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R e d e c k e r ' s b r u s h m a g a z i n e

gebürstet

Issue No. 9 / January 2012

Where are all the trees cut? Are newones planted to replace them? The wood for our brushes, mainly beech,comes from Germany, Slovenia and Slo-vakia. Slovenia in particular has a longtradition in the production of householditems made of wood. As EU members, allof these countries are committed to su-stainable forestry practices. This meansforests cannot be clear-cut and newtrees need to be planted.

How can boar bristles be so long? –I thought pigs had almost no hair. Do

 you have a photo? The domestic pig as we know it in Ger-

many has hardly any hair. It was bred outof the animals since growing hair orbristles consumes energy unnecessarily.This energy then serves to gain weight inorder to grow the meat the animals areraised for. Since they are kept in large, in-

sulated barns, the animals no longerneed fur to keep them warm.The long bristles come from traditional

old breeds, with the longest growth overthe back along the spinal cord. In thiscountry one still sees such long bristleson wild pigs, with the longest and thi-ckest on old boars.

Do the animals have to be killed?Boar bristles can only be “harvested”

from dead animals, since they have toinclude the root (the thickest and stron-

Dear Redecker friends,

We need to ask questions to learn.Which is why our customers keepasking us questions that come fromtheir customers. It seems that peopleare no longer as familiar with natu-ral products as they were just 50 ye-

ars ago. We attempt to answer some“classic” questions here in Querge-bürstet – if you are aware of other“FAQs” (frequently asked que-stions) from your business and youdon’t know the answer or aren’t su-re, we look forward to your e-mail :quergebuerstet@redecker.de.Other topics in this issue: New andold Redecker products for pota-toes, our new trade fair stand andthe outstanding performance of our

warehouse team under Birgit Twel-kemeier and Michael Schieleit. Wehope you enjoy reading the latestedition!

Your Redecker Teamquergebuerstet@redecker.de

Organic products have long becomefamiliar and are now found in al-

most every household. In these times ofrethinking, with daily discussions aboutthe Kyoto Protocol, television broad-casts, movies and books on the topic of“Living without Plastic”, more and morecustomers are also finding their way toBürstenhaus Redecker. This is becausewe only offer articles for working and li-ving in a household without plastic.

As more customers become interested

in our products, we also have to answermore questions. We are especially plea-sed to answer specific questions relatedto individual products. You are alreadyfamiliar with our “Redecker references”

as useful tools. Now you will find an-swers to the most frequently asked que-stions below.

Where do the various materials come from, e.g. the boar bristles, horsehair and goat hair that is used? Most of these materials come from Chi-na. Horsehair also comes from SouthAmerica, since hair and bristle are pro-cessed exclusively in those countries.

Redecker Products – Useful Information

Questions, questions –Redecker answers

gest section which sits in the skin). Ho-wever, bristles are always available as a

waste product since the animals are rai-sed for their meat. Some horsehair iscombed out, while goats are shorn justlike sheep. How long does a broom or brush madewith horsehair or goat hair last? There is no single answer to that questi-on. Customers have shown me kitchenbrooms worn down from use, which th-ey bought 15-20 years ago from my fa-

ther. (Gernot Redecker)

Wild and shaggy: the longest naturalbristles come from wild boars

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We have supplemented our pro-ducts for potatoes with a linenbag, which is ideal for storing the tubers:robust old burlap on the outside, nettlecotton on the inside. The cord allows thebag to be opened for filling, drawn clo-sed and hung up. A sturdy zipper on theside serves to remove the potatoes. It

used to be common practice to store po-tatoes in this fashion in the cellar, ha-ving plenty on hand in the potato box orbag all year. A good idea! Potatoes al-ways have to be stored in a dark, wellventilated and cool place so they will notsprout or rot. By the way, when boiledpotatoes come out of the pot, our set forpeeling potatoes cooked in the skin isprecisely what you need to enjoy the de-licious tubers quickly and easily.

Bon appetit!

Continued from page 1

What is the best way to clean these bru-shes? Most brushes and brooms do not have tobe cleaned, since they are self-cleaningdue to the movement of the hairs /bristles during use. Matted horsehairshould be washed and then combed. Thehair straighten out again

when they dry.

Can twisted wire brushes also be boiled? In principle, all natural bristles and haircan be boiled. In fact they are boiled 1 –2x during dressing (preparation of thebristles from harvesting to the productready for use). Only the wood cannotstand up to boiling the brush. 

Can bristles and hair scratch plastic,wood or glass? No!

 Are bristles unhygienic becausethey are hollow on the inside? 

Boar bristles are not hollow onthe inside. They merely have a

coarser surface than high-end nylon or polyesterbristles. PVC and polye-

thylene bristles have a si-milar rough surface – atleast once they have been

NEW: Potato bag (302609)

 jacket potato pee-ling set (752900)

 jacket potato set(851208)

Potato Peeler(855001)

Vegetable brush (302607)

used – where bacteria can take hold. It isimportant for the bristles to dry aftercontact with water, since dry conditions donot allow bacteria to survive.

How do you clean bath brushes? Bath brushes are cleaned with soap whi-le washing your body. If you want additi-

onal cleaning: rinse with a water and vi-negar solution. Why do some bristles look like plastic? After dressing, the surface of naturalbristles is smooth similar to plastic andtherefore just as shiny.

Do you, Mrs. Redecker, actually have allthese brushes in your own household? No, of course not, but I do have a large re-

presentative selection across our productrange. Naturally, I have personally triedand tested every model.

For Potatoes

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ColumnAsk the

Redecker Team!

Our classic que-stions from the co-ver page may ap- pear simple, butwe hear them ti-me and time againand the answersare very importantfor many custo-mers. This is why responding to themis important to us, even if the answers

aren’t always as easy as the questionmight lead one to expect.“How long does a brush last?” is a good example which requires no fur-ther explanation.Let's work together to answer manymore customer questions – becausethere is no such thing as a superflu-ous question.

Yours truly, Gernot Redecker 

We have waited a long time – and in2011, we were finally assigned amuch larger trade fair stand by tradefair management in Paris. For the first

time, we not only had a conference tablefor distributors and customers, but alsomore space for our old brush makingmachine, allowing customers and visi-tors to try their hand at the traditionalproduction of genuine Redeckerbrushes. Jason Duke, of the Redecker distributorSAISON in Australia (see report in“QUERgebürstet” two editions back),didn’t have to be asked twice and made

his own baking brush, which he proudlytook back to Australia. After a strenuousproduction phase that was thoroughlyenjoyed by all participants, Jason notedthat the current division of responsibili-ties – we produce and deliver, he sells –is justified and should stay the same…The ability to “experience production"was highly informative for all customersand distributors. Conclusion: Redeckerbrushes are truly something special!

Trade fair stand at Maison 2011

Trade fair dates 2012:We are looking forward to meeting you!

 AmbienteFrankfurt 

Feb. 10 - 14, 2012

Hall 1.2, G49

VivanessNuremberg 

Feb. 15 - 18, 2012

Hall 7A, 309

Maison & Objet  Paris

 Jan. 20 - 24, 2012

Hall 6, M83

Te new conference table offered much more space for planning and discussions. Some of

our distributors in France: Hélène Perrette, Francine Guillois, Morgane Perrette, MatthiasSecret, Eric Forcade and Muriel Rohmer

While Jason Duke from Australia had neveroperated a “brush making machine”, he wasnot to be dissuaded. His baking brush earnedlots of applause!

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Imprint QUERgebürstet –Redecker’s small Brush Magazineis published at irregular intervalsseveral times a year by

Bürstenhaus Redecker GmbHBockhorster Landweg 19D-33775 VersmoldPhone: +49 (0) 54 23 - 94 64-0Fax: +49 (0) 54 23 - 94 64-20info@redecker.de · www.redecker.de

Chief editor: Jutta and Jana Redecker 

Price per copy: 55 eurocents plus postage

Editing and production: 

Weiß & Partner, Oldenburg,www.weiss-partner.com

Employee profile

The Warehouse Team:

With Heart and Hand

 DThe warehouse is the hub of the Re-decker world. All products arrivehere and are stored, packaged and sentout again. This makes it very importantfor our warehouse team to do an excel-lent job: critical thinking across all areas

defines the team under our chief store-keepers Michael Schieleit and BirgitTwelkemeier.Everyone (the warehouse team consistsalmost exclusively of women) has towork independently while staying on

top of communication and what theothers are doing. It’s a long way from thereceipt of goods until orders are packa-ged.The “warehouse girls" – recognisable bytheir trolleys – push them through the

large Redecker warehouse with greatconcentration, picking shipments andgetting them ready to send out.Team spirit consistently takes centrestage: suggested improvements are dis-cussed at the department level and

Birthday-Breakfast at the packing table with congratulators from the whole company

Te warehouse team, from the left: Heike Marowski, Ingrid Galling, Helga Hacker, ChristaEllwart, Anna Rautenberg, Karin welkemeier, Birgit welkemeier (missing: Michael Schieleit.)

 jointly implemented. By the way, theteam is also defined by sharing. The en- joyment of work and each other ’s com-pany is easy for anyone to see and hear:there is a lot of laughter!Our photos show the team and the

breakfast party on the 60th birthday ofour warehouse worker Ingrid Galling.There is no doubt: the “girls” are havingfun.