"Here, in Düsseldorf, it's great to work together, not only among colleagues such as creatives and designers, but also with so many other people you get to know." _{Alex Michalakopoulos}

Lilly Friedeberg, Alex Michalakopoulos and Kiyo Matsumoto are the initiators and creators of the Japanese-German design exhibition Dezain Crush. It is the second edition, which starts at the end of May - and what an upgrade! From the pop-up store in Toykio to the NRW-Forum, where eleven designers are exhibiting, a pop-up store invites you to store and a lot of kawaii awaits visitors. Dezain Crush takes place on three consecutive weekends. It starts on May 23, to coincide with Japan Day on May 24.

Mike Litt met with Lilly Friedeberg & Alex Michalakopoulos at Studio Bob, Lilly Friedeberg's design studio. The two have been friends with the third Dezain Crush Head Kiyo Matsumoto for many years and have been driven by the desire to make the creative scene visible in Düsseldorf as part of a Japanese-German exchange for several years. In the podcast, they told us how they realized Dezain Crush and why the format captivates with lightness, love and fun.

dezain-crush.com

By the way: From now on, "Alle Rhein!" will be published on the last Friday of every month.

Episode 53 with Lilly Friedeberg & Alex Michalakopoulos from Dezain Crush

Our podcast "Alle Rhein!" is our platform for everyone who makes sure that you are almost constantly surrounded by art, culture and culinary delights in Düsseldorf. Our host Mike Litt talks to his guests about the most exciting projects and finds out what artists, event organizers and other creative people love about their city and where they like to spend their free time.

Our host

Mike Litt was born in the US state of Virginia and lived in Bochum for many years. The globetrotter usually works in Cologne but lives with his family in the beautiful Düsseltal district of Düsseldorf. He is a radio presenter (1Live, WDR 2, DLF Nova), a DJ with Mayday festival experience and an author (‘The loneliest DJ in the world’). For our podcast, he holds fascinating conversations with other people from Düsseldorf’s cultural scene.

Photos: Kenny Tran/Visit Düsseldorf
Portrait Mike Litt: [email protected]
Music / Sound: Christian Moster / Mike Litt / Marc Gottschalk