This Central German brand, which managed to survive the collapse of the GDR, is a positive exception to the rule and at the same time exemplary of the breathtaking rollercoaster ride of German economic history. Founded in the kindergarten days of the industry, the company – after taking over Arzberg and Hutschenreuther – would grow to become Germany’s largest porcelain manufacturer by the end of the 1920s, only to be turned into a state-run operation behind the “Iron Curtain”. The “ people’s” state combine included 17 plant sites and a workforce of 18,000. After a failed attempt at privatization in the early 1990s, Günther Raithel, an ex-Rosenthal manager, succeeded at turning things around. The seasoned industry expert combined investments in new technology, leaner processes and inventive marketing with a vision: a new beginning based on design-conscious product development and a facelift to the corporate image, including a new logo. Even rivals in the West are astounded at the 50 design awards the firm has collected in just a decade. Today, the brand, together with Arzberg and Rosenthal, again stands for the great German tradition of modern porcelain manufacture. This can be credited
primarily to house designers Cornelia Müller, Barbara Schmidt and Mirjami Rissanen, who are responsible for conceiving most of the products. Schmidt’s Allround service alone has received several prizes. Circle and wave are the formative design elements here. The white household and hotel porcelain is, as its name says, a variable and comprehensive program. By contrast, her service Update, another award- winner, consisted at first of just a few basic pieces, but has in the meantime grown. In Elixyr, a more recent design, symmetry and asymmetry enter into an exciting dialogue. The various services are offered in both purist white and various patterns. What they all have in common is simplicity and multifunctionality, which means that pieces such as plates, bowls and saucers can be used and combined for various purposes – principles once propagated at the Bauhaus and in Ulm. Müller’s Abra Cadabra is another extremely versatile service, from little bowls with lids to whimsical saucers or the decorative platter. A new idea stems from Finnish designer Rissanen: a graceful peacock feather as universal leitmotif creates an aesthetic link between the various porcelain series.