Other markets and more sales success followed because the two of them (Jutta and Gernot) had decided in the meantime to give up the occupations they had trained for and immerse themselves in the art of brush making. It was an art which “Friedel,” who had been blind since childhood, had passed on to all the family members with great heart and soul.

Over the years, the business grew from small market stalls to the first regular customers and all the way to international companies. It became the company which celebrated its 80-year anniversary in 2015 and that you know today. Hopefully it will continue to flourish – after all, the next generation is already here!

What kind of word is that? Hardly anyone can explain to me what it means literally – and yet it is on everyone's lips. In fact, the German word for it – Nachhaltigkeit – is an old term that was used for the first time in the 18th century to describe a forest industry that doesn't cut more trees than it can grow back. Even then, it seems to have been an issue. And today, "sustainable forestry" is still a fixed term with a whole certification industry that has developed around it.

For us, sustainability means more than the sensible extraction of raw materials, as Redecker products are always developed for longevity and a long service life. In this endeavour, the quality of the natural raw materials we use is an important building block. We also feel that products themselves should be as honest as those who produce them. This means that we will never produce large industrial quantities of our goods, on the one hand because natural raw materials are limited in their availability and have to have adequate time to grow back, and on the other because they behave differently and require more individual attention in production. That's the way it is – and that's the way it shall remain.

For our brushes, we only use natural materials for the body and bristles while avoiding mixtures with synthetic fibres. However, many competitors are now doing exactly this because sourcing natural bristles and fibres is difficult.  These are constantly rising in price and often unavailable in sufficient quantities. Yet, because these plastic mixtures do not have to be labelled more precisely, the term "horsehair mixture" can mean that only the smallest proportion of the bristles is actually genuine horsehair – the rest is cheap plastic. Redecker, on the other hand, is dedicated to retaining its usual quality standards. In order for you and your customers to be able to recognise what you are buying, we have paid particular attention to an exact specification of the materials used in the  re-design of our product labels.

When we develop a product, a tiny but weighty detail is simply indispensable: the idea. Who has the ideas? Everyone! Family, friends, employees, acquaintances – or even you. We are open to anything. In many cases, this is not all that simple. Not everything we or others think of can actually be realised. Often, we have to discard suggestions and even our own ideas after the planning phase. This is not for a lack of expertise, since Gernot Redecker is not only a brush maker but also a trained tool maker who finds solutions for just about anything. In fact, the materials we use unfortunately do not allow us to do everything. Some of the properties of wood and bristles do limit us, but this does not discourage us because these very properties are what make our products what they are – something special. If an idea turns out to be feasible, product development is the next phase. After making some drafts, we head for the workshop.

Once the first prototype has been roughed out, product development begins in earnest: it is inspected by everyone, tested, criticised, praised, discarded, handled, and examined again the next day. Then Gernot Redecker goes back to the workshop – and the game begins all over again – even multiple times, since the form, function, material, suitability, handling, and overall impression are evaluated and improved. But at some point, it is finally time – and that is always the best moment.

But there is a long way to go from this moment to series production: wood and bristles have to be ordered and optimum production steps need to be created. The packaging, weight, size, and warehouse capacities need to be determined. And, finally, the Redecker product – now that it has earned that name – still has to find its way through inventory management and a date with our photographer to get into our catalogue. Half a year can easily go by from the idea to the finished product.

So, from the inception of an idea to the finished product, it can often take half a year. We glady welcome this time because at Redecker, when we prepare for an innovation, it must be for a purpose which is really necessary!

The Redecker method? It‘s unmistakeable: This means taking the sufficient amount of time to create and produce our products sustainably–resulting in beautiful, practical, and durable objects with which we proudly identify with.