Belen Doğa Cirit

This week we have challenged architecture student and creative Belen Doğa Cirit to choose 11 items that represents her and her life in the past, present and future!

One item that represents my childhood: My ballet shoes

"I grew up dancing. Ballet was not only a hobby for me but also a matter of ambition. When I first went to ballet class, I was 4 years old, and when I look back, my clearest childhood memory is definitely the ballet lessons my mother brought me to. For this reason, it would not be wrong to say that the object that best represents my childhood is my ballet shoes."

One item that represents my ethnicity: Turkish coffee porcelain

"I am originally from Turkey and I spent most of my life in Istanbul, but I have been in many cities before because of my mother's profession. I am currently studying architecture in Munich and whenever I feel homesick, I make Turkish coffee for myself. Therefore, I can clearly say that Turkish coffee porcelain and everything with traditional Turkish patterns reminds me of my country."

One item that represents my biggest passion: “Ways of Seeing” by John Berger

"My life has had a lot of ups and downs, in these times I tried to distract myself and art has always offered me an escape. Art has become my passion. Although many aspects connect me to art, John Berger's “Ways of Seeing”  is without any doubt the best representation of my passion."

One item that represents my highest ambition in life: My finished journals

"My biggest ambition is definitely becoming successful and a bit more organized so for the last 6 months I have been keeping journals. I write anything and everything on my mind on them and it keeps me not just organized but also helps me get inspired by the tiniest things. I was used to having a very hard time to get inspired from my daily life but a stranger, now I consider him as a turning point in my life, told me to try seeing the beauty in the smallest things so journals helped me to learn that."

Images from Instagram: @belen.doga // etsy.com

One item that represents my current mood: My record player

The weather has a huge effect on my mood but here in Germany almost every day is rainy so I can't really say that it is helping me boost my mood out here. Yet, music definitely helps! That is why I associate my record player with my mood. I can't tell you how much I love records. As a matter of fact, I can say that I am very lucky because there is a second-hand record store right next to my house and I constantly lose myself there! I even try to make buying new records every week a routine. It gives me great pleasure to buy records from artists I have never heard before and discover new music every week.

One item that represents your favourite person: The ring he gave me...

This is a tough question because multiple things remind me of him but the most obvious is unquestionably the ring he gave me about three years ago. This was the first gift he gave me. I bond so much spiritually to some things in a way that I don't understand why, and normally I try to act within logic. I have worn this ring every day and always believed in its good energy, maybe because he was the one who gave it to me.

One item that represents my aesthetic: My study chair, the Cesca Chair

"I don't think I have a certain aesthetic, things I like and that appeal to my eyes are constantly changing. But when I simplify it, "less is more" is my motto in every sense. Therefore, my study chair, the Cesca Chair, represents my aesthetic best. Marcel Breuer is one of my favourite architects, the Bauhaus movement is a great source of inspiration for me.

One item that represents my greatest fear: White shoes

"I have always been a germaphobic person. This may surprise you, but maybe I have convinced myself that I am sick a thousand times. Maybe I went to the hospital for nothing thousands of times ... I don't know why, but what reminds me of this phobia the most is the white shoes. Yeah, I know it sounds ridiculous, but my head matches white shoes and nurses. Perhaps this is because nurses wear white shoes in cartoons. White shoes remind nurses, and nurses remind of hospitals."

One item that represents my profession: My sketchbook

"I sketch anything and everything around me. I take notes. Maybe add some photos... It is such a free way to express my creativity on daily basis."

One item that represents this year: Hand sanitizer

"Need I say more?"

One item that represents me:

"I am going to answer this question in two different aspects.

The first ones are the ones concerning my physical presence, the way I look from someone else's eye at first glance, I think two items represent me the most in this sense. My Black & White Alexander Wang shoes and my signature red lipstick, Russian Red by MAC!

The second ones are the ones that represent my mental state. Candles are the first ones. They calm me down. I sometimes just light one and watch the fire. There is something extremely therapeutic about them. The second one is a book, a very special book for me. I read it 6 times and it is always on my bedside table. It is the "Letter from an Unknown Woman" by Stefan Zweig."