Wendt & Kühn is compulsorily nationalized and renamed
“VEB Werk-Kunst”. Hans Wendt is appointed Works Director.
Grete Wendt leaves the manufactory after working there for 57 years. Despite the trend towards mass production stipulated by the command economy, Hans Wendt manages to preserve the character of the products.
Wendt & Kühn commemorates designer Olly Wendt, née Sommer, joining the company 100 years ago. The special exhibition "Talent – Destiny – Work of a Lifetime" in Grünhainichen provides insights into the life of the designer. Also, marking the anniversary is the release of the book “Olly Wendt - A Portrait."
Wendt & Kühn celebrates the 100th birthday of the Eleven Dot Angels. In 1923 company founder and designer, Grete Wendt, created the first three angels with the eleven white dots on their characteristic green wings (one carrying a torch, the others playing the trumpet and the violin) as Christmas gifts for her employees. Click here to find out more about the anniversary.
As part of the “Tradition & Form” design competition run by the Verband Erzgebirgischer Kunsthandwerker und Spielzeughersteller e. V. (Association of Erzgebirge Craftsmen and Toymakers), Grete Wendt is posthumously honored for her life’s work and her outstanding contribution to craftsmanship in the Erzgebirge.
For the first time Wendt & Kühn designs an Eleven Dot Angel with multi-colored dots in order to support projects run by the World Childhood Foundation Germany. The charity was founded in 1999 by Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden and celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2024. Click here to find out more about this project close to our hearts.