The furniture factory as the origin of fine hand tools
It was the year 1895 when Wilhelm Riepe founded the furniture factory of the same name in East Westphalia, which was then incorporated into the shopfitting company Dula in 1953 and still exists today.
As the founder's great-grandson, I started making wooden fretsaws as a 5-year-old boy in the old family factory. The smell of freshly sawn plywood was like an intoxicating scent to me. I spent every free minute working with wood. Sawing, gluing, building. Of course, this immediately gave rise to the desire to train as a carpenter.
I also completed this in our family business and had the opportunity to gain a lot of experience in ship interior design and high-quality shop fitting. After the three-year training, I then joined the Compagnons du Devoir. An association of young French craftsmen with the aim of training and promoting journeymen professionally and personally on a journey.
After a theoretical and practical test, I spent a year as a journeyman in Strasbourg, Valenciennes and Lille. Unlike the dual training system in Germany, this French system of vocational training is based on passing on the knowledge of experienced journeymen and masters to young, emerging craftsmen. Unlike in Germany, where the dual system - vocational school and employment in a company - guarantees a very solid education.
A key difference between my work as a carpenter in Germany and my work in France is the fact that in Germany the work tools are provided by the employer. In France, on the other hand, every journeyman needs his own tools and is therefore naturally obliged to look after and maintain these tools responsibly. This maintenance is supported by a monthly tool allowance.
This led to a responsible use of our own tools and, of course, the choice of premium and absolute quality tools that were correspondingly sustainable. My grandfather also constantly imparted his wisdom to us: "If you buy cheap, you often buy twice." This gave me a special connection to my own tools. Caring for them and sharpening them led to a real devotion and I still have the self-made toolbox from my travels.
Because of my passion for wood as a material, I decided to study wood engineering at the Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen University of Applied Sciences. During this course, I was able to deepen my knowledge of wood as a material and of tool and production technology, even from a scientific perspective. After my studies, I then focused my professional activities on various areas of the woodworking and processing industry as well as in the trades.
In 2000, my son Julius was born. A true child of Generation Z. His professional values and core desires are characterized by freedom for ideas and visionary entrepreneurship. A lot of time together, exploring each other's talents and many discussions about origins and the future, about craftsmanship and digitalization in everyday life, gave rise to the desire and longing to realize self-determined development opportunities.
This is how the idea was born to combine a passion for old economy products with the values and possibilities of the digital future. "There are many tools in our world. Our passion is to discover them for you. Only the finest hand tools that we personally like and that have really convinced us can be found here."
As the founder's great-grandson, I started making wooden fretsaws as a 5-year-old boy in the old family factory. The smell of freshly sawn plywood was like an intoxicating scent to me. I spent every free minute working with wood. Sawing, gluing, building. Of course, this immediately gave rise to the desire to train as a carpenter.
I also completed this in our family business and had the opportunity to gain a lot of experience in ship interior design and high-quality shop fitting. After the three-year training, I then joined the Compagnons du Devoir. An association of young French craftsmen with the aim of training and promoting journeymen professionally and personally on a journey.
After a theoretical and practical test, I spent a year as a journeyman in Strasbourg, Valenciennes and Lille. Unlike the dual training system in Germany, this French system of vocational training is based on passing on the knowledge of experienced journeymen and masters to young, emerging craftsmen. Unlike in Germany, where the dual system - vocational school and employment in a company - guarantees a very solid education.
A key difference between my work as a carpenter in Germany and my work in France is the fact that in Germany the work tools are provided by the employer. In France, on the other hand, every journeyman needs his own tools and is therefore naturally obliged to look after and maintain these tools responsibly. This maintenance is supported by a monthly tool allowance.
This led to a responsible use of our own tools and, of course, the choice of premium and absolute quality tools that were correspondingly sustainable. My grandfather also constantly imparted his wisdom to us: "If you buy cheap, you often buy twice." This gave me a special connection to my own tools. Caring for them and sharpening them led to a real devotion and I still have the self-made toolbox from my travels.
Because of my passion for wood as a material, I decided to study wood engineering at the Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen University of Applied Sciences. During this course, I was able to deepen my knowledge of wood as a material and of tool and production technology, even from a scientific perspective. After my studies, I then focused my professional activities on various areas of the woodworking and processing industry as well as in the trades.
In 2000, my son Julius was born. A true child of Generation Z. His professional values and core desires are characterized by freedom for ideas and visionary entrepreneurship. A lot of time together, exploring each other's talents and many discussions about origins and the future, about craftsmanship and digitalization in everyday life, gave rise to the desire and longing to realize self-determined development opportunities.
This is how the idea was born to combine a passion for old economy products with the values and possibilities of the digital future. "There are many tools in our world. Our passion is to discover them for you. Only the finest hand tools that we personally like and that have really convinced us can be found here."
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