Recognition of Female Designers
Acceptance of Women’s Abilities at Last
Around 1900, female designers were not only extremely seldom - they were also rarely appreciated. The classical role model often denied them their creativity and ability. They were not allowed to study at art academies, and their names were usually not mentioned when they were commissioned. Once again, our company founder, Karl Schmidt, was an exception. He saw the potential in many women and treated them considerably more fairly.
In the first decades of the 20th century, during Karl Schmidt's period of activity, 53 female designers were verifiably employed by Deutsche Werkstätten. Among them were women like Grete Wendt, who later founded the well-known arts and crafts manufacturer Wendt & Kühn with her fellow student Grete Kühn. Grete Wendt worked in the drawing studio at Deutsche Werkstätten from 1910 - at that time, the only woman among her exclusively male colleagues. In addition to textile designs, she also produced designs for furniture and furnishings for entire rooms. She wasn't the only young woman that Karl Schmidt gave such an opportunity to either.
