TOGETHER independent: Two and Two
Foto: Tose Riesser (c) Kohei Yamamoto
9 questions to: Tose Riesser from two and two
When Tose came to Berlin she got introduced to Eri. The two Japanese women got to know one another and the city by looking for their favorite spot to have great coffee and cake. Until one day, they high-fived and decided to start their own café. In our ALMOST interview Tose tells us about the special mission behind Two and Two: to bring happiness through food and uncommon notebooks!
Who are you and what is Two and Two about?
I'm a French-Japanese woman living in Berlin for 10 years now, Two and Two is my coffee shop since 2012. This place was created to be a comfortable space where you could drink good coffee with good cakes. And as a plus you find rare Japanese modern stationery and Japanese coffee gear.
What is the mission behind your café?
The mission is simply to bring happiness through food and uncommon notebooks!
How did you come up with the idea to start your own business?
In 2010, when I arrived in Berlin, I was introduced to Eri (from Tokyo) through friends. We immediately got along, having coffee and cake all around Berlin. We would constantly looking for our favorite spot where cakes AND coffee would be as we like them. Often we were joking about running our own café and discussing how it could be. One day, like a bet you take spontaneously, we high-fived and decided we'd do it.
The context also was key: none of us had a job and we were both searching, I couldn't speak any German, we had a bit of money on the side, Berlin was full of possibilities.
Creating our own work seemed to be the most simple plan. Yes, we were so innocent. Since 2018, I run the shop alone as Eri had to leave the business to focus on her family life.
What role does your community play for two and two and for your day to day work?
I feed the community and the community feeds me. And we all become part of the same world, creating a small village in Neukölln (and much more far away), waving a hand to say hello, becoming friends, sharing ideas, culture, concerns, gossips, helping each other in many ways. Through the community, I experience society, a coffee shop is an amazing terrain for research on sociology. I love to learn about and from the others. Meeting so many different characters. And seriously everyday, I'm blessed with expressions of sympathy. This brings me such motivation and faith.
Have you ever been employed in a big company or similarly?
Yes, I worked for Domino's pizza when I was a student, and worked in many different types of companies. I was never unhappy being a simple employee. I never dreamed of being my own boss. It just happened. Still, I would always expect my adult job to be not boring.
How does it feel to work for yourself?
It’s amazing to create something from A to Z. Make ideas live is so satisfying. But being the boss means much more pressure, challenge and responsibility. It's both freedom and slavery. I love what I do: baking, making coffee, serving, interacting – but behind the scene, it's a lot of management, accounting, paper work, all kinds of things I'm not so good at (even though I like it too). In the end, the success or failure is all mine.
What does a typical work day look like for you?
I’m arriving at 10 am at the café to open at 11, baking croissants and baguettes, displaying cakes on the counter, testing the coffee's taste, arrange tables and chairs on the terrace.
I work alone all day and I bake and serve all day long. If it's busy, I hardly have the time to bake my specialties, but when it's quiet, I can produce a lot and get ready for the next days. Usually, the day starts slowly and customers are all coming at the same time around noon. Then it calms down until Kaffee-Kuchen time.
Basically, it's a lot of multi-tasking: chatting while steaming milk, checking the madeleines in the oven when chocolate melts in a pan, stamping paper bags, washing a lot of dishes, cleaning tables, water the plants, all of this while being 100% available for the customers. I'm not at all the cool barista taking things wisely, with nonchalance, still being super efficient. I cannot help myself working like I'm in a race of something.
Foto: (c) Iris Humm
At 18:30, it's time to close, and if I'm fast with the cleaning, I can be done at 19:30, but most of the time I'm out at 20 pm and head home by bicycle.
What are you especially proud of?
I’m proud that I work all day alone like a beast and make everybody happy.
What does independence mean to you?
It’s a form of freedom. Free will, creativity without boundaries. Also a bit of solitude facing your problems.
What other inspiring independent label can you recommend?
I always admired Ryoko and how she created a shop I have never seen before anywhere in the world. A space where everything is beautiful and everything is good for you in a holistic way.
Thank you so much, Tose!