ANNADIEKMANN
DESIGNER + MAKER
METAL SPINNING
All my metal objects are made at the Hugo Bräuer company, an old family business, that still practises the beautiful art of metal spinning.
The pieces are spun either by me or Thomas Bräuer, the current owner of the company. The »Hugo Bräuer« company was established over a hundred years ago and is currently run by the fourth generation.
The process of metal spinning involves a sheet of metal that is pushed over a rotating, rotationally symmetrical positive form, using the leverage effect and physical human strength. Slowly, the sheet of metal is pushed over the form and eventually takes its shape. Nowadays this craft has unfortunately nearly been replaced by modern technology and mass production.
I first visited the Hugo Bräuer company in 2010 while I was studying, where we executed a cooperation project with the company. I was immediately fascinated by the craft and the place full of shelves cramped with old wooden forms. After the project I kept coming back eager to learn this craft. I am incredibly lucky, that the Bräuer family took me in as a part of their family and that Thomas Bräuer and his former employee Nils Neugebauer took the time to teach me their beautiful craft.
Today i spinn all the smaller pieces myself, while Thomas Bräuer produces the more complex pieces for me.
PHOTO CREDIT: ANNA DIEKMANN