Two wonderful Berlin stationery and gift shops. The Gärtnerstraße store opened in 2007 followed by a second shop in Berlin’s Bergmannkiez neighborhood. Founded by

A beautiful stationery shop with a fantastic assortment of wrapping paper, greeting cards and home décor accessories. Schwesterherz is perfect to gift yourself or others. Founded by former movie location manager, Ellen Teschendorf, who also founded Berlin kitchenware shops Küchenliebe.

"Schwesterherz is an endearing nickname in German used for one’s sister, the literal translation is ‘sister heart.’ I chose this name because this is how my brothers refer to me."

Why did you choose the name Schwesterherz? Schwesterherz is an endearing nickname in German used for one’s sister, the literal translation is ‘sister heart.’ I chose this name because this is how my brothers refer to me.

Who designed the Schwesterherz? Petra Albert designed the shop.

What is Schwesterherz best known for? Our best selling items include our large selection of greeting cards and wrapping paper, as well as a fine selection of accessories for the home.

What are the “must have items” in your Schwesterherz? The perfect notebook from Notem, The emotional notebook from Navucko, Coffee table books from Gestalten, Frames from Moebe.

What makes Schwesterherz so unique? The selection of our goods makes Schwesterherz unique and we make sure to often change what we have on offer. We also focus a lot of on our decoration and how the products are presented in the store.

Who are your customers? Mostly women between the ages of 25-39 who love design products and love to buy gifts.

How has the internet impacted your business? Not that much actually, because we don’t sell goods from really big brands, which can be found cheaper online. We sell a lot of smaller brands, which are harder to find. We are however working on our own online shop to be a part of our business.

Ellen Teschendorf, Shopkeeper at Schwesterherz

Who inspires you? I love the shop Empreintes in Paris.

What inspires you? Good products.

Before I was a shopkeeper, I… .Was working on films as a location manager.

What motivated you to open a shop? The desire to be my own boss, and to be better than others.

The hardest lesson learned in starting a business? Working with the German tax office and creating clear communication with our employees.

What is your favorite thing about owning an independent shop? Being completely free and loving what I do because of a deep sense of self-actualization.

Your advice for anyone wanting to open a shop? Just do it, be brave.

If you weren’t a shopkeeper you would be.. Still working for films.

"Retail has to be special. This is the important thing in order to be part of the market."