The Hembus company, founded in 1894, can look back on a long tradition.
Mention should be made, for example: Frankfurt Cathedral, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Kurhaus Wiesbaden, Former Villa Mumm, Gutleutkaserne, Kronberg Castle, Streitkirche Kronberg, St. Johannis Church in Kronberg.
Jacob Hembus
*(born 1872) It was he who restored Kronberg Castle and in particular its castle chapel on behalf of Empress Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland. With a happy hand he uncovered the holy Kümmernis picture from 1300 under a layer of several coats of paint. Due to his outstanding achievements, Jacob Hembus was allowed to use the title of court decoration painter. After his death, his sons Paul and Julius Hembus took over the business.
Julius Hembus
*(1903-1983) After a classical painting apprenticeship, he continued his education at the applied arts school founded in Frankfurt in 1817, today's Städelschule. During a year-long stay in the Engadin, Julius met and became friends with the now world-famous Aschaffenburg painter Ludwig Kirchner. In 1932, Kircher created the painting “Great Couple of Lovers” – also known as “The Hembuses”.
Julius – the machine
In order to create the wallpaper reconstructions for the Goethe House, which was destroyed in the war, the legendary aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt constructed today's centerpiece in the 1950s: the Julius screen printing machine.
Restart
In 1936, Julius Hembus returned to Kronberg after 12 years, married again and now successfully continued his father's business. Until then, his brother Paul Hembus, who has since died, had been in charge. In the post-war period, the Hembus company flourished: among other things, it was involved in many church restorations in the Rhine-Main area.
The later years
Julius Hembus ran the company until his death in 1983. For his special cultural achievements, the city of Kronberg im Taunus awarded him honorary citizenship, and the city of Frankfurt am Main awarded him the city's plaque of honor and the Golden Dürer plaque of the German Painting Craft. Until December 31, 1999, the company was managed by his nephew Hans Hembus.
Welcome in the family
After Steuernagel & Lampert, itself a family business with 75 years of company history, entered the market with three of its own premium brands since 2015, two forces that seemed to be made for each other came together at the beginning of 2023:
The traditional Hembus wallpaper manufacturer fits perfectly into the Steula family. Jörg Held and his team were immediately impressed by the high quality of the products and the hand-crafted screen printing. Added to this was the fortunate fact that a Steula employee had worked in the Frankfurt Hembus factory until a few years ago and knew the machine and its special features inside out. The enthusiastic approval of the takeover made it clear:
Steula continues the tradition of the Hembus wallpaper manufacturer.
New place of work
In mid-2023, “Julius” moved to the beautiful Odenwald, including the exposure table, stocks and all the necessary inventory. The literal change of scenery from a Frankfurt industrial district to the tranquil old town center of Groß-Bieberau did the manufactory a lot of good. The new place of work is a historic riding school and offers all the space for new visions with flair and ambience.
Continuation
After taking over and moving “Julius”, we are by no means starting from scratch. Sabine Ochs, who has been primarily responsible for wallpaper printing at Hembus for the last 47 years, is now part of our team. Your contribution is invaluable, both in the planning phase to ensure “Julius” can reach its full potential and in building a qualified team. In the future, this team will continue to focus on producing wallpapers and wall coverings of exceptional quality.
innovation
As a member of the Steula family, the Hembus factory can and will shine in new splendor. Completely overhauled, energetically improved and with a breath of fresh air and passion, the manufactory will feel just as at home in the areas of reconstructing historical wallpapers as it does in modern art, where design templates can be transformed by artists into unique wall coverings.
