WHAT WE LOVE: Original design objects that pay playful homage to the prodigious and beautiful world of typography. Enjoy delicious coffee and treats surrounded by Type Hype’s unique black and white graphics with pops of color.
WHO: Kirsten Dietz opened the shop in 2013.
WHERE: In Berlin’s Mitte neighborhood on Rosa Luxemburg street.
THE SHOP
What year was Type Hype established? 2013
How would you describe Type Hype? Type Hype combines sustainable handmade manufacturing and the metropolitan lifestyle of Berlin with customized designs from A to Z.
Why was the name Type Hype chosen? At Type Hype literally everything is connected to type. The name simply makes sense.
Who designed the shop?We designed our flagship store together with S1 Architects, Berlin.
What are is Type Hype famous for? The variety of our products and their quality. All our products from Living & Kitchen, Stationery & Posters, Bags & Accessories and Food & Beverage ranges come either with letters or digits.
What are the “must have items” in Type Hype? Sometimes notes simply need to be handwritten: Our DIN Berlin notebooks with your favorite character on the cover. Your personal cup – playful design made in Mitte. And of course get a cup of Berlin-roasted Type Hype coffee!
Where and how are your products sourced and made? We only offer products we designed ourselves, were made by small companies we know personally and the finest food from carefully selected organic, regional producers. Handmade leather from Kreuzberg, fabrics from a Bavarian hand-weaving mill, Reichenbach porcelain or the famous Gmund paper – well-chosen partners whose quality, passion and sustainable way of working is a perfect match for Type Hype.
What makes your shop unique? Unique products in a unique environment: Old industrial lights are suspended above lead letter cases and a humming Korrex printing press. In addition, the store brings another tradition back to life: Typesetting apprentices used to drink a lot of milk at work. This is why a milk bar is located at TYPE HYPE at Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 13, serving fresh organic milk from Brandenburg, coffee specialties from a Berlin-based roasting company and small but delicious slow food dishes.
Who are Type Hype’s customers? From people working around the corner having their morning routine coffee at the store to tourists visiting Berlin or the Ingolstadt Village Outlet where we’ve been running a nice pop-up store for a few months.
How has the internet impacted your business? Type Hype has been “in both worlds” from the beginning. The day our shop in Berlin opened, our online shop was already live. Being only an online store was not an option though – we wanted a place where customers can experience the brand and feel the products.
THE SHOPKEEPER
Kirsten Dietz, shopkeeper at Type Hype
Who inspires you? I’m having a hard time mentioning single persons. It’s a combination of what influenced me and everything that’s happening out there every day. Architecture, art, design, Bauhaus, famous typographers…
What inspires you? Always walking through the world with curiosity.
Before I was a shopkeeper, I…was a designer – and still am. I co-founded Strichpunkt – one of the biggest design and branding agencies in Germany – more than 20 years ago and I’ve been a managing partner ever since.
What motivated you to open a shop? Type Hype was a matter of the heart. During my design studies at the art academy I learned how to set lead by hand. The affinity for letters has run like a red thread through my professional life so far – and when, after years of contract work, the opportunity arose to establish my own label, it was clear to me that I would combine this with my love of typography.
Did you have prior retail experience? Not directly but my agency Strichpunkt has many retail clients in its portfolio – it sometimes felt like switching sides.
The hardest lesson learned in starting a business? Not necessarily hard but absolutely true: The future belongs to the brave.
Your favorite thing about owning an independent shop? Feeling the atmosphere in the shop – and how it develops over time.
Your advice for anyone wanting to open a shop? Do it! It takes courage, but it’s worth it.
If you weren’t a shopkeeper you would be..? Hard to tell while balancing my role as managing partner at Strichpunkt and being Type Hype shopkeeper at the same time.
What is your perfect day off in Berlin? The perfect day off starts with sleeping in. After taking way more time than needed to get ready, first thing on the list is breakfast at the Type Hype store – of course. If one of the spots to sit in the window is available: that’s the perfect place to look out, watch passers-by and feel Berlin.
For the afternoon: take my bike and go see the Rummelsburger Bucht (bay) for instance. Especially when you know a city really well, it’s so nice to discover new places from time to time!
What are your five favourite shops? Stage Books, Erick Hamann, Do You Read Me, Paper and Tea, Zauber Koenig.
What are your favorite Instagram accounts? @thedesignfiles, @interiorblink, almost classy but still: @berlinstagram, @sustainable.collective.
Do you have any social media tips? Find your strength and what differentiates you and go for it – e.g. Type Hype was featured by @Instagramforbusiness for our clear visual language.
I wish I could…Open a Type Hype Store in London, New York and Tokyo all at the same time!
On the Future of Retail
“Yes, online shopping is changing the industry – and no, not only for the worse. There will be great concepts to physically invite customers to experience a brand.”
Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 9-13, Berlin
Feride Yalav-Heckeroth is a Berlin-based freelance writer and the author of The 500 Hidden Secrets of Istanbul. Her favorite shops are Souq Dükkan in Istanbul for the best of local design, Ryoko in Berlin for artisan Japanese goods, and Homemade Aromaterapi in Istanbul for 100% natural beauty products.
[wpgmza id=”253″]
