The noble history of the family brand Freifrau
Brand story by Markus Hieke
Lemgo, Germany
09.12.21
In the space of just ten years, Freifrau has become a brand of influence and stature within the design community, handcrafting signature pieces with a light and elegant feminine style.
Freifrau Manufaktur: the name alone reveals the high value placed on craftsmanship by the furniture company from Lemgo
Freifrau Manufaktur: the name alone reveals the high value placed on craftsmanship by the furniture company from Lemgo
×This could well have been a manorial tale: Freifrau , the company of a noble family that originated as a saddle maker’s workshop of yesteryear... but no! The story is much simpler and yet by no means less fascinating. It was almost exactly a decade ago that Hansjörg Helweg, previously the managing director of a well-known furniture manufacturer for many years, founded his own company.
Assembly takes place in the factory; almost all suppliers, from the upholsterer to the metal workshop, are located within a radius of 30 km. The tanner from whom Freifrau obtains most of its leather is also only an hour's drive away
Assembly takes place in the factory; almost all suppliers, from the upholsterer to the metal workshop, are located within a radius of 30 km. The tanner from whom Freifrau obtains most of its leather is also only an hour's drive away
×The idea: to produce furniture, especially seating designs, with a certain feminine feel. The name Freifrau proved ideal for this venture and the play with the title of nobility – Freifrau meaning baroness – soon became an advantageous side benefit, because the furniture manufacturer from Lemgo aims at a decidedly upmarket furnishing segment.
Leather and seam detail from the Junker upholstery workshop in Bad Salzuflen. Photo: Enno Kapitza
Art director Birgit Hoffmann from the Hamburg design studio Hoffmann Kahleyss Design – who gave the Freifrau brand its creative identity – and sales manager Udo Patzke – who, like Helweg, knows the people needed to launch a successful brand – have been with the company from the beginning. The company rapidly attained prominence, describing its own philosophy as the 'special feeling, the feeling of having arrived'. Instead of arriving somewhere, however, the brand instead remains more defined by the feeling of going places. In 2019, Helweg also brought his sons, twins Marc and Niklas Helweg, into the management.
Flying sparks behind the scenes at Freifrau Manufaktur
Freifrau has also engaged a number of designers whose signature styles have become part of the young Freifrau identity: Hanne Willmann, Lucie Koldova and Sebastian Herkner, for example. All their work shares the characteristic of harmonious lightness, which is brought to life in accordance with customer-specific wishes through the handcraftsmanship of the manufacturer’s experienced employees.
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