The Steglitz Werkstatt

Berlin’s First Design Studio

In the German Empire of 1900, the ongoing transition from an agrarian to an industrial society was causing dramatic transformations in social, economic and technological conditions—all in a young country whose uni cation was less than 30 years old.

Radical changes were also experienced in the applied arts as conventional artistic styles and modes of education collided with a new idealism and the demands of an exploding consumer economy.

In 1900-Berlin, three students at the Royal Museum Art Academy, motivated by a lack of practical and technical training, dropped out of school. F.H. Ehmcke, Georg Belwe, and F.W. Kleukens decided to establish a design studio in Berlin, the Steglitz Werkstatt. The initial idea was to design and print ne books, but their naiveté was quickly evident as lack of interest from publishing rms forced a dramatic change in business direction. The trio’s innate talent, determination, and adaptability along with fortuitous timing, enabled their studio to survive and grow by rst soliciting work from local businesses and then gaining a variety of design commissions from a large, forward-thinking adhesives manufacturer, Syndetikon.

Berlin’s first design studio was born!