Philosophy

“There has to be more to life than having everything.” Maurice Sendak

Actually, EVERYTHING is enough for us. But we did not want to settle for less than EVERYTHING in summer 2009. So we decided to create a space in which we can do EVERYTHING, have EVERYTHING, experience EVERYTHING. “The Agency for EVERYTHING,” said Silke, who had more or less lived in an agency for the last five years. “Sounds good! What will we do there?” asked Sarah, as she would rather go to the agency for EVERYTHING than go again to the Employment Agency.

Everything we can do and everything that we like. Working with all the skills we have. Moving things. Sharing enthusiasm. Combining our skills and creating space for creative exchange. A place where people from the whole world meet and feel good. Fulfilling wishes. We want to be hosts and designers.

Wow! That’s a lot! Can we get all that under one roof? Yes, we just have to find the right roof! So we started our search in Neukölln, where we live. On our strolls through Neukölln we had seen many places which seemed to be waiting to be awoken with a kiss. We soon noticed that not only many other young creative people had seen this, but also property speculators. So we were even happier when we found our dream castle and it became ever clearer that this beautiful old factory would really become our dream castle. While we faced the challenge of convincing others that our dream castle was no castle in the air, during the following months, the idea became ever clearer. And at some point it was clear: the Agency for Everything would be a hotel. Maybe not a hotel in the classical sense, but who needs that in Berlin anyway? And who wants it in Neukölln?!

Silke Lorenzen (in picture on the right) grew up in Pakistan, the Philippines, China and India. After an odyssey through Germany – from Hessen through Bavaria, Hamburg and Leipzig – she finally put down roots in Berlin and decided to stay. Although life was not as effortless as in Asia, she had developed a taste for Berlin. She cut her teeth on a variety of diverse jobs for some years until she discovered her talent for organisation. With the qualities she brought from her Asian childhood, she rapidly became an event manager who was able to cope with the most demanding situations. After managing her hundredth event perfectly, she realised that she now wanted to organise something that brought joy into her own life.

Sarah Vollmer (in picture on the left) was born in the West Berlin of the 70′s. It is therefore surprising that her childhood was rurally idyllic. Memories of bringing milk from the farmer behind the windmill and stealing corn from the fields reflect her early passion for everything edible. But as an academic education was preordained for her, she first travelled through the world of university, making an exciting excursion into medicine and a successful excursion into fashion design before reaching the kitchen. In recent years Sarah has inspired customers and friends with her designs and products – clothes, interior design, garden furniture and her cuisine. On her search for the right setting for her design skills and culinary interests, she met Silke, who had a plan.