Passionswege 2010

This year the traditional steel merchants Lorenzi celebrate their 175th anniversary. They produce all kinds of cutting tools for the household, especially knives – not really the products for the Passionswege project of the Czech designer Daniel Posta, renowned for his humour and perfectly crafted … more

The bespoke shirt makers Wäscheflott have been in the business since 1948. This small shop behind the opera, full of perfectly starched showpieces, fabric sample books, and pictures of prominent clients – sewing is done in a workshop in Vienna’s fourth district – will be the setting for a lovely … more

“The snow globe is a world unto itself”, sais Erwin Perzy III. He is a third-generation snow globe maker: his grandfather invented the snow globe. Ever since, Mr Perzy’s hand-painted German shepherds, horseshoes, Lipizzaner horses, and romantic couples submerged in water and in artificial snow have … more

The firm Backhausen, founded in 1849 and former purveyor to the court continues today in masterly fashion to bridge the gap between tradition and contemporary design. The design duo KIM & HEEP were particularly fascinated by the factory in the Waldviertel: thousands of threads being wound, arranged … more

The company J. & L. Lobmeyr has been working with the material glass for almost 200 years and continues until this day to rely on handcrafted perfection in creating its chandeliers and other lighting objects, its hand-blown and hand-cut crystal, and decorative glass. Starting from the Lobmeyr … more

The former imperial and royal jewellers A.E.Köchert have been creating exquisite jewellery for almost 200 years. For the Swiss designer Nicolas Le Moigne, Köchert’s products are the ultimate in prestige and luxury. His goal was to combine its historical opulence with a contemporary and affordable … more

On Hernalser Hauptstraße, Dietmar Sulzberger sells valuable, high- priced clocks so specialised he sometimes feels a little lonely there. The two designers from Vandasye, Georg Schnitzer and Peter Umgeher, spontaneously decided to support Mr Sulzberger. They developed a network concept for the … more

The KAPO company can look back on 80 years of craftsmanship tradition. It primarily produces windows, doors and high-quality furniture, upholstered and otherwise, with the label ‘Neue Wiener Werkstätte’. Upholstered furniture is like a ‘black box’; its innards and signs of quality remain hidden.