KPM Berlin is celebrating the 65th birthday of the Sandman and, together with rbb media, has developed a special limited edition of 65 pieces of the cult figure, which was invented by Gerhard Behrendt and has been flickering across the screen since 1959. The result: a handmade porcelain adaptation with the unmistakable goatee created by Thomas Wenzel. In this interview, the KPM head designer tells us all about the creation of the iconic porcelain figure .

The Sandman is not just playful and childlike, it is also an iconic figure that manages to touch and unite across generations. I am 61 years old, almost as old as the Sandman himself; when I was a child, it even united us across the East-West German borders. A beautiful example of how children can dissolve borders. It gave families across Germany a sense of direction and structure - a moment of calm and reflection that remains unchanged to this day.

The manual work that goes into the backdrop and the figures naturally fits in with the DNA of our manufactory. Just like us, the Sandman retains its original character in the age of digitalization. The stop-motion process makes the craft, the materiality and the movement sequences visible to children - they immediately understand the trick behind it. A counter-design to digitally produced children's programs - which today are very generic.At KPM Berlin, we are also constantly looking at what needs to be preserved. That is our unique selling point - and in today's fast-paced world, it is deceleration and pure luxury.

It was important to me not to distort the original beyond recognition. I wanted to bring the collective feeling into a form and convey the gestures, the movement and the turning of the head in porcelain. Nevertheless, it shouldn't just be a copy of the original. That's why I decided to completely gild the sculpture. First of all, this is a tribute to the 65th anniversary of the Sandman. On the other hand, it also turns the Sandman into an art object. The complete gold plating turns the figure into a mirror that reflects the room. This gives the figure a physicality of its own, creating a sense of alienation that encourages the viewer to constantly grasp the surface and contours anew, which never really succeeds. But it doesn't have to, because the figure is anchored in the collective memory due to its iconic character. At the same time, it remains alive and always appears anew in the context of the space.

The emotional connection I have with the Sandman is unique in my 30-year career. And like me, all of the Manufakturists felt the same way - a shared sense of connection that brought back the carefree moments of childhood brought a smile to all of us while we were working on it.

ATTENTION: Unfortunately sold out! The Sandman made of porcelain, hand-painted with 24 carat gold, costs around 1,980 euros, click here for the online store.