CRAFTSMANSHIP IN REGENSBURG!

A FEW QUESTIONS FOR… SUSANNE KAUTH FROM BLINKFÜER HANDDRUCK.

Susanne Kauth has one of my absolute favorite stores in Regensburg: Blinkfüer Handdruck at Obere Bachgasse 20.
The store is a real treasure trove of beautiful things: Hand-printed postcards, notebooks, maps, art prints – Susanne Kauth prints just about anything that can be printed on. There is something to discover everywhere in the store, there seem to be no limits to the imagination here. The beautifully designed shop window alone is worth a visit. Everything in the store is designed by Susann, everything is handmade in the adjoining workshop. If you like, you can take a look at Susanne’s printing workshop, where there are two large, heavy, hand-operated platen printing presses. A very special place, this “Blinkfüer Handdruck”.

We asked the likeable artist a few questions.

RegensburgNow: Dear Susanne,

How long have you lived in Regensburg and what brought you here?
I have lived in Regensburg since 2000. My love for my husband, who has found work here, brought me here.

What have been the stages of your life so far?
I was born and grew up on the Baltic Sea in Lübeck-Travemünde. After graduating from high school, I spent a wonderful year abroad in Dublin, where I would have loved to have stayed. Instead, I ended up in Berlin, where I studied, met my future husband, had my children and worked at a puppet theater, among other things.

What do you particularly like about Regensburg?
Oh, I love this wonderful old town with its winding lanes and alleyways. The relaxed attitude to life really suits me, I’ve learned to stroll here instead of rushing through everyday life (which is more common in Berlin). The beautiful Danube with its floodplains in the middle of the city is very much to my taste (I really need water and since there is no sea for miles around, the Danube is of course very important to me).

What don’t you like so much about Regensburg?
The fat cruise ships for which the Danube promenade has been so unsightly “redesigned”. In general, the now unmanageably large number of tourists. Then there are the commercial rents, some of which have risen immeasurably, depriving the old town of its colorful diversity, as small shops/galleries can hardly survive and more and more faceless chains are taking over the cityscape.

Blinkfüer Handdruck at Obere Bachgasse 20 in Regensburg

How did the idea of opening a store for hand-printed items come about?
When I presented my first prints to the public in 2005 as part of the Kulturkaufhaus (K2H), I quickly felt the need for a studio store where I could work and exhibit at the same time. I had to be patient until 2010 when, after several studios, I was able to open my first store in the small Waaggässchen. I then moved to Obere Bachgasse at the beginning of 2016. This is and always has been my dream store.

Your store is called “Blinkfüer”. How did you come up with the name?
“Blinkfüer” is the Low German word for lighthouse. The oldest lighthouse on the German Baltic coast is in my birthplace of Travemünde and next to it is the “Hus Blinkfüer”. Ever since I was 6 years old, I wanted to be a lighthouse keeper and live in Hus Blinkfüer… It didn’t quite work out, but at least my store is called that now. Three character traits that you would spontaneously use to describe yourself:
Spontaneous, open, humorous.

The “book children” are a wonderful project of yours. What is that exactly?
The “Buchkinder Regensburg” are cooperation partners of the Leipzig Buchkinder. Children love stories and here they can make them up, whether long or short, funny, scary or sad, and write or print them. The stories are then illustrated with lino prints. When the children have collected enough material, we bind it together into a book so that each child has their own book. The whole process, from the idea to the printing and binding to the finished book, is designed by the children and experienced through their senses.

Blinkfüer hand printing | hand typesetting. Hand-press printing. Lino printing. Design.

You seem to be bubbling over with ideas. What inspires you?
Oh… hmm… nature in any case, so being in nature. Being lazy is also essential for new ideas. Then I also need the freedom to not get something done. Stress would be deadly for my ideas. Oh yes, and traveling and being on the road is pure rocket fuel for me.

What is your favorite place in or around Regensburg?
In Regensburg, this is the old garden that we are kindly allowed to use. 120-year-old beech trees, old rose bushes, squirrels, lots of birds and the neighbors’ cats, who occasionally wander through the garden.
The cathedral cloister is one of my favourite places here. Sitting in the sunshine at the Andreasstadl by the Danube always puts me in a vacation mood.

Which artist would you like to swap places with for a day?
Egon Schiele.

What are you currently working on or what is your next project?
I am currently building a sailing ship…

Thank you so much for the lovely interview, dear Susanne!
We can highly recommend a visit to Blinkfüer.
You simply have to feel at home in this beautiful store!

Susanne Kauth, Blinkfüer Handdruck Regensburg

Blinkfüer Handdruck
Obere Bachgasse 20
93047 Regensburg

Opening hours:
Wednesday to Friday 11.00 – 13.00 & 14.00 – 18.00, Saturday 11.00 to 16.00

Here is the Link to the homepage:
www.blinkfuer-handdruck.de

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