Twins Hans and Sigrid Wendt were born on October 9, 1930. On the occasion of their christening in March 1931, their mother Olly Wendt designed differently colored and themed variants of a twin brother and sister pair as gifts for the godparents and guests attending this momentous event – including this particular pair – so that each guest could take home a completely personal keepsake of the big day.
Die Heinzelmännchen machen sich nicht nur in den heimischen vier Wänden nützlich, sondern schreiten auch im Garten zur Tat, denn auch hier sind sie gern gesehen. Während der erste eine große Schale mit zarten Pflänzchen herbeiträgt, hält der zweite schon die Gießkanne bereit. Der dritte im Bunde verewigt das muntere Gärtnertreiben in einem farbenfrohen Bild.
Die Heinzelmännchen machen sich nicht nur in den heimischen vier Wänden nützlich, sondern schreiten auch im Garten zur Tat, denn auch hier sind sie gern gesehen. Während der erste eine große Schale mit zarten Pflänzchen herbeiträgt, hält der zweite schon die Gießkanne bereit. Der dritte im Bunde verewigt das muntere Gärtnertreiben in einem farbenfrohen Bild.
Zu welcher Pflanzenfamilie die sechs jungen Sprosse des Heinzels mit den Pflänzchen genau gehören, kann aus den Archivaufzeichnungen nicht exakt ermittelt werden – das lässt Raum für die eigene Fantasie. Überhaupt erforderte die Auseinandersetzung mit den historischen Entwürfen, die ihren Ursprung um 1926 haben, einige Tüftelei. Denn als überlieferte Vorlagen dienten vor allem Katalogabbildungen in Schwarzweiß und alte Holzmuster, die keinen Hinweis auf die verwendeten Farben gaben. Beim Heinzelmännchen mit Malpalette konnte glücklicherweise auf farbige Musterfiguren zurückgegriffen werden – auf eine „verbindliche“ Farbpalette, die er in den Händen hält, lassen jedoch auch diese nicht schließen, hatte doch damals jedes Heinzelmännchen andere Farben angemischt. Wie im wahren Künstlerleben.
Die Heinzelmännchen machen sich nicht nur in den heimischen vier Wänden nützlich, sondern schreiten auch im Garten zur Tat, denn auch hier sind sie gern gesehen. Während der erste eine große Schale mit zarten Pflänzchen herbeiträgt, hält der zweite schon die Gießkanne bereit. Der dritte im Bunde verewigt das muntere Gärtnertreiben in einem farbenfrohen Bild.
Zu welcher Pflanzenfamilie die sechs jungen Sprosse des Heinzels mit den Pflänzchen genau gehören, kann aus den Archivaufzeichnungen nicht exakt ermittelt werden – das lässt Raum für die eigene Fantasie. Überhaupt erforderte die Auseinandersetzung mit den historischen Entwürfen, die ihren Ursprung um 1926 haben, einige Tüftelei. Denn als überlieferte Vorlagen dienten vor allem Katalogabbildungen in Schwarzweiß und alte Holzmuster, die keinen Hinweis auf die verwendeten Farben gaben. Beim Heinzelmännchen mit Malpalette konnte glücklicherweise auf farbige Musterfiguren zurückgegriffen werden – auf eine „verbindliche“ Farbpalette, die er in den Händen hält, lassen jedoch auch diese nicht schließen, hatte doch damals jedes Heinzelmännchen andere Farben angemischt. Wie im wahren Künstlerleben.
In dieser Form wurde der emsige Verpackungskünstler noch nie gefertigt. Ideengeber für die Figur war eine historische Zeichnung von 1926, die ein sitzendes Heinzelmännchen zeigt, welches etwas auf dem Schoß trägt. Was genau, blieb Grete Wendts Geheimnis. Uns inspirierte die geheimnisvolle Zeichnung zum Entwurf des Heinzels mit Geschenk, der fortan mit seinem sympathischen Wesen nicht nur die Herzen von „Einpack-Muffeln“ höherschlagen lässt.
Liebevolle Details verleihen dem Krokusjungen Ausdruck und Charme: die raffinierte rote Jacke, der schwungvolle Schritt, die zart geringelte Mütze. Der Krokus ist ein Meisterwerk filigraner Blütenbildnerei. Beinahe echt mutet er in der feinen Ausführung und Bemalung an – ein Bote der schönsten Jahreszeit, die alles um uns herum zum Blühen bringt.
Jedes Frühjahr verzaubern die Kirschblüten mit ihrer Schönheit. Im fernen Japan stehen sie für Aufbruch, zarte weibliche Anmut und Vergänglichkeit. Doch nicht nur in Fernost läutet die Kirschblüte den Frühling ein, auch hierzulande ist sie ein Zeichen der fröhlichen Jahreszeit. Stolz hält das Mädchen den Kirschblütenzweig ihn in den Händen, während ihr kunstvoll verziertes Kleid im lauen Frühlingswind weht. Für den filigran gearbeiteten Zweig stand die Natur Modell: Selbst kleinste Feinheiten wurden detailgetreu nachempfunden.
As a harbinger of the new season, the Girl with Winter Aconite announces nature’s reawakening. With their yellow flowers, winter aconites colorfully herald the approaching spring. From the end of January, when in a mild winter the carpet of snow begins to melt, they pop their heads up above the ground, forming a sea of yellow blooms. This happy little girl provides inspiration for fresh springtime decorating.
Es macht Freude, die vielen liebevollen Details zu entdecken, die dem Mädchen, das dieses Jahr die Schar der fröhlichen Blumenkinder ergänzt, seinen Charme verleihen: die frechen Zöpfe, das gepunktete Kleid, der feine Blusenkragen. Detailverliebtheit zeichnet auch den Blaustern aus, den es in seinen Händen hält. Sechs grazile Blätter vereinen sich zu zarten Blütensternen, die durch ihre lasierende Bemalung in unterschiedlichen Nuancen schimmern.
Doch aufgepasst: So verlockend die Blumen auch sind, sie stehen unter Naturschutz und dürfen nicht gepflückt werden. Mehr noch: Nach altem Aberglauben sollte nicht einmal daran gerochen werden, heißt es doch, dass man dann Sommersprossen bekäme. Vom Blaustern, der in unseren Werkstätten „gewachsen“ ist, ist jedenfalls keine die Sommersprossen fördernde Wirkung bekannt.
When in January the white star-shaped flowers of the Christmas rose pop their heads out of the cold ground, our new Blossom Girl is getting ready to take a walk over the fields and meadows. A beanie, jacket and sturdy shoes protect her from the icy cold. Five snow-white sepals frame the graceful yellow stamens of the Christmas rose, which are painted with a fi ne brush and a particularly steady hand. Equally impressive is the delicate floral pattern decorating the girl’s skirt – almost 30 tiny flowers adorn the pink fabric. The strands of hair that have escaped from her hat and her cheeky braids are just two of the lovely details that give this little girl her unmistakable charm.
The birds all vary in size and have different colored plumage. They get their individual look through the application of translucent paint that makes their feathers shimmer in a wide range of shades and colors.
This happy little girl, designed by Grete Wendt, does not appear as an individual figurine in any previous old catalogues or price lists. This leads us to believe that she has never before been sold in this particular form anywhere in the world.
In high spirits, these small ducklings tumble from one adventure to the next. And as their heads can be moved, they spend their time looking either cheekily ahead or quizzically behind them. The perfect gift for all small chicks stepping out in life with big strides – on their first day in kindergarten, or when they start school for the first time.
In high spirits, these small ducklings tumble from one adventure to the next. And as their heads can be moved, they spend their time looking either cheekily ahead or quizzically behind them. The perfect gift for all small chicks stepping out in life with big strides – on their first day in kindergarten, or when they start school for the first time.
An exclusive video shows the painstaking work that goes into their production and how the unique paint effects are achieved. You will be amazed!
An exclusive video shows the painstaking work that goes into their production and how the unique paint effects are achieved. You will be amazed!
An exclusive video shows the painstaking work that goes into their production and how the unique paint effects are achieved. You will be amazed!
In an exclusive video we show you how the delicate foliage of our deciduous tree is created through skillful turning on the lathe. You will be amazed!
The deciduous tree has had a permanent place in the collection for many years. It forms, for example, the centerpiece of the “Children’s Procession” music box. From this year, it is available in an unpainted version that opens up completely new decorative options. In its age-old form, the tree (15 centimeters high) demonstrates once again the high level of craftsmanship required to turn it on the lathe.
In an exclusive video we show you how the delicate foliage of our deciduous tree is created through skillful turning on the lathe. You will be amazed!
The designs for the musical bunnies with their slatted limbs from the 1920s evoke a sense of the unusual coupled with the endearing. Their creative forms hearken back to the earliest days of woodcrafting in the Erzgebirge. What was at that time commonplace is today an artistic feature. Making these bunnies unique in all the world and so popular among collectors.
The designs for the musical bunnies with their slatted limbs from the 1920s evoke a sense of the unusual coupled with the endearing. Their creative forms hearken back to the earliest days of woodcrafting in the Erzgebirge. What was at that time commonplace is today an artistic feature. Making these bunnies unique in all the world and so popular among collectors.
The designs for the musical bunnies with their slatted limbs from the 1920s evoke a sense of the unusual coupled with the endearing. Their creative forms hearken back to the earliest days of woodcrafting in the Erzgebirge. What was at that time commonplace is today an artistic feature. Making these bunnies unique in all the world and so popular among collectors.
The designs for the musical bunnies with their slatted limbs from the 1920s evoke a sense of the unusual coupled with the endearing. Their creative forms hearken back to the earliest days of woodcrafting in the Erzgebirge. What was at that time commonplace is today an artistic feature. Making these bunnies unique in all the world and so popular among collectors.
The designs for the musical bunnies with their slatted limbs from the 1920s evoke a sense of the unusual coupled with the endearing. Their creative forms hearken back to the earliest days of woodcrafting in the Erzgebirge. What was at that time commonplace is today an artistic feature. Making these bunnies unique in all the world and so popular among collectors.
The designs for the musical bunnies with their slatted limbs from the 1920s evoke a sense of the unusual coupled with the endearing. Their creative forms hearken back to the earliest days of woodcrafting in the Erzgebirge. What was at that time commonplace is today an artistic feature. Making these bunnies unique in all the world and so popular among collectors.
The designs for the musical bunnies with their slatted limbs from the 1920s evoke a sense of the unusual coupled with the endearing. Their creative forms hearken back to the earliest days of woodcrafting in the Erzgebirge. What was at that time commonplace is today an artistic feature. Making these bunnies unique in all the world and so popular among collectors.
The designs for the musical bunnies with their slatted limbs from the 1920s evoke a sense of the unusual coupled with the endearing. Their creative forms hearken back to the earliest days of woodcrafting in the Erzgebirge. What was at that time commonplace is today an artistic feature. Making these bunnies unique in all the world and so popular among collectors.
The designs for the musical bunnies with their slatted limbs from the 1920s evoke a sense of the unusual coupled with the endearing. Their creative forms hearken back to the earliest days of woodcrafting in the Erzgebirge. What was at that time commonplace is today an artistic feature. Making these bunnies unique in all the world and so popular among collectors.
How the Moon Family came into being is described in a poem that appeared in August 1933 in “Hans Kunterbunt”, a supplement in the ‘Leipziger Neueste Nachrichten’ newspaper. Tired of living in the sky, the family wanted to experience other places. So they asked the toymaker to help them. “Let him carve us quickly out of good wood; we will then travel the world as wooden samples; and later we will decide whether we like it better here or there!”
They liked it here in Germany and they have also become sought-after collectables all over the world. And so they returned to the collection in May 2016 – with all the original cast, just as Olly Wendt designed them in 1925.
How the Moon Family came into being is described in a poem that appeared in August 1933 in “Hans Kunterbunt”, a supplement in the ‘Leipziger Neueste Nachrichten’ newspaper. Tired of living in the sky, the family wanted to experience other places. So they asked the toymaker to help them. “Let him carve us quickly out of good wood; we will then travel the world as wooden samples; and later we will decide whether we like it better here or there!”
They liked it here in Germany and they have also become sought-after collectables all over the world. And so they returned to the collection in May 2016 – with all the original cast, just as Olly Wendt designed them in 1925.
How the Moon Family came into being is described in a poem that appeared in August 1933 in “Hans Kunterbunt”, a supplement in the ‘Leipziger Neueste Nachrichten’ newspaper. Tired of living in the sky, the family wanted to experience other places. So they asked the toymaker to help them. “Let him carve us quickly out of good wood; we will then travel the world as wooden samples; and later we will decide whether we like it better here or there!”
They liked it here in Germany and they have also become sought-after collectables all over the world. And so they returned to the collection in May 2016 – with all the original cast, just as Olly Wendt designed them in 1925.
How the Moon Family came into being is described in a poem that appeared in August 1933 in “Hans Kunterbunt”, a supplement in the ‘Leipziger Neueste Nachrichten’ newspaper. Tired of living in the sky, the family wanted to experience other places. So they asked the toymaker to help them. “Let him carve us quickly out of good wood; we will then travel the world as wooden samples; and later we will decide whether we like it better here or there!”
They liked it here in Germany and they have also become sought-after collectables all over the world. And so they returned to the collection in May 2016 – with all the original cast, just as Olly Wendt designed them in 1925.
How the Moon Family came into being is described in a poem that appeared in August 1933 in “Hans Kunterbunt”, a supplement in the ‘Leipziger Neueste Nachrichten’ newspaper. Tired of living in the sky, the family wanted to experience other places. So they asked the toymaker to help them. “Let him carve us quickly out of good wood; we will then travel the world as wooden samples; and later we will decide whether we like it better here or there!”
They liked it here in Germany and they have also become sought-after collectables all over the world. And so they returned to the collection in May 2016 – with all the original cast, just as Olly Wendt designed them in 1925.
How the Moon Family came into being is described in a poem that appeared in August 1933 in “Hans Kunterbunt”, a supplement in the ‘Leipziger Neueste Nachrichten’ newspaper. Tired of living in the sky, the family wanted to experience other places. So they asked the toymaker to help them. “Let him carve us quickly out of good wood; we will then travel the world as wooden samples; and later we will decide whether we like it better here or there!”
They liked it here in Germany and they have also become sought-after collectables all over the world. And so they returned to the collection in May 2016 – with all the original cast, just as Olly Wendt designed them in 1925.
Grete Wendt loved the world of fairy tales and she used her fascination with them to create a whole series of fairy tale figurines. These include Cinderella with her turtle doves – the best-known scene in the Brothers Grimm version.
What is less well known is that Grete Wendt also designed a glass slipper that according to her sketches should have been placed next to the little bench. What has become of the shoe is known only to Cinderella and Grete Wendt.
Wenn Sterne vom Himmel fallen und sich in Taler verwandeln, heißt es: Märchenzeit bei Wendt & Kühn. Auf einer vom Mond erleuchteten Waldeslichtung sitzend, breitet das Sterntalermädchen, seine Schürze aus – fünf Sterne sind bereits in seinem Schoß gelandet. Drei weitere, mit feinem Pinsel gemalt, sind neben ihm auf die Wiese gefallen.
Grete Wendt entwarf die Figur schon vor 1930, fast ein Jahrhundert später beeindruckt sie noch immer durch ihr bescheidenes Wesen. Ein bezauberndes Geschenk, wie gemacht für Märchenfreunde, Sternengucker und Menschen, denen man für ihre Selbstlosigkeit und Hilfsbereitschaft danken möchte. Und weil man Sterne nicht nur fangen, sondern auch puzzeln kann, ziert das Sterntalermädchen außerdem ein 24-teiliges Märchenpuzzle.
“Oh, grandmother, what big ears you have”– for many of us these words take us right back to our childhood. And in 1929, Grete Wendt used this story from the Brothers Grimm as inspiration for yet another fairy tale design. This group of figurines depicts the scene in which Red Riding Hood approaches grandmother’s bed. A 24-piece jigsaw puzzle is a magical addition to this figurine duo.
We have put together a detailed series of photos showing how our Wolf in Bed is made using the finest craftsmanship.
“Oh, grandmother, what big ears you have”– for many of us these words take us right back to our childhood. And in 1929, Grete Wendt used this story from the Brothers Grimm as inspiration for yet another fairy tale design. This group of figurines depicts the scene in which Red Riding Hood approaches grandmother’s bed. A 24-piece jigsaw puzzle is a magical addition to this figurine duo.
We have put together a detailed series of photos showing how our Wolf in Bed is made using the finest craftsmanship.
In August 2015, a group of figurines who were there right at the start of this creative enterprise returned to the collection: the Berry Pickers. In 1913, Grete Wendt entered a competition to create “tasteful souvenirs”. With great success, as her Berry Pickers took second prize. After the prize-wining group of figurines had appeared in numerous magazines she received many orders, and these finally gave her the impetus, two years later, to found the Wendt & Kühn workshops.
In August 2015, a group of figurines who were there right at the start of this creative enterprise returned to the collection: the Berry Pickers. In 1913, Grete Wendt entered a competition to create “tasteful souvenirs”. With great success, as her Berry Pickers took second prize. After the prize-wining group of figurines had appeared in numerous magazines she received many orders, and these finally gave her the impetus, two years later, to found the Wendt & Kühn workshops.
In August 2015, a group of figurines who were there right at the start of this creative enterprise returned to the collection: the Berry Pickers. In 1913, Grete Wendt entered a competition to create “tasteful souvenirs”. With great success, as her Berry Pickers took second prize. After the prize-wining group of figurines had appeared in numerous magazines she received many orders, and these finally gave her the impetus, two years later, to found the Wendt & Kühn workshops.
You can almost hear the groaning of the little girl’s sleigh laden with all her goodies – in addition to the bright star, she’s pulling freshly baked bread, wine and even a splinter box, so popular throughout the Erzgebirge in former times for safekeeping small valuables. There’s a cold wind blowing outside, as evidenced by the girl’s warm scarf and thick wool socks. Her young companion is meanwhile keeping one hand warm in his pocket.
The delightful figurine composition was designed more than 40 years ago by Olly Wendt as a gift for friends and family. They were never produced in series and have been seen in 2014 for the very first time by the general public.
Conceived more than 40 years ago as a gift for family and friends by Olly Wendt, the creative designer at Grete Wendt’s side, the boy with tree first appeared to a large audience in autumn 2014 and has been spreading a touch of wintery spirit ever since. He has never been manufactured in volume before. Bundled up in his warm clothes and furnished with holiday accessories, this figurine will definitely make unusual accent pieces.
Are you looking for an unusual present? Something stylish, timeless and valuable? The gift sets from Wendt & Kühn are all of these things. With great care we have selected representative figurines from the different families and arranged them in groups. The figurines are securely packed in a gift box. These sets are perfect for both “newcomers” and for those who are just starting out on their collector’s journey.