Made in Düsseldorf - Diverse, sustainable & simply beautiful

When you think of Made in Düsseldorf, you don't necessarily think of perfume, sustainable leather goods or wool. Yet there are a number of manufacturers and brands in Düsseldorf that have specialized and at the same time know how to capture the spirit of the times. True to the motto: Support your local dealer, we would like to introduce you to six cool brands that are made in Düsseldorf.

Oskar - Skincare, Perfume & more

Oskar, that's Jonas von Blanken and André Golloch. Their aim is to offer a vegan unisex skincare line that takes into account sustainable aspects such as ingredients from organic cultivation and packaging made from recycled PET, as well as contemporary skincare requirements. In other words: parabens and silicones have no place in Oskar. Von Blanken and Golloch underline the unisex claim when they emphasize that they do not produce for genders, but for people. In addition to skin care products ranging from hand cream to body lotion, the focus is on fragrances. This is where Jonas von Blanken, creative mind and fragrance designer, comes into play. He takes his inspiration from the world's gourmet kitchens and uses aromas from the culinary world. You can see this for yourself at the perfume seminars that Oskar regularly offers. Over drinks and finger food, participants create their own perfumes, which they can take away with them afterwards.

oskar.care

Sofia Beilharz - Shapely geometry

Spheres, circles and lines define the design of the jewelry from Sofia Beilharz's studio. Born in Stuttgart, she has lived in Düsseldorf since 2007 and has found her home here. In her studio in Pempelfort, she produces small series by hand and individual jewelry made in Düsseldorf on request. Her style is purist. The pieces of jewelry are made to set accents. To achieve this, she works the surfaces to create plays of light and shadow. Sofia Beilharz explains: "In my work, I have dedicated myself to a clear design language without any frills. I want to offer lovers of minimalist design timelessly elegant jewelry produced in small series that promises individuality and exclusivity." The current collection is inspired by a trip to Benin in West Africa. There she met the photographer Richard Dansou, who photographed the pieces for her tenth anniversary.

sofiabeilharz.de

Maren Düsel - Hang loose and smile

Maren Düsel, who is also Sofia Beilharz's studio neighbor, also makes contemporary jewelry made in Düsseldorf. Some of you may be familiar with the "Give a smile" necklace with a cute smiley face pendant. The pendants all vary because Maren Düsel makes them by hand. However, the cuteness of the "Give a smile" necklace is rather the exception in the collections. The names of the individual lines provide clues to the ideas behind them. "Little Difference" stands for necklaces whose links fall unusually when worn due to small differences in size. "Hangloose" is based on movable so-called snake chains. Maren Düsel's design is minimalist, but not restrained. Small details, colors and surprising elements speak a clear design language that is unmistakably attributable to the jewelry designer.

marenduesel.com

La Vifolie - Wait a minute!

Katharina Zapp has found her niche and specializes in eye care with her beauty brand La Vifolie. Zapp founded her brand back in 2017 and gave it a makeover in fall 2023. The claim to effectiveness has remained. Ingredients such as quinoa seed extract or paracress suggest that the products are natural cosmetics. However, despite not testing on animals, choosing Germany as the production location and using natural ingredients, La Vifolie plays in the high-tech cosmetics league. Katharina Zapp worked for many years as a beautician at Schnitzler, for example, and began to take a closer look at products that specialized in the eye area because she was dissatisfied with them. She can recite the ABCs of skin care from retinol to vitamin C and peptides in her sleep. Her range offers everything from moisturizing serum to micelle cleansing foam for the delicate, sensitive eye area.

lavifolie.de

Monolar - Made for ever

The fact that simplicity and simplicity mark a new luxury is not new, but is characteristic of a young generation of designers. The same goes for sustainability, which requires neither certification nor labeling. Jasmin Schmitz also considers these aspects for her label Monolar. Traditional leather craftsmanship is her passion and this is reflected in her bags. The leather used is vegetable-tanned, it is produced regionally and the individual pieces are not only unique, but also designed to last. The leather used comes from horses and is a by-product of the meat industry that would otherwise end up as waste. The collection consists of modern crossbody bags, classic weekenders and business card holders. Jasmin Schmitz creates an aesthetically pleasing fusion of functionality and minimalist design with highlights in the details, for example through the use of brass fittings. "Masterful craftsmanship", as Jasmin Schmitz emphasizes, because for her this is where true luxury lies. In this and in the appreciation of the things we acquire.

monolar.eu

Rhool - Wool from the Rhine

Did you know that, according to the International Wool Textile Organization (IWTO), 1.15 million kilograms of clean raw wool from around 1.18 billion sheep were produced worldwide in 2018? Quite a lot, isn't it? But most of this wool is not sustainable, even though it is a natural product. Not so with Rhool. Nobody would have thought of wool made in Düsseldorf. Frieda Feld didn't either at first, until she asked herself what happens to the wool from the sheep on Düsseldorf's Rhine meadows. You have to know that she has been knitting and crocheting since she was six years old. One thing led to another and Frieda contacted a shepherd who explained to her that the wool was more of an annoying accessory and didn't even cover the shearing costs. In 2021, she bought raw wool from Rhine-Rhön sheep for the first time, sorted it, sent it to a wool laundry and finally had it spun. The result is Rhool. The wool is sold online and is available in natural and some colors, which are hand and vegetable dyed. Incidentally, Frieda Feld runs Rhool on the side. She studied mathematics and is a full-time scrum master.

rhool.de

Text: Cynthia Blasberg
Photos: Press photos of the brands and see credit
Lead photo: Oskar