#10 w-report Making a Move - Mallorca
A Berliner family reinventing themselves in the Tramuntana Mountains, Mallorca intel and our favorite island hotels. Also: News You Can Use
Is it just us or does it seem like everyone we know is talking about moving to Mallorca’s Tramuntana Mountains? We decided we had to report on this phenomena and dug up an inspiring family that did just that in the last few years: the fashion entrepreneur couple Karin Önder and David Mallon behind Souvenir Official in Berlin.
The founders of the cultish Souvenir Official brand, Karin Önder and David Mallon, are probably best known for their ‘EUnify’ hoodie which was the political statement sweatshirt of choice for everyone from model Adwoa Aboah to the legendary designer Vivienne Westwood. Having been based in Berlin, their Souvenir Official shop is still in Mitte on Torstrasse but the couple moved to Soller, Mallorca in October of 2021 with their two boys. Shortly after arriving they launched a new project: the Earth Core, part art gallery and part shop, where the couple sells their line of naturally dyed one-of-a-kind, unisex T-shirts, sweaters, hoodies and sarongs.
Q: Why Mallorca?
A: DAVID: Over the pandemic we kept thinking ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to have a house with a garden rather than an apartment?’ and Brandenburg, the surrounding countryside outside Berlin was not an option. We wanted a bigger change: ocean or mountains.
KARIN: One day we just said, ‘Let’s check out Mallorca.’ We decided to narrow down our explorations to the Tramuntana area. It’s still an untouched area with UNESCO protection. Port Soller still looks like a place out of an 80s postcard. It’s so cute and so nostalgic and then there’s Soller, a small city that seems to have fallen out of time and moves at a much slower pace. The first day we went there I googled “organic coffee” to find a place for breakfast and it led us to this place called Re Organic, which was a shop and cafe with a garden. We loved it from the first moment we walked in. As we were eating poached eggs in the garden we both had the same thought ‘We could live here."‘ The decision to move to Soller suddenly made sense on every level, health-wise for us, also for the kids. Things just fell into place as to how we found a house. A week after we moved here I bumped into the legend designer Katharine Hamnett. It was sensational to meet this woman who was really the first in fashion making political garments. I still have goose bumps when I think of that moment. We do what we do because of her.
Q: Looking back, what were the biggest challenges you faced as a family?
DAVID: You have to be patient. Things take time. Who wants to learn a new language at this stage in life? But it’s important to be able to fit in. For the kids it was at first difficult. They were like these Berlin skater kids with long hair. It took a half a year or little bit longer and then we saw change. After a while they were playing basketball with new friends and as a result of not giving up, they are now integrated and speak two languages.
KARIN: In Berlin I was part of a group of great moms and all their kids. I missed those connections and the daily talk and the coffee. But now we have a new community and our friends from Berlin love to visit us. It’s also easy to fly back to Berlin to check on family (David’s family is there, also my sister and her family).
Q: You were so established in Berlin with your business and career. How do you guys organize yourselves now professionally?
KARIN: We came here excited to build something new from scratch. We had started a natural dye project in Berlin the year before, a collaboration with a French vegan brand named Viron. We wanted to connect our business with nature. So it was even more rewarding and easy to work here in the Tramuntana , within this breathtaking landscape. We now want to focus on slow fashion, and Mallorca is actually becoming a hub for the movement.
DAVID: The Souvenir business is still running well in Berlin. We have a team there and I go when needed. What I appreciate about Mallorca right now is that it’s in a very interesting moment. You can see it if you go to the XTANT a fair and gathering around artisanal textiles and organic clothing. The island is waking up to this movement and I think that it could like how when you talk about Ibiza people think about DJs, here it could be craft. It’s nice to see that most of us coming to the island recently are trying to give something back. Now everyone wants to be integrated and it’s collaboration time. We would love to join forces with other artisans and makers here and make this way forward interesting and create opportunities for all of us.
Q: What’s your advice for those who dream about moving away from the city?
DAVID: I think if you have the idea and there is an opportunity, even if it is a risk, just do it. Don’t get complicated. You can always change things. Don’t talk too much about it because then it gives people the chance to tell you that it might not work out. Don’t listen to other people, just yourself. Make your own experience.
Karin + David’s Mallorca tips:
HOTEL CORAZON: Part farm estate, part hotel, part bohemian commune, this property was created by the British photographer Kate Belm and her husband Edgar Lopez, with the help of Moredesign. “We go there all the time for coffee or to meet friends. It’s a really nice hub for those of living in the Tramuntanas.” Karin and David will be hosting a natural dye workshop with Earthcore on Sunday March 17th.
BLAI BAR “We go here often for dinner. They serve nice healthy food, fresh salads. The cocktails are truly amazing.”In Soller.
MERCAT TRAMUNTANA “We typically go here for bagels-they make amazing bagels— and the coffee is perfect. It’s a deli and a cafe but also a shop where we buy our organic groceries.”
LLUCALCARI BEACH Located between Soller and Deia. “A stunning blue natural pool where we go for swimming and chilling. There’s a nice cave and we dive in there and jump from the cliffs.”
NU MARKET In Palma. “A shop where you can find all your healthy superfoods and cosmetics — all in one place. Also the coffee is nice. There is no packaging, everything is in reusable jars, which we like.”
SOLLER TENNIS CLUB “It’s being redesigned at the moment by Berrow Projects and will reopen this summer. It has a nice park and a playground and pool. It’s a great place to gather with kids and have a picnic.”
FOR MORE INSIDER INTEL: Gisela wrote a feature about Mallorca for T Magazine that mentioned Karin and David and includes more great recommendations from other creatives.
FOR OUR GERMAN READERS: Antje also spend some time on Mallorca to research the most interesting people and spots for SALON MALLORCA. You can order the magazine online.
AW’S FAV HOTELS IN PALMA
Germans tend to think of Mallorca as a somewhat overhyped tourist destination so I was somewhat irritated when I was sent off to a Salon Mallorca reporting field trip. Very quickly though I discovered how international the island had become in the last few years, due to a new breed of islanders and to a wave of local creatives who moved back during the pandemic. Palma, the capital, is the perfect place to touchdown and spend a few days before heading to the countryside.
CONCEPCIÓ BY NOBIS: Perfect for a city weekend, the location is very central. I enjoyed the modern and minimal Nordic design. Vibe: Small pool, big cocktail menu. Best without kids. Standard double rooms start at 312 Euros.
I haven’t stayed at the brand new NOBIS HOTEL PALMA but it seems to be the more grown up version and is located in an historic gem (12th-century medieval Muslim palace) in the Old Town. Rooms start around 452 Euros.
PORTELLA: Formerly an artist's house, now a hotel, renovated and decorated by the parisian designer duo Festen. Can’t wait to stay there when we will host SALON’s Dinner party at Parkett Dietrich’s new flagship store in May. (Drop us a line when on the island, the W’s can get you on the guest list). Double rooms start at 282 Euros. Gisela wrote about it for T Magazine recently as well.
PORTIXOL: It’s an oldie but goldie for me. I used to stay there a lot when my boy was little. (I once jumped into their magnificent pool in a dress to rescue the kiddo) It’s situated at the harbor and you can use their beach bikes (for free) to cycle into town. Tip: I used to book the single no view for 170 Euros. (Kids under 7 don’t have to pay).
GW’S FAV BOLT HOLES IN THE COUNTRYSIDE
I always have believed that if you just follow the projects of the Mallorquín architect Antoni Esteva you can find some of the most beautiful buildings on the island. (And if you follow his daughter, Rosa Esteva, you can find some of the most beautifully crafted clothing at her otherworldly boutique, Cortana, in Palma). Esteva, who now works with his son Tomeu, has designed the studio complex of Miquel Barcelo, as well as one of the buildings within the complex that makes up the legendary artist Joan Miró’s former estate (now partly a museum). Fortunately you can stay at two of his projects (the third is not an Esteva but equally special):
FINCA SON GENER: I first discovered this enchanted place, designed and owned by the Estevas, in the early aughts when I lived in Madrid. It showcased the first wabi-sabi inspired interiors I had ever seen (later I discovered the work of Axel Vervoordt in Antwerp) which so beautifully combined antiques with contemporary art. They also had a Mallorquín abuela in the kitchen serving up refined local comfort food, which during the era of molecular cuisine a la Ferran Adria was pretty radical. It’s the kind of place that established European creatives with exceptional taste go back to again and again. They have since added a small but gorgeous spa.
ES RACO D’ARTA: This wellness retreat, launched over the pandemic, built on a vast and historic farm estate, is so beautiful that one feels more whole and rested just by being here. I wrote about the Esteva family and this project for T Magazine when it opened.
SON RU: I have never stayed in this property—-a former 13th century monastery and the home of our friend Dalad’s husband’s family in the village of Deia which is available to rent—-but everyone who has stayed there have said it is magic. This is not an Esteva project—the house was transformed by Geoffrey’s father Frédéric Grunfeld and then in the last few years by Geoffrey himself—but it has the same special aesthetic that combines an authentic sense of place with contemporary touches.
NEWS YOU CAN USE -
THE ART OF JAIPUR(GW). I love a well curated art park, whether in the wild, or installed within a special historical site. A latest discovery has been the Sculpture Park at Madhavendra Palace at the Nahargarh Fort in Jaipur. In February it launched its fourth exhibition and it stars a large scale installation in the palace’s courtyard by the Berlin-based artist Alicja Kwade called “Superposition.” I wrote about it for NYT’s T List.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT. Wish we were in Manhattan for this lunch at the New York Library on April 18th to hear these food writers and editors, including Fuchsia Dunlop and our friend David Prior, moderated by David Remnick, speak about the connection between food and travel.
A CLUB ANTJE WANTS TO BECOME A MEMBER OF: Tatoï Club Athens offers holistic wellbeing experiences and 20 tennis courts and a gigantic pool. My kind of country club, bring it to Berlin!
A CLUB GISELA WANTS TO BECOME A MEMBER OF: I so dislike social members clubs these days—they seem so 90’s, so outdated—but I admit to a weakness for an old school one like the Explorer’s Club in Manhattan. One of my top ten nights in Manhattan as a New Yorker was there, at a book reading by George Plimpton.
RETAIL ALERT (AW): HighSnob(iety) just launched an XL Flagship store on Boulevard Unter den Linden 40 , a stones throw from Brandenburger Gate and around the corner from Hotel Château Royal. It seemed as every Berlin Hipster was at the opening (insane queue!) and you’ll find the latest and hottest fashion, great quirky souvenirs and very good coffee.
TREASURES OF THE LATE YVES GASTEAU (GW). One of the most remarkable design characters and collectors I ever had the pleasure to meet was Yves Gasteau, of the eponymous gallery in Paris. He had the most eclectic and visionary taste: he had Ettore Sottsass design the facade of his gallery in the 80s, long before anyone had heard of the Memphis School. I was fortunate to meet him before his died—his very capable son Victor has taken over the gallery—while reporting this story about a chateau he helped design for T Magazine. If only I could I would buy up everything that is being sold from his estate— his homes in Paris and Biarritz —online this coming Wednesday March 13th at 14:00 CET at Sothebys.
WHITE LOTUS GOES THAILAND (AW): German actor Christian Friedl (please watch him in “The Zone of Interest”) will be starring in the next season of White Lotus, currently filming in Bangkok, Phuket and Koh Samui. Book your hotels before the series drops and reserve a table at POTONG and try Chef Pam’s Thai-Chinese Tasting Menu. My foodie friend Heiko (best taste!) recently had the pleasure to eat there und wrote about it.
WHEN IN NYC: Visit “THE FLESH OF THE EARTH” a group show of artwork from Rashid Johnson, Lorna Simpson, Jenny Holzer and Olafur Eliasson at Hauser & Wirth NYC by our friend the culture writer (and now breakout curator) Enuma Okora. Up until April 6th.
WHEN IN LA: Visit Southern Guild, the excellent African design gallery has just opened up a second space in Melrose Hill, as reported by Gisela in T Magazine.
CASUAL SATURDAY: Both Ws have had recent experiences dining at the ambitious and intimate PARS, a female owned and led restaurant near Savigny Platz in Berlin which offers a 7-course chef’s menu in the evenings (for 125 euros). Starting April 13th they will launch a casual lunch on Saturdays called “Pasta & Pralinen”