1Please give us a brief bio of yourself, your company, job profile, etc.
I am Rudolf Wistl, 54 years old and I grew up in the Bavarian Forest.
After my apprenticeship as a carpenter in and around Munich, I have worked in most prestigious carpentries.
After numerous further educations and visiting the master school, I returned home and established my firm.
For more than 25 years, as a father of four children, my family has led the carpentry successfully to the future.
In 2016, I created the Glas.Holz design along with T.Series, a design uniting both of my learned professions as a passionate carpenter and woodturner.
2Tell us a bit about your business and what you do.
Glas.Holz design was established in 2016. The products from Glas.Holz designs are luxury furniture and interior with high-quality manufacturing and design.
For many parts of my design, I use several ideas from my daily craft as a master carpenter in my business.
There was once when I visited the Glasmanufaktur Freiherr von Poschinger in Frauenau/Bavarian Forest, I came up with an idea to connect the two wonderful materials. Glass and wood, bringing both that belong together as the form of the glass cylinder is turned into a wooden mould while the hot, melted glass is blown into the shape of a wooden mould.
This is the basic idea behind Glas.Holz design and its T- Series.
After the process of creating a new design, I elaborate on it. Then, the designed products are produced in an in-house manufacturer.
3Congratulations! As the winner of the 2019 Muse Awards, what does it mean to you and your company and team to receive this award distinction?
It is significant and a pleasure to receive the Muse Award. It shows me that I can get a positive resonance from my design in such a great and free-thinking country.
4Can you explain a bit about the winning work you entered into the 2019 Muse Awards, and why you chose to enter this project?
After over 3 years of developing the T.Series, I found it exciting and interesting that I can present my design to Muse Award’s significant jury.
I believe that critical and confirming voices are important points for good
further development.
5What was the biggest challenge with this project?
Because of two different materials used in this project, it was necessary and important to connect both the solid wood and the stiff glass cylinder harmoniously together.
Besides that, an LED-lighting with four colors was added, which comes through the exposed edge of the glass cylinder.
It can illuminate a ceiling up to 20 square meters and give the glass cylinder a glowing effect, depicting the glass-melting process as well as blowing the hot glass into the wooden mould.
6How has winning an Award developed your practice/career?
The positive feedback spurred and strengthened me to bring this project forward, which is still expandable.
7What are your top three (3) favorite things about our industry?
To try new things, to turn an idea from sketch to detail-planning.
To manufacture prototypes and develop it according to market maturity.
8What makes your country specifically, unique in the creative industry?
In Bavaria, we have a very long culture of craft, which plays a big role in the creation of my T.Series.
I produced the mouth-blown glass cylinder in the world’s oldest glass factory based in Frauenau/Bavarian Forest since 450 years ago.
Together with the art of glassmaking and my craft as a carpenter as well as woodturning, I realized my project.
9Where do you see the evolution of creative industry going over the next 5- 10 years?
Creativity is a very important feature that any businessman should have and is essential to hold steady in this digitalized world.
10What resources would you recommend to someone who wants to improve their skills in the creative industry?
Well, I returned to my roots for this business. It is important to understand the matter at the beginning with so you can deal with it better and you’ll be more able to convert it into reality.
11Who has inspired you in your life and why?
The people that existed during the time before ours who had created great things using the simplest means. It shows how much we, humans can achieve with our incredible skills.
12What is your key to success? Any parting words of wisdom?
I think it is important to stay true to oneself and the things made by oneself, to believe in that and to work with pleasure and love, in hope to make others happy with one’s work.
13 Do you have anything else you would like to add to the interview?
I am pleased with what my project has achieved and would like to thank you warmly.