What inspired you to write your new book?

As is so often the case when writing a novel, it is the detour that leads to the goal. Originally, I wanted to write a book about Elly Beinhorn, another strong female figure of the early 20th century. While researching aviation, I came across the "Hermes" service that Marguerite Friedlaender had designed for the newly opened restaurant at Halle Airport. I also saw pictures of her famous "aviator cup", the mirrored surface of which is cut out in the lower bowl so that it stands securely during the flight. I was fascinated by the simplicity of the designs and their innovative approach.

What came first? The idea of the story or the setting around KPM Berlin?

Definitely the idea of the story, or rather its main character, Lili Kuhn. I had her in mind right from the start. A (half-)Jewish girl who grows up motherless and is raised by her father and two buddies, a Japanese man and a rabbi. I intended to follow Lili into old age, i.e. into the 80s of the 20th century, where she meets the other main character, Anja, 18 years young. The meeting of the two generations appealed to me.

Did you have any contact with KPM Berlin before you wrote your book?

Only indirectly; I knew that Lili was to meet Marguerite Friedlaender in her youth. When I told a good friend, also a writer, that the topos of my new novel was porcelain, he said that he was well acquainted with the director of a Berlin hotel owned by Jörg Woltmann, the owner of KPM. If desired, he could try to establish contact.

KPM Berlin has a very old history. Why is your novel set in the early 20th century of all places?

On the one hand, this has to do with my previous novel "When Martha Dances". A large part of it is set at the Bauhaus in Weimar, and I had already met Marguerite Friedlaender there. During my research into KPM, I then came across Günther von Pechmann, who had been appointed director of the manufactory at the end of the 1920s. Both personalities had set themselves the goal of taking advantage of the spirit of optimism of the 1920s and modernizing the more traditional designs that porcelain had been subject to until then. In addition, von Pechmann envisioned the democratization of porcelain in the sense of high-quality tableware for everyone - exciting, I thought.

What particularly fascinated you when researching KPM Berlin and the history of the time?

Especially the personality of Günther von Pechmann, who managed not to be taken in by the Nazis until the end of the 1930s - even though the pressure from outside was great and his wife, like Lili, was also half-Jewish. The Nazis would have loved to see the "Gröfaz" in a row with Frederick the Great, but von Pechmann resisted, so that the KPM was not "in line" for a long time. Instead, the SS ran its own porcelain factory in Munich-Allach from the end of the 1930s.

What have you personally learned or taken away from working on this novel?

What a fantastic and still somewhat mysterious material porcelain is. That it has a complex history stretching back thousands of years and far beyond Europe. And that on a metaphorical level, the analogy between porcelain production and becoming human is irresistible for a writer: an object is formed, takes shape. It is fired and thereby gains strength. It receives a glaze and is suddenly no longer gray and unsightly, but shines in the light of reality. And then the final passage through the fire - only what proves itself in the fire will last.

What fascinates you personally about KPM Berlin?

That it is the oldest surviving craft business on Berlin soil. That many people know Frederick the Great, but don't know that he had such a wonderful relationship with porcelain production. That, in my view, KPM has managed to make the leap into the 21st century without betraying its values. I am particularly fascinated by the people who work there. The people I have had the pleasure of meeting are all passionate about the manufactory.

Do you have a favorite collection or a favorite piece?

Marguerite Friedlaender's "Hallesche Form" vases, Trude Petri's "Urbino" service and - new - the products from the LAB series.

"Ein neues blue" by Tom Saller will be published by List Verlag on August 30, 2019. 

A young woman goes her own way as a porcelain painter at KPM...

When Lili's mother dies young, her father Jakob takes loving care of her. But it is only when she meets Günther von Pechmann, the director of the Royal Porcelain Manufactory, that she finds her destiny: the world of porcelain. But the National Socialists come to power and Lili has to flee Berlin.

Fifty years later, Lili lives in Charlottenburg again, secluded in her house with the Japanese garden. She doesn't talk much about herself and her eventful life. Only 18-year-old Anja, unruly and unconventional, can persuade Lili to open up to her. Bit by bit, Lili's story is revealed, but Anja also has a secret. What role does the simple porcelain bowl, which the old woman guards like a treasure, play?