LIFE WITHOUT LIMITS
From handbags to interiors, scented pillows to jewellery, Bea Bühler’s creative horizons know no bounds. Variety is the watchword for this designer. ‘Whether it’s a bag, a chair or a space, I’m always interested in the interplay between the aesthetic and the function,’ she says. ‘I try to create something that is beautiful and has meaning, to make the customer happy.’
She doesn’t like to feel limited in the everyday either. Commuting between Munich and Paris, she loves the openness of people in France and her connection to family and friends in Germany. ‘I call it mobility with strong roots,’ she says. This freedom in her work and her daily life is a large part of what motivates her designs. ‘True luxury means autonomy – to work when and where I want.’
That flexibility, combined with a little foresight, has allowed Bühler to navigate these new uncertain times deftly. ‘We all have to adapt, and it helps so much to be able to visualise things clearly,’ she says. And what does she have her sights set on right now? ‘Standing right here next to the Audi Q4 e-tron, I guess I should buy a car… it would be my first!’
The experts and great masters that Dr Marcella Prior-Callwey encounters in her work running the publishing house Callwey Verlag fascinate her. The publisher studied in Berlin and Oxford, where she earned her doctorate. For her, art is always part of the bigger picture. ‘You have art on your plate, art in design, art on the wall. It all comes together and reflects our society,’ she says. ‘I believe that beauty is the source of happiness.’
For Prior-Callwey, good design is just as important in everyday things as in a beautiful picture or a great book. Everything we surround ourselves with has an impact. And with the Audi Q4 e-tron, it’s not just the ‘beautiful bodywork’ that impresses her, but the concept of e-mobility as a whole. ‘I love cars that I can move around the city in with flexibility and manoeuvrability,’ she says. She’s already looking forward to the future of self-driving models and is convinced that it won’t be long before they become commonplace. ‘It will be such a fantastic time-saver,’ she says. ‘I’m thrilled to be living in a time when so many things are changing all at once. I find it extremely exciting.’