​23.01.2020

Book tip: "Travel companions. Really good things to take along"

by Eyes & Ears of Europe

First published in October 2018, the book offers a completely different view of well-known things – items that have proven to be perfect travel companions for the editors Eberhard Holder and Micha Klein.

Potato peeler, paraffin lamp or espresso maker – all these things have to function as travel companions under sometimes extreme conditions. Often limited to the essentials, they have their very own aesthetics. It is only the traces of use and signs of wear and tear that provide material for entire travel stories. Industrial design professor Eberhard Holder and designer and interior designer Micha Klein have put together 150 of these companions to tell their own travel story.

Simple, clever, cheap

In criteria such as aesthetics, functionality, emotionality, user-friendliness and durability, Holder and Klein demonstrate how design can also be found in everyday objects such as a potato peeler. The numerous photos of the different objects show travel companions that have obviously been used for years – or daily on a very long journey. And that is exactly the hook: Klein and Holder lead the reader not only into the world of design, but also talk about their very own round-the-world trip: 5 months, 25,000 kilometres in a Mercedes G-Class to Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Siberia and Mongolia.

A special sort of round-the-world trip

"Travel companions. Really good things to take along" by Eberhard Holder and Micha Klein totals 192 pages, is published by avedition GmbH specialised publisher for architecture and design in October 2018 and available for the price of 29€. Further information (in German) at:

https://www.avedition.de/de/themen/produktdesign/reisebegleiter-richtig-gute-dinge-fuer-unterwegs.html