animiert magazin nummer21 winter

Im siebenköpfigen Team ist stets ein/e Lernende/r mit dabei. Zurzeit ist es Corin- ne Matter aus Engelberg. The seven-strong team always includes one trainee. The current trainee is Corinne Matter of Engelberg.

Christian Forderkunz is the fourth generation to lead the 111-year-old painting and decorating shop in Engelberg. It certainly wasn’t just a sense of family duty that led him to take on the business – Christian is passionate about paint. The current owner’s great-grandfather Mar tin Forderkunz star ted the painting and decorating business back in 1906, and since 1948 it has been run by his descendants. Chris- tian (now aged 49) has been in charge since 1994. Yet despite this proud family tradition, Christian by no means felt forced into the busi-

and f loor coverings, a Swiss produc t made f rom silica sand and cement. Christian a lso repor ts that wa llpaper is making a comeback – large f lora l designs with a modern twist are a favourite. “Colours rea lly make a statement,” he says. “But you don’ t have to decorate the entire wa ll; sometimes a single coloured ele- ment suf f ices – a red f ireplace, for instance.” I can’ t help wondering how Christian chooses to decorate his own home, since he is such an ambassador for colour. “I redeco- rate my liv ing room ever y two years or so,” he

ness. “I of ten had to help my dad on days of f school, which I wasn’ t a lways that thrilled about,” he says. Yet, despite that – of perhaps because of it – he developed a love of paint- ing and decorating, and com-

laughs. “At the moment my wa lls are mud-coloured.” Since his apar tment is rented, he can’ t give complete f ree rein to his creativ ity. It is usua lly winter when Christian’s wa lls get

Christian is the fourth genera- tion of the Forderkunz family to run the 111-year-old business.

pleted an apprenticeship in Reiden. “Then I was sick of it,” Christian f reely admits. But af ter si x months working as a plumber’s assistant, he rea lized that painting was his vocation. “And now I cou ldn’ t imagine doing any thing else.” As the manager, he doesn’ t of ten get a chance to wield the paintbrush himself. That ’s primarily the job of his f ive employ- ees and one trainee. He spends most of his time in the of f ice, where there is a lways more than enough to do: writing quotes and dea l- ing with paperwork. “My father used to f ill one binder a year – I f ill ten,” Christian says. But the burdens of bureaucracy are forgot ten when an exciting job comes in – when he is able to adv ise and inspire a client, and espe- cia lly when he can add a splash, or severa l splashes, of colour to a projec t. “Far too of ten, people just want white wa lls, and yet there is so much choice out there.” The current trend, he tells me, is for “muddy” hues. His clients are a lso keen on seamless Naturof loor wa ll

a new lick of paint, because that ’s when the business has less going on. He and his staf f are on ly kept busy around nine months of the year. They can’ t paint outside because of the weather, and while they cou ld paint inside that is precisely when it ’s not convenient for holiday apar tment owners to have the paint- ers in. During the summer, Christian doesn’ t have much time to enjoy his hobby of moun- tain-biking as that ’s when ever yone wants façades or ex terior wa lls painted. He and his staf f have to respond f lex ibly to demand. Christian’s eldest daughter Jasmine is a lso a trained painter and decorator. She too chose the profession of her own voli- tion. “We don’ t know yet whether she’ ll take over the business,” says Christian. “But that wou ld be nice.” Of course, Jasmine has a long time to decide what to do with her f uture, but we have a lready seen that paint- ing is a passion that runs in the family.

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