Peter in the Colorful Villa K
Do you remember your childhood? If you were born fortunately enough, it was a time where you were carefree, full of whimsy, and you didn't think about the stress of life. One of my favorite things about being a kid (and still now) was cartoons and television in general. I loved getting up on Saturday mornings and being so excited for what I would see. When I was quite little, and before I discovered the more mischievous cartoons out there for kids (shout out to Cartoon Network for being the primary source of my often dark humor), I loved a show called Bear in the Big Blue House. This was a show about a bear aptly named Bear that lives in a magical home with his friends and everyday episode Bear and his friends work together to navigate fun and friendship- all in all very wholesome show.
Now let’s jump to the present day, life is lifting and if I’m honest I think back to my childhood and wish I could still have some of that whimsy from before. Cue Peter stage left. I met Peter around 3 years ago, through how you ask? Cannabis! I started working on Dank Mamas as a part of a project called Build Space which was a virtual collaboration for people across the world. You could give updates on the project you were working on and find people doing similar stuff. Peter found me by searching “cannabis” and it just so happened we were in the same city! He reached out and we planned a time to get coffee and meet up to talk about our work. In all honesty I ended up forgetting we had agreed to meet and completely ghosted him for the first meeting which is incredibly unlike me. I felt awful, but Peter never held this against me. He’s an incredibly forgiving and patient person, a part of his character I admire. After making sure our next meeting was in my calendar and a week going by I met Peter at a local cafe- he doesn't support mega chains so Starbucks was not an option. After our coffee my impressions of Peter were simply this, “Where in the world did this man come from? And why aren't there more people like Peter?”.
Physically Peter Peter has very curly hair that grows at a speed every girl dreams of and
He has very gentle characteristics including a warm smile that feels… safe. He’s from the south of Germany, but you wouldn't know it. He barely has an accent and one might think of him to have been raised American or Canadian. Peter has spent time studying religion, business, and it feels like he’s been reincarnated as a modern day Plato or philosopher from ancient times. In our first meeting we talked for around 2 hours about our projects, cannabis in Berlin (the law had recently changed to allow recreational consumption), and more broadly this crazy adult life we’ve found ourselves in. Peter is so interesting because he’s a walking contradiction. He’s a business man that doesn't like money! Now, I myself can see the fault in the billionaire players club, but your girl loves to work and make a dollar.
In the first year I met Peter he had some loss in his family that led to him earning a decent inheritance. Many people would take this opportunity to buy something, a vacation, a house, a car (well technically he eventually did but more on that later). But the first thing Peter did was hold onto his money and wait. He describes not feeling like he had a significant amount of money, but rather I roughly quote, “ a large ball of energy that he could eventually put towards something worth it when the time was right”. Peter would eventually use his abundance to fund projects that have created a space for creators and artists to flourish.
Eventually the time would be right and Peter would invest in Villa K, Papes Art, and a firetruck! Yes, Peter is the proud owner of a big old red German firetruck. The firetuck is pretty cool, but the first two things are the most impressive about Peter. The first, Villa K is what I can describe as a true community for artists. Peter found an old office style building in the heart of Berlin Mitte and after several bouts of construction that are still ongoing he’s created a palace where musicians, artists and craftsmen can show off their skills and share them with the community. You never know what you will see when you walk into a new room in the Villa. In one room an artist is making masks for a play, in another workshop someone else is making rings, and in another room an artist tunes and repairs old guitars. Peter himself has a room dedicated to his brand Art Papes where he finds local artists and displays their work on rolling papers. Art Papes is such a fun brand and I often find myself staring at the paper box lost in a moment of thought before I start smoking.
Stepping into Villa takes me back to the whimsy of my childhood. Peter reminds me so much of the friendly talking bear that taught me about friendship, self expression, and moving a little bit slower in a world obsessed with fast paced bullshit. When I step into the Villa I literally feel transported to a make believe world where art, joy and kindness are most valued. Fortunately, Peter has made this place real and it has been a pleasure watching him over the last few years take a strong stance against a world that says we need money for the sake of making money, a world that says we need to be boring and efficient. Peter’s world is built by the community, for the community and he’s created such an authentic space that we need more of if we want to get out of some of the greatest problems we face as humans.
We weren't meant to be so divided, we weren't meant to be so materialistic, we were made to thrive in communities that prioritize people's creativity and the value of self expression. We’d all feel the joy we once had in our childhood a bit more if we had more communities built by people like Peter (and more friends like him too).
Check out my interview with Peter at Villa K, where we talk about his project Papes Art and his collaboration with Anna, one of the artists behind it. Stay Dank Mamas! 🌿
Comments