Poker Work
The scent of the forest in the city
Annegret Frank moved her pokerwork shop to the Craftsmen’s Courtyard in 2010. At first she sold her work from a small hut, but now her shop offers her a fixed place in the Craftsmen’s Courtyard.
Wood wherever you look – on the shelves are cutting boards & snack trays and other kitchen utensils, but also decorative & stationery materials. In one corner there are wooden children’s toys; in the opposite corner stands Annegret’s workbench. Her artwork is all produced in the shop. “Unless I chat too much and don’t get my work done”, she laughs “then I take it home.”
With a wood-burning poker, the artist etches names, sayings and even portraits into the wooden articles, all inspired by her imagination and customer wishes. If something should be more colorful, she paints the burnt wood with watercolors or acrylic paint. She only works on pieces which are unlacquered because lacquer makes it more difficult to burn in a design and might produce toxic gases. Annegret Frank purchases the raw material for her work from German and European timber dealers, which she has met personally at trade fairs.
The wooden toys are purchased from her son – he too has turned his love for wood into a career and manages a wooden products plant.
Annegret Frank
Love brought the native of Hamburger to Nuremberg in 1983. “That love is no more, but my love for the city of Nuremberg stays true!” jokes Annegret.
My Craftsmen's Courtyard
“The ambience here is one-of-a-kind. I’ve never experienced it anywhere else. Traditional, but not old fashioned. Homelike with style. Even after more than a decade in the Craftsmen’s Courtyard I love to come here every day.”
Categories at Craftsmen's Courtyard
The Hexenhäusle