There’s no party like a workshop.

Remember those hobbies you had when you were younger? The joy it brought you to make something with your hands, to play with materials and try new things? It’s time to bring it back.

In the now somewhat mainstream DIY culture, the secret is already known – using your own skills to produce something instead of just buying it makes it more valuable and most definitely unique.

This is what the wonderful people from Cee Cee have been trying to do in their workshop series called “Lessons”, which they developed in collaboration with Bulleit Whiskey. Their wish is to teach us how to make and value what we produce once again. To share experiences and ideas and meet new like-minded people. To learn from experts and creatives and do things hands-on.

After three successful workshops, from working with concrete with Accidental Concrete, customized tea making with Manuteefaktur, and wood workshop with Reiner Spehl, CeeCee teamed up with Bohazel to once again share their love for handwork and design in order to spread the knowledge and passion for making by connecting artists and doers with those willing to learn.

We had the chance to attend The Art of Knotting with Desiree, Cee Cee's fourth event, realized with the support of Airbnb during the #livethere event held at the beautiful Hallesches Haus.

The workshop was a lesson in basic macramé – described as an oriental knot weaving technique Desiree told us she has been using since childhood. Nowadays she uses the same skill she learned in school to produce lovely plant hangers and wall ornaments usually for sale in her Bohazel shop in Neukolln's famous Schillerkiez.

As she herself says – the main point of her work is to give to others, and share her skills with the next generation of makers.

Guided by this, in a few hours Desiree has taught us to make our own hangers. Patiently and with great care she showed and helped all of the many participants to produce a lovely house ornament, explaining how to correctly use the string, execute basic knots, and combine them into a personalized hanger for a plant which is ready to be used in order to “make the home more beautiful”.

This simple but engaging technique is easy to learn and enjoy. After a few basic knots and tries, your fingers get the grip and start knotting the fine thread as of by themselves. At this point macramé becomes a zen practice – repetition until perfection is achieved, until a simple string becomes an unique object reflecting your inner designs. Your thoughts are engaged in the task but also flowing free, from the easy conversation with the fellow attendees to the feeling of simple joy of doing and learning.

After the full three hours we were given to learn and explore, all of the participants felt a wonderful connection and wish to try our new knowledge again, as soon as possible.

Desiree promised us that she will be doing more workshops like these, and CeeCee promised they are planning more collaborations with artists, designers, and makers. If we got you interested, be sure to follow Bohazel and Cee Cee, and participate in the upcoming Lessons – you might just be the next macramé genius, sake master, designer in leather or flower artist.

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Airbnb präsentiert: Das Berlin #LiveThere Haus – more info

Cee Cee Lessons – more info

Bohazel
Kienitzer Str. 111, 12049 Berlin
Mon-Wed & Fri 14-20h, Sat 12-18h