Leonie Pauls has one of the most impressive residential properties in Hamburg, the renovation and design of which she shares with her followers on Instagram under Altbau22. Gemma and Greta, two of our co-founders, were able to meet the Interior Stylist and Elle Decoration Tik Tok Host in person in Milan at the Salone de Mobile this year. Thanks to Leonie's creativity, her deep knowledge of design history and expertise in vintage furniture, an authentic collaboration was born: COCOLI x LEONIE.

Like COCOLI, Leonie is passionately interested in design and vintage, while also actively campaigning against the consumption of fast furniture and the excessive exploitation of resources in the production of new furniture. So it was only natural that we teamed up.

By the way, for those who have been following us from the beginning: we already collaborated briefly with Leonie last year. But this time we're going much further :-)

COCOLI stands for Community of Conscious Living. Every one of our customers, every brand that joins us in supporting the circular economy, becomes a member of our community. It was time to welcome a spokesperson who can spread our voice with even more power on social media. And for the next 6 months, that spokesperson will be Leonie.

We asked Leonie a few questions to give you the opportunity to get to know her better...

COCOLI: Can you tell us a little about yourself and your passion for design and vintage furniture? How did you get into this field?
 
LP: I was interested in my surroundings even as a child. My children's room was rearranged and "beautified" at regular intervals, and at the age of 10, I started studying IKEA catalogs and noting down my favorite pieces of furniture to furnish fictional apartments. After that, there were a few years when I lost sight of my love for design, but with the move into our old building apartment and my part-time studies in interior design, I found my way back to my passion and deep-rooted interest.

COCOLI: What specifically draws you to vintage furniture? Are there particular eras or design movements that particularly inspire you?
 
LP: There are fundamentally two aspects: In a society characterized by the simultaneity of "higher, faster, further" in contrast to resources that are becoming increasingly scarce worldwide, I feel it is my duty to consume more sustainably. And because I don't want to forgo design in the process, our home features many design classics and vintage furniture. Moreover, I like that vintage furniture is not freely available and therefore off-the-shelf, but is individually sourced and always brings its own story. There isn't a specific era or design movement, but I like the mix of Space Age elements and Danish Design classics.