By Kristina Flesner
A very emotional interview that teaches us one thing: “Celebrate every beautiful moment as well and as long as possible!
I met Friederike Altmayer on Instagram while researching beautiful porcelain. The first thing I noticed was her photo “Breakfast in bed”, which you can see in the title. The beautiful still lifes, which Friedrike stages on Instagram, help her to overcome the grief for her recently deceased husband.
“For me, the love of Meissen is closely connected to the love of my husband. My husband’s family has been collecting antiques for generations, loves and enjoys classic French cuisine and cultivates a large circle of friends with many festive invitations. For special occasions, Meissen was also stocked up on special occasions.
Strolling around flea markets and discovering hidden treasures has been part of his life since childhood. I was quickly infected by his joy in unusual finds, special imprints but also his knowledge of the historical background. We have always loved to make moments special, a Sunday breakfast for two, a summer dinner on the terrace or a stylish invitation with many guests, Meissener Porzellan has found its place in our lives.
Meissener Porzellan, especially the onion pattern, has made a special impression on both of us. It can be used in so many different ways, it simply fits all occasions and there are such beautiful patterns and shapes, I have simply fallen in love.
This is how her porcelain collection became this large: “At some point we decided to use the classic onion pattern as the main dish. So the basis was a dining service for 12 people. We then completed this piece by piece. Then, first of all, the delightful little soup tureens were added, vases, candlesticks, large soup tureens, the leaf bowls for desserts. The cake plates are very suitable as place plates, the wonderful baroque sauces were of course a nice addition. For buffets we bought the sand cake plates. So we bought piece by piece for a long time. I am sometimes amazed myself about our large collection, but I wouldn’t want to miss a single piece of it.”
Friederike Altmayer uses her Meissen porcelain daily. “It would really be a great pity just to look at it! With the coffee cup in her hand and the porcelain breakfast tray, every day begins with Meissen, and ends when we blow out the Meissen candlestick.
The soap dish in the bathroom is a Meissen dish, tempotissues have their own onion pattern container, the butter dishes with lids are perfect for serving side dishes. Many things have been converted for us and so it has its place in our lives every day.
We are often no longer even aware of it. Only the wide eyes of our guests reveal how extraordinary the collection is.”
I am interested in whether Friederike washes everything by hand or puts the good porcelain in the dishwasher. “Meissen’s onion pattern decoration is produced in an underglaze process, which means that it can be wonderfully cleaned in the dishwasher. It can also be heated up to 220 degrees, so it can even be used for gratinating in the oven, for example. That’s why it can be used so easily in everyday life, even for larger invitations.
Some of you might ask yourself: “How often does something break when you handle such porcelain and crystal on a daily basis? With us very rarely anything breaks, because especially when you often hold these fragile things in your hands, you are relaxed and at the same time careful when handling them.
I once broke a rare crystal glass when I was drying it, and the soft ‘click’ is still nightmarishly in my ear. But these are misfortunes that are also part of it. Broken glass brings luck’, they say, and a friend of mine always said ‘it works and takes the evil with it’.
Friederikes favourite piece is the one on the floor with the flower girl.
“The onion pattern is my favorite decoration. It is absolutely timeless and never gets boring. You can combine it with all colours and it fits to all styles. There is an unbelievable choice, in the 19th century alone, more than 1000 different Meissner products were decorated with the onion pattern. How the pattern is adapted to the respective shapes always fascinates me very much.”
I also love the Meissen flower pattern. It is so wonderfully cheerful and colourful.
I also have individual pieces of Meissen Indian purple and green and a rose service.”
Personally Friederike knows no other Meissen collector. But on Instagram she has made some connections with porcelain lovers and collectors all over the world.
“We live right next to the French border and therefore used to travel a lot to French antique flea markets. In those days we furnished our house mainly with antiques. So we set off in the middle of the night to be there in the early morning in Reims or Metz when the dealers from all over France unloaded their treasures from the trucks. It was an incredibly exciting atmosphere, when flashlights were shining into the trucks before unloading, in order to discover precious things as early as possible. At dawn there was always a fresh croissant and a good espresso. That was a pleasure! On these occasions I discovered of course also some small porcelain treasures.
Across the bed of the manufactories I found pieces from Herend, Royal Limoges and Royal Copenhagen. I love Flora Danica very much. For a while I collected porcelain from Saargemünd, we live very close by. The decor is very similar to the English Minton. It was the same porcelain painters. Of course, the manufactories liked to poach talented painters, so similar decorations can be found at different manufactories.
In the meantime, while strolling through the shops, I also find modern porcelain which I like very much, but I am afraid that I unfortunately have enough crockery in the meantime”.
I’m interested in which glasses Friederike combines to her tableware.
“We use almost exclusively glasses from the French crystal series Saint-Louis, for example the unique collections like Thommy, Exellence, Thistle and Chambord.
Anyone who has the opportunity to visit the small town of St. Louis le Bitche in the Northern Vosges should definitely pay a visit to the factory and museum ‘La Grande Place’. In the middle of deep dark woods lies this small place, almost forgotten, where for 1767 generations of crystal cutters, engravers and glassblowers have worked hard to create valuable works of art. The crystal chandeliers of St. Louis hang in the most famous royal houses of the world. Exquisite luxury was transported in simple wooden boxes packed with straw on horse-drawn sleighs through the forests. The townscape is still almost untouched by the changing times.
Since 1995, the Hermès Group has been the sole owner of the manufactory. Since it is only a few minutes away from us by car, I like to visit it at every opportunity. I still remember the showrooms from times when all the exquisite samples of the collections were placed on wooden tables with white tablecloths, unguarded in a large hall. Simple and incredibly fascinating.”
Friederike Altmayer is an actress by profession. “Before my training at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hanover, I studied art history for a few semesters. I have always been interested in art, and read a lot about styles of different epochs, furnishings and lifestyles in different centuries.
On the subject of decorating, I can say that I like it beautiful! Whether I am arranging our treasures in the apartment so that they are shown to their best advantage, or designing a table decoration for a meal. This can also be done with very simple means. I have already conjured up a decoration with savoy cabbage and vegetables. It’s the details that count.
I think you have to stage your whole life a little bit, make the moments special, whether it’s a rest on a hike or a summer evening on the terrace. With little ideas you can make an unforgettable experience out of it.
Friedrike begins to stage beautiful still lifes with the porcelain on Instagram when her husband became seriously ill.
“It was an occupation for which I did not have to leave the house. When he slept, I began to create little still lifes and take pictures of them. In these moments I could forget my worries and find myself. Playing with porcelain, sunken like a child. My husband was happy when he looked at the pictures. My daughter set up my Instagram account at some point and I started posting my pictures. It was delightful when people sent me nice comments and they liked my pictures. It gave me a lot of strength in this difficult time.
Last summer my beloved husband passed away. The grief will remain forever a part of my life, but when I started to create still lifes again after a while, I also started to see the beautiful again, the small moments when a ray of sunlight makes a crystal glass shine, a little flower that smiles at you. When I make pictures, I feel free, I follow my ideas and dreams, I can release myself from grief and create my own world. I am so happy about every little red like-heart, it is like a smile that someone gives you.
Instagram is like a journey through the whole world, where you get insights into the real life of people you could never meet otherwise. On Instagram you can exchange ideas and find like-minded people who share their world with us. Garden lovers from England post their morning tours of their blooming gardens, while porcelain collectors from all over the world stage their favourite pieces. In Hanoi, a young man photographs ruins or half-decayed remains of palaces from times gone by, as they are overgrown by the modern world. So many great ideas and suggestions! I have found wonderful people who give insights into their everyday life and their world of thoughts.
Lifetime is the most precious thing we can own. You have to fill it with joyful moments, with surprises, with kindness, with smiles and happiness, with kind words. All this does not come by itself, you have to add something, find your own way and open a door to happiness.
Friederike’s daughter also shares the passion for beautiful porcelain. “Even as a very young child, our daughter had her own little St. Louis glass and her Meissen plate. She loved it and was always very careful with it. She learned from a very young age to take care of the fragility and beauty of things. Of course, porcelain, or even antique furniture has a different value for a child or teenager than for an enthusiastic adult.
My daughter is now 28 years old and has also integrated her first antique pieces in her apartment. I am sure that she will one day take over our porcelain and enjoy it very much”.
Many thanks for the great and open interview dear Friederike. Maybe someone reads the interview who is in a similar situation as you and also likes Instagram. I am looking forward to many more inspirations!
Maybe you would like to follow Friederike on Instagram. The name of the account is: myhomeandgarndelove
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