Overbeck, that’s me, Andrea Overbeck, born and raised on the shores of the lake of Starnberg near Munich and since 1999 self-appointed ambassodor for heart-warming beautiful things.Friends, those are all the lovely people around me, without whom such a creative business could never flourish. And that although everything began really small, in a back courtyard in the part of Munich called Schwabing.

 

After my training as hotel manageress, stays in Italy, France and the USA and after working as a flight attendant for Lufthansa for 12 years, I felt the need to turn those endless travel-impressions into something creative.

 

Inspired by the many colours of exotic markets, the magnificent multicoloured splendour of cottage gardens, the bright turquoise of the sea and by a wide variety of arts and crafts, the first ideas materialized in 1999 as “Blessing & Overbeck” – in the garage and at the living-room table of our small flat because our capital wasn’t a terrific budget, but good friends, bold ideas and a great desire.

 

Since then almost 13 years have passed and especially last year was quite turbulent:
After the separation from Sabin Blessing quite a few things in the company had to be restructured and rethought, not only our name. I established new contacts and found valuable friends, who support me in my work.

 

Two especially bright spots that I would like to mention here are the designers Orike Muth and Sandra Lindloge. With their creative way of looking at things and their craftsmanship there literally read the wishes and ideas from my lips – it was a real stroke of luck that we met.

 

Here I would also like to mention my manufacturers and their staff. After many years of friendly cooperation, they now greatly enjoy developing ideas of their own which we are happy to take up.
Our articles are produced in so-called “Home Cottage Industries”. Small family businesses where our products are manufactured with great accuracy and patience. The egg cups are hand-painted, the baskets woven by hand, the wood for the picture frames is chosen piece by piece and the lingerie-bags are hand-embroidered, just to name a few.

 

And finally there are those friends who have supported this company, partly professionally but also on a private base, with their ideas, their commitment, their hands-on help. Without their spiritedness and confidence the establishment of Overbeck and Friends would have been unthinkable.

 

This is where I would like to thank you all for what you have done – and I’m looking forward to what there is to come!