Gossip from the kitchen table
Everyone is probably familiar with the situation of hearing conversations from the next table in the café. Or talking in the shared kitchen about the drama in the neighborhood, a family celebration that got out of hand, or flirtations at the sports club. Lea Dakowski, 25, and Lina Kempenich, 26, have been telling each other intimate, funny and “juicy” stories like this since they met while studying communications at the LMU Munich in 2017. Now the best friends no longer just exchange these stories with each other, but now also share them publicly via their podcast “Juice”which was launched in March of this year via the Munich podcast studio Kugel & Niere.
The stories are based on true events and come from the listeners themselves – real gossip. “But it is very important to us that we treat the protagonists of our stories with respect and treat them on an equal footing. Especially because the stories come from the community and people trust us with their stories,” says Lea. That’s why they anonymize names, locations and other personal information that is irrelevant to the stories. They want to entertain their listeners and create an atmosphere like a group of friends. When you listen to it, you immediately feel as if you were sitting at the kitchen table with your two friends. “Absurd, strange or embarrassing things happen to all of us,” says Lina. “It’s important to us that everyone can laugh about it together at the end.”
Mood boards and mimosas
Francesca Brignoli, 27, Goanetse Legoale, 27, and Porter Garr, 20, come from different corners of the world: South Africa, Italy and the USA. What unites them? Everyone found their way to Munich and agreed: There is no place here where expats can come together for creative projects.
When they met through Bumble Friends, they decided to organize the events she would have wanted when she arrived – and Candaze was born. “You always see these cool DIY projects on social media and decide to try them at some point,” says Goanetse, known as Netsie. “But life is hectic and you quickly forget these little ideas. That’s how we came up with Candaze: We bring these DIY projects from the Instagram saved folder into real life.”
The event series is all about creativity: at their events you can paint ceramics, make mood boards or decorate cookies. “For us, the focus is on creating a community that offers a safe place for everyone to try new things and get to know people,” explains Francesca.
The concept: You buy a ticket for one of the monthly changing events and come alone or with a company, Candaze organizes the rest – from music and food to the necessary utensils. “Earlier in the year we held our ‘Moodboard & Mimosas’ event where we made collages and drank mimosas, and in December at ‘Cookies & Cocktails’ we decorated Christmas cookies,” says Porter.
If you come alone, you don’t have to be nervous, says Netsie: “The concept makes it very easy for you to start talking to new people without it becoming awkward. You don’t have to ask the usual small talk questions because you have something creative to do has something to focus your attention on and talk about.”