Open source · Self-hosted
Apollo
[ONE-SENTENCE DESCRIPTION OF APOLLO: what it does and who it is for]
github.com/feruzabad/apollo
Munich · Collectibles & open-source software
Rare objects from Japan.
Software built in the open.
Zeitluxe is a one-person studio in Munich with two crafts. I source, restore and document second-hand luxury watches and fountain pens that seldom leave Japan, and I write self-hosted open-source software for media and streaming.
Based in
Munich, Germany
Sourced from
Japan's second-hand market
Code
Open source on GitHub
Speaks
Türkçe · Deutsch · English
01 · Collectibles
Watches and pens, chosen for rarity and for the story they carry.
Japan's second-hand market holds writing instruments and watches that were never widely sold in the West: discontinued flagships, Japan-only editions, corporate special runs. Zeitluxe finds them, brings them to Europe and presents them properly.
Every piece is judged on three questions. Is it rare outside Japan? Is it discontinued or exclusive to the Japanese market? Is there a story worth telling about it? If not, it stays where it is.
What I look for
Maki-e lacquer pens
Hand-decorated Japanese lacquer work on fountain pens.
Discontinued flagships
Former top-of-range series that makers no longer produce.
Brand collaborations
Limited pieces where two luxury names met.
Corporate editions
Special runs made for companies and anniversaries.
Vintage European pieces
European classics that found a second life in Japan.
Makers through the workshop
Pilot · Sailor · Montblanc · Parker · Waterman · Cross · Grand Seiko · TAG Heuer · Piaget · Givenchy
02 · Workshop & studio
From a Japanese auction page to a documented piece, in one place.
01
Source
Daily research across Yahoo Auctions, Mercari and proxy-buying services, screened against a fixed set of criteria and a per-piece budget.
02
Import
Shipments consolidated through a forwarder in Japan, then cleared through German customs under the business's own EORI, with import VAT documented correctly.
03
Restore
Polishing and pen repair at the bench with a polishing motor, Micromesh and flannel discs, learned from the standard repair literature and courses.
04
Document
Studio photography, macro and focus-stacked detail shots, video, and recordings of the sounds each piece makes.
The studio
Product images are shot tethered and colour-managed end to end, so what a collector sees on screen is what is on the bench.
- Camera
- Sony A7 V with a 50 mm G Master and a 105 mm macro, on a geared tripod arm.
- Light
- Light cone and lightbox with a turntable for even, reflection-controlled shots of polished metal and lacquer.
- Post
- Capture One Pro for tethered capture, Helicon Focus for stacking, Final Cut Pro for video.
- Colour
- Calibrated 32-inch 6K wide-gamut display, edited in a wide space and soft-proofed to sRGB for the web.
- Sound
- Close-mic recording of watch ticks and pen on paper, with a condenser microphone, audio interface and Cubase.
03 · Software
Open-source tools for self-hosted media and streaming.
I am a software engineer by trade, with a background in Java, SQL and Git. Outside of work, I write open-source software for people who run their own media stack, and I host and operate it on my own servers.
Releases are tagged, shipped as Docker containers and deployed with a single command, the same discipline I apply to everything else I do.
Open source · Self-hosted
Satellite
[ONE-SENTENCE DESCRIPTION OF SATELLITE: what it does and who it is for]
github.com/feruzabad/satelliteBuilt for the business
Sourcing tools
A browser extension that collects listing-page and embedded-frame URLs from a Japanese proxy-buying service, strips fragments and removes duplicates, so images can be reviewed and saved in one pass.
Working with
Java · Go · TypeScript & React · SQL & SQLite · Docker · Git · Linux & VPS administration
04 · Working with Claude
One person, two crafts, and an assistant that works across both.
Operations
Customs filings and import documentation for shipments from Japan, VAT treatment of imports, and day-to-day bookkeeping decisions for a sole proprietorship, worked through case by case.
Sourcing & studio
Evaluating Japanese listings against rarity and budget criteria, comparing equipment, and tuning the photography, colour and audio setup used to document each piece.
Engineering
Specifications, architecture and release automation for the open-source projects, plus scripts and small tools that remove repetitive work from the business.
05 · Contact