Villa Sorgenfrei Schmuckmanufaktur – Custom jewellery made in Berlin

Over the past five years Villa Sorgenfrei have sold 250,000 pieces of jewellery. An extraordinary figure for any independent local enterprise, it is rendered even more
impressive when you consider how each individual piece is made by hand in a small atelier in Berlin-Mitte.

This jewellery brand’s distinctive style is not just popular in Berlin and the rest of Europe, it has chanced upon an ever-growing customer base in Brazil, Korea, Israel, Russia, South Africa, Kuwait and the USA. From Australia to Japan, these ‘made in Berlin’ products are in hot demand.

From its roots in founder, owner and designer Claudia Pöpsel’s living room in 2010, the success story saw her hobby take on new dimensions. Initially Claudia collected vintage jewellery, which she gave a new lease of life by transforming them into new creations. As a release from her hectic former job, she headed to flea markets on weekends. As demand grew, she turned to online sales as well. Within a few months, her pastime exploded in popularity and she turned her back on her former career, hiring her first temporary members of staff with more to follow. Her apartment, where it had all begun, rapidly turned into a workshop, including client visits.

2012 saw Villa Sorgenfrei move into its first, small atelier, and tackling sales from around the world required Claudia to take on fulltime staff. A year later they upgraded to their current space in Berlin’s Linienstrasse, featuring a showroom, where the huge demand can now be met in person too. 2014 saw the launch of the webshop [www.villasorgenfreiberlin.de], which allows even more liberty and independence to create distinctive designs, accommodating the constant wealth of new ideas that Claudia feeds into Villa Sorgenfrei.

The secret to Villa Sorgenfrei’s success story: distinctive jewellery at very fair prices, far removed from mass-produced items; a unique focus on natural materials such as genuine blooms, grasses, petals, leaves; as well as upcycled items of jewellery, created from original pieces from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, all meticulously sought and found by Claudia before being reinvented as wholly new designs. This results in the original creations of Villa Sorgenfrei. In 2015, the turnover once more eclipsed the previous year, propelling Villa Sorgenfrei into its sixth year with an ever-stronger vigour as its success story continues to be written.

Text & Photos: Villa Sorgenfrei | Translation: Emmie Collinge

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