Lepper Schmidt Sommerlade
Kassel, Germany

Design is perception, exchange, environment and culture, but »not an art«. Christian Lepper, Roland Schmidt, and Uwe Sommerlade founded the design studio Lepper, Schmidt, Sommerlade in Kassel in 1991. The three designers have a carpentry apprenticeship in common as well as studies in design at the Gesamthochschule Kassel. After various professional activities, the design trio decided to join forces. They see themselves as mediators: For them, the two-way flow of communication with their clients is one of the foundations of design. This attitude has resulted in an impressive group of customers including such renowned German manufacturers as Haworth, Brunner, Kusch, Rosenthal and Thonet as well as Italian firms such as Rossin and Tonon. Product development is an important matter for them and an idea is the "start of a process during which the product takes shape. Discussions and experiments, the close co-operation with our partners and professional realisation down to the finest details are the determining factors in reaching our goal. Clarity in the interplay of aesthetics and function; responsibility in production and use are seminal traits."