Beyond Mediocrity: A Conversation with designers David Kosock and Gisa Golpira - Friends of Friends / Freunde von Freunden (FvF)

We have very different approaches: I am a solo player. David is a team player – always. David is used to brainstorming and exchanging ideas. We both value each other’s opinions and evaluate them together. But David really only learns about my projects when they’re launched, like the desk in my office: David only saw it after it was installed. I have always been alone ever since I was 16, always without a team. I’m very much used to figuring things out on my own. That’s why this special high you experience after a launch lasts longer for me: I keep it all to myself before, so the post-launch energy wave is enormous. I’m a sports fanatic and I need it in my everyday life to get out of my creativity and create new creativity, and, yes, decompress.

I don’t really feel the need to decompress that much; it’s not a conscious part of my life. What really excites me is starting new things. A tiny spark is enough to ignite a bushfire. I get hyped incredibly quickly. Then a long process begins, with obstacles, communication, production, iteration… and once the idea is launched, it’s a fantastic feeling. However, my working life is not focusing on a one-track process at all – I always work on lots of different ideas at the same time. And I definitely don’t need a break from my creative work, it’s a life essence.

I fell in love with David because he’s so curious. He can get utterly enthusiastic about something that’s completely unrelated to his field. It’s great, I’m almost jealous sometimes.

It’s a blessing and a curse at the same time – as I can get bored very quickly during the process. My professional creativity is tied to my clients’ expectations – you MUST stay on the ball. You MUST ensure consistent magic, always stay professional. It kind of helps me to stay motivated, which is not so easy with my own projects. I guess the dialogue with my studio partner keeps things burning.

In the studio, we’re increasingly trying to do things with our hands. Fundamental elements of the studio were made by us, with a growing focus on working more crudely. The same is true for our home, and Gisa’s studio. I’m absolutely not afraid to get dirty, standing on a ladder with a bucket of putty in my hands.

My primary vessels are thoughts and language. When I have the opportunity to do something with my hands – if I have the time – I really enjoy it. I recommend that to everyone. When we develop prototypes in the studio, we make most of the objects, the models, ourselves. We love crafts. And you know – We associate crafts mostly with something that children do – the term doesn’t really exist in adult language. We need to bring it back, somehow.

It was clear from the very beginning of Golpira Jewelry that I would openly talk about my family story in the context of my brand. It’s a quintessential part of the business’ DNA, my heritage: Thanks to my mother, who made her living as a gold digger in Peru, I spent part of my childhood deep in the heart of one of the most beautiful rainforests in the world. When the public knows your private story, everyone somehow judges it, and you. I’m so proud of my story though that I never saw it as something even remotely negative, or questionable, so when I hear comments like “those crazy hippies” – it’s one ear in, the other ear out. I even wrote a book with my mother in 2020, and we shared even more. Being open, and thus allowing space for vulnerability, can be very empowering. I have to say though that I’ve never had a shitstorm, never any hate on social media, so far. Luckily.

When it comes to the process of design and development – I ​​always work entirely by myself, also advocating for myself. I don’t want anyone to interfere, don’t want to be influenced or unsettled. But that’s a strength now.

In my work context, vulnerability is almost a little unprofessional, as it’s often connected to individuals sticking to their topic far too rigidly. That’s not me. But something closely connected to that is pride. That’s a dialogue I’ve often had with co-creators. It often comes up when you work with several people on a project, and in the end only one idea survives. At times it’s someone else’s idea, my ideas are not always the best – and then, every now and then, pride kicks it, and that can be an issue. Then it’s all about learning to deal with it. Sometimes you manage, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you have to really tune in and actively listen to fully understand the other idea. Only then, once you’ve created space, do you have the possibility to choose someone else’s idea and fully embrace it as the best.

The two of us are very different in that regard. For me it’s: Windows open, fresh air, the ambient noise of Berlin, of the city. Always music. Quiet moments in the single-digit percentage area. My choice of music is very mood-dependent: Techno while working with my headphones on. I have these noise canceling ones, and I disappear into a super-focused tunnel once I’ve put them on. My most favourite work scenario in the whole wide world is me with exactly these headphones on a train. That often happens from Düsseldorf – where we’re from – to Berlin. Time flies then. A great feeling.

Otherwise I’m a fan of melantronic, ambient tunes. I also really like classical music, and I have a penchant for rather melancholic music. I have a gigantic playlist called “meta voices” – spherical sounds with spoken words on top. Magical.

My ideal soundscape is rather different, yes: I prefer peace and quiet, almost always. The perfect scenario for me is living in the forest, with my desk standing outside, in nature, and the ambient noise coming simply and only from the forest. Urban sounds are not my cup of tea: I prefer a river rushing past. And I find cicadas totally calming. I wish I could say I listen to a lot of music, but I really enjoy silence in order to fully concentrate, so I’m quite grateful for David’s headphones when we’re both working from home.

Oh yes – this is super important!! We have a specific candle in the showroom called “Rainy Days” by Lola James Harper – that smell is an essential part of the Golpira world. I also use a specific perfume – top secret – to scent the packaging with, so my customers can connect to the Golpira story sensorially, at their home. Golpira the jewelry brand’s smellscape is nature, sandalwood, moisture from plants, earthy scents.

If it was just me, I’d even expand the scentscape of our home. I love getting up in the morning and burn incense. It does something to me. My favourite incense is cedarwood – very intense, just how I like it. Sadly, in the studio as well as for Gisa, I’m overruled, as it’s always too much for my counterparts.

Gisa and I have very similar olfactory tastes though. We both love woody, always leathery, rather masculine. Heavier citrus notes, vetiver. Intense herbs: rosemary. When we have guests.

David even took a suitcase full of essential oils with him on vacation at some point and created candles there.

I’m getting better, but doing nothing or just reading – when off work – isn’t really my thing. Having time to really delve into something is great though. When you’re working with scents, it’s incredibly difficult to express what you want to express in words. They are beautifully complex.

What would we be without our mobile phones?! I take photos all the time, am very much inspired by nature. Thanks to Peppa, my dog, I’m out in nature every day. The strangest things – algae on the water at the zoo – can get my attention, and my creative juices start flowing. Cell phone. Photo. Bam. That’s how I retain ideas.

I’d be totally lost without iPhone Notes. I even have folder structures. There are moments, often in bed at night, when Gisa is already asleep, when I pick up my phone and go through my Notes. At times, I don’t understand some of them anymore – sometimes that’s almost comical. They were just snippets. And yes, some of my best ideas happen in the shower.

Yes to shower ideas!

My dad always complained about me spending far too much time in the shower when I was a teenager. I still take way too long in the shower today – something happens when hot water runs over your head. I even get out, all wet, and type a quick note, too scared that I will have forgotten all about it when I’m fully done. My short-term memory is terrible. I often come out of the bathroom and then work on my new note for hours. You know, if you’re passionate about something, but you haven’t yet fully formulated it, and then you pitch it and the room isn’t impressed – nothing happens –, then you’re far too easily influenced by others. I’m a fan of full blown concepts.

We definitely work with AI in the studio, but the “how” is not very sophisticated, yet! There are no automated work processes or AI assistants at VAUST, but a lot of research with the help of AI agents, as well as reworks of my own written word. AI agents are absolutely brilliant when it comes to technical questions: We’re a small office, and used to spend countless hours reading up on things like construction law issues in a humongous number of sources. Now it only takes a few seconds. Yes – we’re aware that it can be misleading, and sometimes even notice mistakes straight away. But with the right prompting the results get more accurate, too.

Also, we’re currently trying to design products with AI – working with a GPT5 Teams license, training AI agents for our projects with direct APIs to our Google Drive. Like this, we’re training AI with a lot of company knowledge. We’re pretty open about the topic and definitely want to try it out. It will change everything in the next few months, or even years.

Yes, there’s AI-related fear too, but not professionally. I’m absolutely not afraid that AI will steal my ideas. Let’s face it: What I do doesn’t save lives. So hey – let’s embrace all the help we can get from AI, and make it work for us. But: The impact AI has on sociocultural issues is a very different story. The internet has already turned our world upside down, with smartphones, social media et al – they changed everything. A lot for the worse, with dark sides. So when it comes to AI – I’m sure this will have an even bigger impact on our children’s generation.

What I find veeeery difficult is how relevant creativity is in the era of AI, for example when it comes to taking good photos. What’s happening now is that it no longer matters whether what we see is real or fake. So the question I ask myself is: How much more valuable is it if I draw something myself versus having AI draw it for me? Friends of ours who are very musical “fell for” an AI song recently and were totally stunned by the experience, as they were 100% sure it was a “real” band playing it. You can’t stop imagining scenarios where this is getting out of hand. And we have to start thinking about this right now.

Mediocrity. And arbitrariness. (Gisa nods in agreement) Let’s face it: We’re not pediatric heart surgeons, and we’re not saving the planet with our work – I have great respect for people who do things that really help society. It’s an incredible privilege that both of us are able to spend our time doing beautiful, wonderful things, things that are dear to our hearts. Thanks to the universe for that! At the same time, we also know that we’re doing things that humanity doesn’t need right now. So if we were just average in what we do, that would frustrate us immensely, and would be such a waste of precious time and creativity.

I guess what scares us is a German “joa” as a reaction to our work, which more or less translates into “quite nice”. That’s our absolute hell, as the most important thing for us is that we evoke emotions with our work.

She might not be a stereotypical creative figure, but most definitely Princess Diana. I looked up to her very much, totally in awe of her grace, with utmost respect for what she achieved. It might sound funny, but I would choose to talk to her about myself, and ask her for suggestions for improvement, for her unique perspective on my life. Call me naive, but I would have valued her opinion very highly.

I think I’m much more introverted than “outsiders” think. And I guess my home would wonder if I’d ever truly arrive anywhere, truly get to the finish line. It would probably describe me as a rather restless individual. Curiosity is such a strong driving force for me, it always keeps me searching, always keeps me on my toes. My home might ask itself: “Will the moment ever come when he will find absolute peace, will settle for something?” Creatively, but also in terms of my life path. I’m pretty sure that what I’m doing right now is different from what I want to be doing in five years.

However, my home would probably also say that I am becoming more and more “domestic”. The “Gisa & David” concept of life is oh so enough for me, is absolute fulfillment. That’s really important, because there is absolutely no restlessness in that area of my life at all. That belongs purely to my professional side.

I try to always be authentic, but I believe that we humans always wear certain masks when it comes to interpersonal relationships. I’m a wife, a dog mom, a daughter, and a party lover. Many masks for many roles. When it comes to business, I sometimes hear myself talking and I sound exactly like my mother: Emancipated, very business-savvy. And I believe we often unconsciously adapt to the person we’re talking to, which is also a kind of mask again.

I have two very inspiring friends who are rather successful in the fashion business, and I’ve learned a lot from them. I’ve learned a lot from many good things that other people do well, and they’ve also been successful for me. I’m a proud copy-cat here, and grateful for the input. My goal is to remain authentic in every role I play. And warm, always staying true to the “Rheinische Gastlichkeit” – a concept that is extremely hard to translate, but is all about a warm, social, and unpretentious atmosphere, where you’re made to feel welcome straight away.