Berlin: Frederik Frede, Founder of Freunde Von Freunden.
Photography by Robert Rieger, Robbie Lawrence, Maxime Ballesteros, Guido Castagnoli.
Based in Berlin, Frede is the founder of Freunde von Freunden (FvF) alongside his friends – Tim Seifert and Torsten Bergler. FvF is an independent international publication documenting inspiring people from various creative backgrounds. With hundreds of interviews, workspace inspirations and beautiful apartment interior generated by their creative collaborators, FvF attracts global followers and remains authentic by sharing honest stories of real people. The team also designed The FvF Apartment – an urban living space which are adaptable for various creative events for friends and partners.
I had shown you the incomplete draft of Musotrees Vol 1 yonks ago and today we are honoured to feature you in Vol 3. Have have you been?
I am doing great and we have a lot in the pipeline, like our new space in Kreuzberg, a print mag in the making, an office in Los Angeles and long-overdue site update.
How was Freunde von Freunden (FvF) founded? Can you share with us what it is about and why you created it.
In 2006, Torsen Bergler and I set up design agency NoMoreSleep. We wanted to do out own thing, showcase our abilities. We created everything from logos and branding to websites, the design and its overall strategic concept. We sold it off in 2009 when we started FvF with Tim Seifert. We asked a friend, Ailine Liefeld, to take portraits of our friends, who are mostly creatives – designers, artists. This is how our initial focus came about.
In 2011, Torsten and I resurrected the creative agency, this time calling it MoreSleep. We called it MoreSleep because we're older then, so we needed more sleep. It showed were not only older, but wiser.
FvF focuses on creative stories in different fields from around the world with correspondents in more than 80 cities. What are the guidelines for a story to be featured? How does the screening process go.
We want to stay true to our focus and portray Freunde von Freunden, friends of friends. From the beginning, we literally worked with close friends and asked them to recommend another friend. This is how we expanded our network and how we wish to continue. We are interested in people from different fields equally. Our focus is on individuals who are inspiring and have a passion, whether it is in gardening, cooking or designing space shuttles.
One of the topics published on FvF is travel. Share with us your rare travel stories.
I love travelling and meeting people. Among my unforgettable journeys include riding motorbike through Cambodia, a week of diving in the Philippines and surfing in Indonesia and Portugal.
Does travelling – either for work or fun – play an important role in your life?
Travelling is my biggest inspiration. Maybe it's the new and familiar places and the old and new friends connected to it. I stand by the saying, "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."
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This interview appeared in Enterprise Issue. To continue reading, you can buy digital copy here. Print is sold out.
