2023-12-19 13:14:44
If you come up with the idea of buying all the tiles that appear on the German market every year, then it is not surprising that after 40 years you have accumulated a decent amount: the Schittek family business stores over seven million tiles, more than 75,000 items his replacement tile archive in Hamburg.
Konrad Schittek was actually an artist and ran a tile factory in Altona from 1978. When the home magazine “Das Haus” reported on him at the time, an error crept in with far-reaching consequences: At Schittek, any tile could be copied on request, it said. Then the demand increased significantly, and because he couldn’t simply copy every tile, he started collecting them. Today the company is known for having every tile, says his son, current owner Jan Schittek. He has been running the business together with his brother Felix for almost ten years.
Around 100 inquiries a day
What you need to know about German bathrooms is that their style is always a little behind, says Jan Schittek. How often do you have an entire bathroom re-tiled? In many places there are still bathrooms with 1970s or 1980s tiles (preferably in brown or with a floral pattern). If just one corner breaks off, everything in the bathroom would actually have to be replaced. Because this can be expensive, many people are happy just to find the right tile.
It’s just that the tile world has also caught the pull of fast fashion logic. Every season each manufacturer releases three to four new tiles. And that’s how the business model works, the Schitteks have to buy them. So your archive continues to grow, mostly supplemented by leftover tiles from the trade. Nevertheless, Schittek says it only takes one of her experts five minutes to find the right tile among the millions.
They first go by format (that’s clear, because everyone can measure their tiles), then by color: Is it glossy, matt, what is the structure? There is no manufacturer and no year on a tile, hence the need for special expertise when searching. If the tile experts don’t find the right tile, they may discover a similar one this way. Sometimes that’s okay for customers. They receive around 100 inquiries a day.
Of course, the Schittek tile archive wouldn’t be a Hamburg institution if it didn’t also have a story to tell about Hamburg’s honorary citizen Uwe Seeler, the football legend who died last year. One day Seeler drove to their farm, Schittek remembers. He had water damage in the house and, being down-to-earth as the Hanseatics knew him, wanted to repair it himself. He then stayed for a chat with the company’s HSV fans; Whether it was about tiles or football is not known.
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In any case, says Schittek, it is interesting to observe that more people today want to repair something themselves and make sure that it is sustainable. And the way they see it, the calculation is particularly easy for them: Would it be better to re-tile an entire bathroom or buy a new tile? That’s why the Schitteks continue to collect.
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