Wiener Werkstätte
About
"Our guiding principle is function, utility our first condition, and our strength must lie in good proportions and the proper treatment of material." —Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser
Inspired by the Arts and Crafts Movement, two members of the Vienna Secession, Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser, founded the Wiener Werkstätte ("Viennese Workshops") in 1903 with the aim to produce handcrafted furniture and everyday objects by uniting buyer, designer, and worker. Funded by the industrialist Fritz Wärndorfer, the enterprise included workshops dedicated to glass, ceramic, silver, as well as textiles, jewelry, bookbinding, and enamel. Other figures who designed works produced by the Werkstätte before its closing in 1932 included Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele.
