1.

Mix all ingredients well and put them in a glass. 2. For a cup of acorn coffee, you take a tablespoon of ground powder and boil it with 1 Âź cups of water. 3. Use a little more water since the powder merges with the water and a little bit remains. 4. When the water is boiled up, reduce the temperature and leave it for 2 to 3 minutes. 5. Then you can strain the acorn coffee with a coffee or tea filter.

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» AT H O M E … « … when stuck at home, then with drive, action and excitement – we want to play! Great idea, and my advice is to start with the wellknown »Mensch, ärgere Dich nicht« because it fits the general mood. And in particular, we learn to lose from the start, to reduce stress, to stay in a good mood. We want to keep things nice at home… Text: Otto Balkenboden Illustrations: Małgosia Cvetinović

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MENSCH, ÄRGERE DICH NICHT Did you know that this board game has existed since 1910? It’s suitable for two to six people, can be played in several variations and there are even German and international single and team championships for »Mensch ärgere Dich nicht«! In The game In this game, it’s important to roll a six and to oust the counterparty from their place to the starting position. But everybody knows that, I guess. Sure, playing is fun, you are in company and get distracted from the stress of everyday life. Skat, Sixty-Six, Rummy or Doppelkopf are popular variants. I have added some game suggestions, maybe you can try them out. Have fun with them!

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17 + 4 The principle The objective is to reach 21 points with two or more cards or to get as close to them as possible.

After shuffling the cards, they determine the stake, followed by the other players. Their stakes must not be higher than the banker’s.

The attraction is to make the right decision of whether to take another card or not. The player who has the most points without exceeding the maximum of 21 points wins.

Now the banker deals the cards: two face-down cards for every player, one face-down card for themselves. The remaining cards stay face down in the middle of the table.

The conditions Following the rules, you can play with 52 French cards, but 32 German cards are possible as well. In both decks of cards, the values are the same: • Ace = 11 Points • Picture cards (jack, queen, king) = 10 Points • Numerals = like the values they show

The beginning Before the game starts, it’s determined who is the banker and deals the cards.

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The game

Important: Every player looks at their cards now and checks if they are already as close to 21 as they want them to be. The player on the left of the banker says first whether they want another card or not. If their score is already enough, they must reveal their hand. If the score is over 21, they lose immediately. If they are satisfied, it’s the next one’s turn. When all players have made their decisions, the banker draws their second card.

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Both they and the players can ask to draw more cards but must not exceed 21. Otherwise, they lose and their stakes go to the bank. Otherwise, they lose and their stakes go to the bank. If the banker exceeds 21, all remaining players win and get their stakes as profit on top. If the banker gets 21 or less, the players who have more points than them without exceeding the maximum of 21 points win. If a player believes on the basis of their two cards that they can beat the banker in any case, they say ÂťbankÂŤ and set their stake as high as the total stake. They reveal their cards. However, if the score of the player is the same as the one of the banker, the bank wins. Like this version, there are several rule variations that you can use individually. 17 + 4 is very similar to Blackjack.

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Gin Rummy This game came from America in 1909 and is a variation of Rummy. The principle The objective is to collect matching combinations. Every player tries to collect matching cards in their hand. This works in Groups or sets as triplets or quadruplets with cards of the same value: e.g. three queens or four fours Sequences with several successive cards of the same suit: e.g. 2-3-4 in hearts or ace-2-3 in spades (the ace only counts as one point!)

The conditions The players use a French deck of cards with 52 cards. You can also use two packs of cards like for Rummy. Two players play the game.

The card values The tens and the picture cards count for ten points each, Aces (see above) only 1 point (!) and the numerals 2 to 9 according to their values.

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The beginning After shuffling, every player gets ten cards. One card from the remaining pile is placed face up, the rest face down.

The game The drawing and laying-off in order to collect can begin! The player who didn’t deal the cards starts. A turn consists of drawing a new card from the face-down pile and of discarding one card that is no longer needed to the discard pile. The player can also draw a card from the discard pile, but only if they can lay-off a group or sequence with this card. The cards in one player’s hand that don’t fit into any combination should have a low value. If this value is ten or lower, this player can (but doesn’t have to) knock. This means that they put their cards face up on the table. The other player can lay-off matching cards from their hands on these cards. The game ends.

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The values of the cards that don’t match are counted and set off against each other. The one who knocked gets positive points if the value of their »bad« cards is lower than the other player’s. The difference counts for them. If, in the opposite case, the value of the not-matching cards of the player who didn’t knock is lower than the knocking player’s, the player who didn’t knock gets a bonus of ten points on top of the difference.

If the knocking player puts a hand on the table where all cards fit into groups or sequences, i.e. the value of the not-matching cards is zero, this luck is called gin. Usually you play several games and settle up in the end. In old times, the winner recieved bottles of rum or gin, which isn’t forbidden nowadays!

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Preference This card game has been around since the 18th century and was mainly played in Austria-Hungary. The principle Every player tries to take as many tricks as possible. It’s not a fast game since thinking, calculating, maybe even negotiating are part of it. You play for tokens, but if you want, you can also play for money. I recommend cents.

The conditions The game is suitable for three players and is played with a French deck of cards with 52 cards.

The values » Hearts has the highest value, the order is clubs-spades-diamondshearts. » Within the suit, the order is 7-8-9-10-jack-queen-king-ace.

The beginning The dealer is drawn by lot or determined by card drawing. The player with the highest card deals the cards.

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Attention! In the game of Preference, the suit has priority over the rank of a card, e.g. an eight of hearts is higher than an ace of spades. The dealer gets the stake (ten tokens or ten cents) ready. After shuffling and picking up, every player gets three cards and four more after two cards are put face down on the table (talon). Lastly, everyone gets three more cards.. Then every player checks their cards and decides if they want to play. The requirement is that they can take six tricks. Otherwise they only play if they can take at least two tricks. Determination of the soloist, the »declarer« by bidding • The player on the left of the dealer first calls: »Pass«, or declares for example: »one« (game of clubs) • The middle hand passes or outbids for example with »two« (game of spades) • The dealer also passes or outbids with »three« (game of diamonds).

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1

2

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4

>

three = Diamonds

two = Spade

four = Heart

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The soloist (declarer) will be the one who bids the highest. They may take the two cards facing down and discard two less good ones. Then they determine the trump suit that must match at least the highest bid. The two other players then say if they want to follow suit or »stay home«. The latter lay-off their cards face down. If both of them stay home, the soloist wins the whole stake. A new turn starts with the new dealer who sits clockwise next to the first dealer. A game »from the hand« is possible as well. The two hidden cards stay put. The player announces the »deal«. If more than one claim »from the hand«, the one with the highest suit becomes the soloist.

The game If both or only one of the other players follows suit, the game is played clockwise. The soloist plays and the tricks are taken. The other players must either trump or follow suit. After that, the player who took the last trick plays. There is a suit and trump compulsion according to the following scheme:

• if possible, trump with a higher card of the same suit • if not possible, follow suit with a lower card of the same suit • if this is not possible as well, you have to take trick with a trump card • if not possible, follow suit with any other card In order to win the game, the declarer has to take at least six tricks, the other players need two tricks in order to not fall. For every trick, the player gets one token. If another player didn’t take their two tricks, they are punished with a penalty of ten additional tokens in the next game. The soloist is punished as well if they don’t take their six tricks: double stake in the next game and the stake of the dealer. If hearts is the trump suit, the game is called Preference and is declared that way. If the soloist (declarer) wins, the other players have to give them five tokens, if the soloist loses, they have to pay five tokens to the others and have to double the stakes in the next turn. Next to »preference«, this game offers several interesting special rules.

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Are you looking for casual and comfortable clothes that still look chic? Then our DIY Homewear Collection is just the thing for you. Homewear shorts and the matching jumper, our elegant sweatpants or pyjamas made of foldover sheet – just snuggle in and cosy up with the new sisterMAG issue. For our shooting, we asked our working student Sahra to be the model. She surprisingly knew how to implement all yoga poses and

crazy ideas of our team perfectly. Of course, the comfortable s t r e t c h materials, jersey and patterns with a lot of mobility helped her. Tag us with @sistermagpatterns if you sew pieces of our Homewear Collection yourselves!

Photos: Jaclyn Locke Design & Styling: Evi Neubauer Model: Sahra Mohamed Abdulaahi 127

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A wool white jersey top becomes an absolute eye-catcher with colourful pompoms on the back and a crochet collar. This top is really versatile and can also be worn with jeans or skirt outside the home. Here it is combined with the cosiest shorts you can sew yourselves, including elastic band and cord closure.

on this page:

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Wool white jersey top with crochet trim and pom poms BUY NOW

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Homewear shorts BUY NOW

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This homewear sweater with overlong sleeves is perfect for cuddling on the sofa or for long days at the computer. A special highlight are the knitted cuffs on the collar and the waistband. Combined with: the jogging pants with extra high waistband for maximum comfort.

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Homewear jumper with extra long sleeves BUY NOW

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Jogging pants BUY NOW

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This shirt is not only comfortable but also a real statement. With turtleneck and gigot sleeves, it’s slightly oversized and also well suited for Zoom calls at home. What makes the shoulders so extra-wide? Shoulder pads, of course, because the 80s are not only back but live on! ;)

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ar Colle c t i o n a H e o m e w

C o l l e r c t i o na e w e - Hom

m e we

e w a r e Collection - H m oH o

tion

r Co llecti on

c e l l o C r a e w e oH m

on this page:

Shirt with leg-ofmutton sleeves

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Homewear shorts

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BUY NOW

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What could not be missing from this collection: a housecoat/ bathrobe for long mornings and spa weekends. This pattern ist super easy and even suitable for beginners. Made of cosy pink woven fabric with an amount of cashmere, you just want to spend the whole day in the housecoat.

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Dressing gown BUY NOW

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As you can see: Mix & match is the concept of this collection. Here you see the combination of our wool white jersey top with pompoms with the light blue jogging pants. Particularly important with this pattern for us was that the jogging pants reach especially far into the waist. This is comfortable and, by the way, also suitable for a pregnant belly. ;)

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Jogging pants BUY NOW

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Wool white jersey top with crochet trim and pom poms BUY NOW

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Do you already have more confidence in sewing? Then we recommend our jogging pants with piping. They are just as comfortable and even more elegant at the same time since the piping at the sides of each pant leg looks impressive. This way, you can even wear them with a white shirt and pumps at the office.

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XMAS-1 Elegant sweatpants with piping BUY NOW

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BOOK COLUMN

Reading at home Winter time and the last month of 2020 are now here - so it is time to finally get some rest and to get rid of the stress during the past months. This works especially well with enough books for cosy holidays at home. In this issue, author Martina Klaric has once again compiled book tips that can carry us through the Christmas vacations and take us to new, exciting places which we cannot visit in real life at the moment.

Text: Martina Klaric

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By Heddi Goodrich, published on 9 July 2020 by HarperVia (400 pages), ISBN: 978-0008360009, €10.46

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LOST IN THE

SPANISH

QUARTER Years after she left Naples with a broken heart, he wrote her: That he’s been thinking of her and made the wrong decision back then. Flashbacks, racing heart, longing – suddenly everything is back for Heddi: The ’90s in the Spanish quarter of Naples where she, as an American student, experiences the first freedom of adulthood and the first big love. It’s the geology student Pietro whose seriousness and profundity throws Heddi

off the track and lets her believe that she found a love that withstands all resistance. But it doesn’t! And Heddi leaves for New Zealand and the search for herself – unaware that she might not have been mistaken about Pietro’s feelings for her. A heart-warming story against a breathtaking »dolce vita« backdrop. There’s only one thing left to say: Open the book and your heart and dive into the thousand sunsets of Naples.

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A PLACE

FOR US

Amar is like the lost son who comes back home after a long absence. An argument with his father, Rafiq, whose strict rules didn’t seem to match the American culture of freedom in which Amar increasingly saw the place of his self-assertion makes him leave his Muslim family home. His older sister, Hadia, first tries to protect the

brother in his rebellions until she sees the chance in his escape to live a life according to her own ideas. Not only does she take the place of the brother in the family constellation but also marries a man she has chosen herself. But before her wedding reception comes to an end, Amar comes back and throws everything off track. But what made him return? Can their father forgive Amar? And will Hadia give up her place for the only son and former pride of the family? A deep family story that touches the big questions of finding identity, rootlessness and freedom in the light of the US present. Lightly written, inspiring with every line and a real pageturner! No wonder that the great Sarah Jessica Parker made the novel the first publication of her publishing house SJP for Hogarth .

By Fatima Farheen Mirza, published on 12 June 2018 by SJP (400 pages), ISBN: 9781524763565, â‚Ź24.00

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HAMNET The literary genre of tragedy retold! Maggie O’Farrell is not without reason one of the most important Irish-British female authors of the present. Her most recent novel is a small sensation after all. At the centre of the historical narration is Shakespeare’s elevenyear-old son, Hamnet, who one evening feels strange bumps on the neck of his sister Judith. That night, no one is there who could help the children – neither their mother, Agnes, who practises remedial methods in the nearest town nor their father who tries to give his life a meaning with plays in London. Only the readership suspects at this point that one of the children has only a few hours to live. The novel of Maggie O’Farrell reads as a long-awaited addition to a work that lets us have a fresh look at the great dramatist in his role as a

father and husband since the novel is mostly written from the perspective of Shakespeare’s wife Agnes. If you think of having to deal with heavy poetry like »to be or not to be«, you are wrong. And you will be surprised by O’Farrell’s vivid art of narration that permeates our time with moments of times past.

By Maggie O‘Farrell, published on 31 March 2020 by Hachette (416 pages), ISBN: 9781472223838, €22.00

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By Daphne du Maurier, published (1938) in 2017 by Penguin Random House (456 pages), ISBN: 9781101907870, €22.00

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REBECCA A hotel on the Côte d’Azur – it’s a spring-like day when Maxim de Winter falls in love with a young woman from a humble background. She, the companion of a rich lady, only wants one thing: to see the world! He, on the other hand, the wealthy landowner of the estate Manderley, is widowed when the two meet. Before she can leave the hotel, Maxim asks for her hand in marriage. They finally move to his estate together where strange things start to happen. Not only that the ghost of Maxim’s first wife Rebecca seems to haunt through the corridors of the big

dark castle. The old housekeeper also dislikes the arrival of the new wife – but why? When Rebecca’s body is eventually pulled from the nearby sea, it’s clear that Maxim’s mysterious silence has a reason. Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca is a true classic with addictive potential! Not only Alfred Hitchcock found the material located between murder mystery, thriller and ghost story ready for film but also Netflix. The recently released remake is absolutely worth seeing – but doesn’t come close to reading the novel!

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KINTSUGI AND A QUICK DIY GUIDE FOR THOSE IN A HURRY Japanese craftsmanship 2/2 Isn’t it a dream come true? Upgrading through repair. An object, like for example a bowl from a precious series that has long been discontinued, breaks – and what do we do? Instead of regretting the loss, we not only repair it but turn it into something special, thanks to kintsugi. It means to inscribe an object’s very own history on its surface, thus creating an individual keshiki, a »landscape« of gold lines. What couldn’t be better suited to the current zeitgeist of sustainability has been common practice in Japan for centuries. Following the philosophy of finding beauty in the ephemeral and in individuality (wabi sabi), an object fixed through kintsugi even gains in value – emotionally and materially. All this went through my head when I recently unfortunately stacked two delicate porcelain bowls from a beautiful white octagonal service above each other – and one just broke. Luckily, in two clean halves. Perfect conditions for a kintsugi experiment, no? Isn’t it a dream come true? Upgrading through repair. Text: Elisabeth Stursberg

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An object, like for example a bowl from a precious series that has long been discontinued, breaks – and what do we do? Instead of regretting the loss, we not only repair it but turn it into something special, thanks to kintsugi. All this went through Elisabeth Stursberg’s head when she recently unfortunately stacked two delicate porcelain bowls from

a beautiful white octagonal service above each other – and one just broke. Luckily, in two clean halves. Perfect conditions for a kintsugi experiment, we thought. What quickly became clear to us: Making the effort to get gold powder for this is absolutely worth it!

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SO HOW DOES KINTSUGI AT HOME WORK? Traditionally used as glue is urushi – a lacquer made of tree resins and, for kintsugi, mixed with gold powder. The gluing line is then again dusted with gold powder before the object has to dry for a rather long time under the right air conditions. Finally, the surface is sanded to make it even, if necessary. Since classic urushi is not only tricky to use correctly but can also cause allergic reactions, a kind of adapted kintsugi process uses porcelain glue instead. Since for my project I also wanted something faster, I went with the latter. First of all, degrease the surfaces that will be glued together, for example with a cotton swab soaked in nail polish remover. Then apply the glue as thinly as possible, perhaps with a toothpick, and carefully attach the broken edges to each other. [photos 1 a or b, 2] Side note: Classic porcelain glue is available in white and transparent. In my experiment, the excess glue was fairly easy to clean off (you can use another toothpick

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or a damp cloth for this) and was hardly visible anymore, which is why I assume you can use white glue also for darker objects – especially since it will be mixed with, or covered by, gold colour anyway. The important thing to remember is that the glue must be food safe. Deviating from tradition, again, and because I wanted to test alternatives to classic gold powder, I did not directly mix the gold colour with the glue. I had also been wondering whether porcelain glue mixed with gold powder might hold up less well (in hindsight, this doesn’t seem to be an issue as long as the glue itself is good enough). So after the glue had dried, I began applying gold paint along the glue line from the outside. First, I used gold spray. The result: It can definitely be applied precisely with a fine brush, but had low opacity – the effect reminded me more of watercolours [photo 3]. If you like that, wonderful. With the result of the

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traditional kintsugi in mind, however, I wanted to try something else: a gold pen. Again, it allowed me to apply the colour rather precisely, also opacity was higher, but most of the colour came off with just a few drops of water. This was even though the pen was supposed to be waterproof. A very fine golden line remained,

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but it was definitely less prominent than I had hoped. In short: It is worth getting gold powder for this. Either you mix it directly with the glue or you do the gluing without gold and apply the mixture afterwards along the glue line. A slightly uneven surface afterwards is part of the concept and not a flaw. [Final result: photo 3]

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NO TO GLASS, YES TO PORCELAIN AND CERAMICS Although Japan also has a tradition of glass blowing, porcelain and ceramics dominate the traditional crafts. The Japanese writer Jun‘ichirō Tanizaki explained this in the 1930s less with technical or economic factors but rather with something he called the Japanese »national character«: »It cannot be said that we reject shiny things in general, but we prefer a deep, subtle shimmer to shallow, bright gloss.« The extraordinary variety of ceramic products – including also glazed ones – is still being produced today by countless workshops which are deeply rooted in the respective region and have developed their own design traditions. Thus, ceramics in Japan are named after their place of origin. While for porcelain, pulverised stones are mixed with water, kneaded and fired at a hot 1200-1400 degrees Celsius for a shiny surface, ceramic, which is based on clay, requires »just« 800-1200 degrees Celsius, but its surface must be smoothed out after the firing.

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TIPS & ADDRESSES The comfortable but slightly more expensive version is a ready-made kintsugi set which normally contains glue, gold powder and the abovementioned utensils (underlined). Frequently recommended, but not tested for this experiment:

New Kintsugi repair kit Goldklebeset by Amazing Crocodile diy: the original new kintsugi repair kit kit by humade ,available in Berlin at the SĂźper Store

Wagumi in London has a delightful selection of Japanese handicrafts and design, including kintsugi accessories, workshops and even Âťpractice (which, generously, platesÂŤ have already been broken for you)! Order them via Trouva who also have kintsugi products by Seletti .

Korest also offers various accessories and simple bowls (which, apparently, you have to break yourself first?).

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In Berlin, SPACE.Berlin in KantstraĂ&#x;e carries Seletti. If you prefer to commission kintsugi work, you could get in touch with Satoko Toyoda or Natsuyo Watanabe

In MĂźnchen findet zum Beispiel am 27. Oktober 2020 ein Workshop was held at the Gasteig on 27 October 2020. Maybe it will be repeated in time. 157

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SISTERMAG – JOURNAL FOR THE DIGITAL LADY www.sister-mag.com Chief editor

Theresa Wittemann, Antonia Sutter

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