Interview with Anne and Daniel from Bodykiss
Anne: We are Anne and Daniel Henninger and we live in the southwest of Germany in a small village with a population of around 1,000. For over 13 years, we have had the privilege of calling this lovely wine-growing area in the Kaiserstuhl region home. Professionally, I’m actually a lawyer and Daniel is a business IT specialist. Around eight years ago, though, we decided on a whim to start the Bodykiss YouTube channel. I myself had issues finding the motivation to exercise while I was studying. Then I happened to find some American channels on YouTube that were offering home workout videos. For me, it was the perfect way to incorporate some movement into my stressful days of studying. So at the end of 2013, we started our own YouTube channel and filled it with a variety of workout videos, with the hope that we would find other women in Germany that loved working out at home as much as I did. Little by little we added more posts on a range of lifestyle topics.
Today, eight years later, in addition to our YouTube channel, our business also includes an Instagram profile with the same name, a professional fitness programme and an online shop. We run the whole business together from our newly built Bodykiss house, which was just finished this year.
Daniel: We had redecorated our previous apartment many times and had always come to the realization that, for us, having too many decorations and too much furniture just feels cluttered. We much prefer open, spacious rooms with a lot of light and a minimalist feel. This style sets our creativity free. Which is why it is even more important for us to choose beautiful, timeless, functional furniture.
Anne: My parents have owned some of the famous Thonet cantilever chairs for my entire life. We moved around a lot – from Cologne to Frankfurt, Tehran, Jakarta, Singapore and then back to Germany. The only things that we actually always took with us when we moved during those 18 years were our chairs. I associate so many memories with those Thonet chairs: my childhood, growing up and my family. My parents always had an eye for timeless design, so it was my dream to have these design icons in my own house one day.
Daniel: Quite a few! But if we had to narrow it down to one, I would say the 2002 bentwood sofa because it fits perfectly with our interior design style. The sofa unites elements of classic design with Asian accents in a combination that we both think works exceptionally well.
© Photos: Bodykiss
