Hello dear reader
Welcome to my website for the Graue family factory. I am delighted that our handcrafted pocket stars have aroused your interest and that you would now like to find out more about us.
My name is Anja (#gerneperdu) and I have developed our hand-crafted folding technique and much more that goes into making our pocket stars and brought it to market maturity.
If someone had told me and my children a few years ago that we would be successful in retail with our "Swiss Army Knife under the Stars" and that demand would force us to set up our own online shop, I would probably have said they were crazy.
Where do I start with our history...
I'll start with the people who gave the engine fuel, as I described it at the time. Up until that point, only friends and co. knew about my pocket stars . Unfortunately, I have to say that their enthusiasm and positive words didn't have much of an encouraging value at the time.
I got a call from an unknown owner of an art agency in Potsdam. He had a pocket star of mine in front of him and was raving about it. Thank you, Lars, you added the first drop of fuel, but it wasn't enough. Not much time passed and I was able to read an email, also from a person unknown to me, with kind words about my pocket star .
Mhhh... I started to think about it, ... yet another stranger. Even this drop of petrol wasn't enough. I carried on folding as usual and at some point posted the first photo of my pocket stars on Facebook.
A former colleague who always loves something special wrote to me. We hadn't been in touch for at least eight years. She was really excited and asked if I could send her some. As soon as they arrived in Bavaria, she asked if any more pocket stars were ready. She really wants more as gifts for the family. Dear Anet, you gave the engine the last bit of fuel it was missing. Thank you very much!
Now the "courage engine" was ignited and I presented myself with my pocket stars in a few selected shops. Then an "I can't believe it" phase began. All four shops wanted to try it. After two weeks the first repeat order came in and it didn't stop there.
At this point I would like to mention: without my two children and their incredible support I would never have been able to do it.❤️
The ball had started rolling. More stores, including in Austria, were added. The patent office registration was completed. We kept finding ways to optimize our manufacturing work. Lots of ideas about further possibilities, developments, etc. were bubbling around in our heads. At the top of our list was an online shop and designing our own paper. Two very big projects.
Since the question kept cropping up as to whether I could make a star with a specific motif, I first set myself this very difficult task. The biggest hurdle was finding a suitable paper that offered the high quality required. After countless paper tests, we found what we were looking for at a producer in Italy. The always good-humored support and great cooperation with a local printing company finally brought this challenge to a successful conclusion.
Now we could make pocket stars with our own motifs. It didn't take long before the first special request came in. The question was whether I could make a pocket star with the Obereversand lighthouse, he wanted to give them to his long-standing customers. No problem! It was done! Other special orders followed, such as pocket stars with the company logo, picture of a loved one, wedding couple, etc.
The next future wish of the Graue manufactory has been launched, and you are now in the middle of it, in the " Taschenstern online shop ".
The journey of the Graue family factory certainly does not end here; we still have far too many ideas, concepts and possibilities.
Dear reader, you can be excited about what the “ Pocket Star Future” will bring.
In any case, I am always happy when I see the smile on people’s lips, the sparkle in their eyes and the joy of those around them when they open a pocket star .
Warm greetings from the
Taschenstern Manufaktur Graue