A portrait of "Fahnen Fischer": Flensburg's traditional company manufactures flags and bunting
The northern German city of Flensburg is a wonderful place even in late autumn. Especially when the stiff westerly breeze makes the fjord boil, the halyards of the yachts in the harbour beat against the shrouds with a tinkling sound and the flags rattle loudly in the wind. A background noise that can also be heard at Schiffbrücke 23, one of those historic half-timbered houses with a large winch in the gable right on the edge of the harbour.
"As sailors, we are always happy to have a good wind and, above all, that our flags are flying so beautifully," says Christin Finke, the owner of flag manufacturer Fahnen Fischer, which is based here. Finke took over the workshop and shop from her father in 2019, the third generation to do so. The 38-year-old from Flensburg has enjoyed watching the nimble hands of the seamstresses since she was a child. Then as now, many different flags and bunting are produced in the sewing workshop for the maritime industry, authorities, commercial and private customers. Whether national flags, signal flags from Alpha to Zulu or the flags of sailing clubs from Flensburg to Lake Constance - here they still cut and sew by hand for individual orders in one-off production or small series.
Location with a maritime past throughout
Behind the historic façade near today's Flensburg Museum Harbour, it has always been about craft products for seafaring. Built in 1740 by the skipper and innkeeper Lorenz Dethleffsen, the house has served as a workplace for sailmakers, compass makers and flag makers from 1776 to the present day. Typical trades of historic seafaring - although the practice of the supposedly oldest trade was already strictly prohibited in the land register of 1740: the operation of a brothel.
After the Fischer family took over and restored the historic building in 1984, a sales area with a wide range of flags was set up behind the typical North German cloister door on the ground floor. Since then, high-quality sailing and functional clothing has also been on sale there.
"Before the shop opened, my mum Merete Fischer also worked on the sewing machines and sold flags. She later expanded the range to include maritime clothing such as oilskins, Breton striped shirts, fishing shirts, troyers and sea boots," explains Christin Finke.
Since then, the shop has been a good address for Flensburgers and travellers passing through for traditional on-board clothing. However, the core business of the family-run company is clearly audible on the first floor of the traditional building. Here the sewing machines rattle, the threads literally fly off the bobbins, race through the needles and on into the cloths that become flags. Shanties and pop songs from the radio station Welle Nord play in the background.
Customised customer orders - even from the high nobility
Under the nimble hands of Anke Thomsen and Katja Fromm, dozens of customised flags are made here every day. Thomsen sits on the swivel chair at the sewing machine, her eyes focused as she pushes a piece of fabric through the rapid ups and downs of needle and thread. In a flash, she has a pair of scissors in her hand and completes her work with fluid movements at the cutting table.
Based on the Mike signal flag, a rectangular flag in Bavarian blue with a white cross running diagonally across it, the 53-year-old produces a customised customer order. "Custom-made products are our speciality and we supply customers all over Germany with them," explains the experienced seamstress. She has been working for Fahnen Fischer for 30 years. She knows the company and the customers' wishes very well.
Making flags and banners with different fabrics to emphasise symbols or letters using an appliqué is a particular challenge. Thomsen recently produced a large flag with a princely coat of arms for the House of Glücksburg. The high nobility are also regular customers of the flag specialists from the fjord. "Very large quantities of cloth in different colours have to be sewn," reveals Thomsen, who is responsible for these special orders. "But even when it gets complicated, these are the highlights on the sewing table."
Paper templates are used as a template to transfer the shapes of the symbols and letters onto the fabric. This is pinned on in the corresponding colours, then firmly sewn and the protruding edge cut out. For large flags with edges several metres long, the seamstresses have their hands full manoeuvring the heavy fabric safely through the needle course. And as a result, the finished flag has to look exactly like the template. It has to unfurl its splendour in light winds and defy the gusts in strong winds.
"Sewing flag" or digital printing: different processes in flag and banner production
In flag and banner production, there are other production methods in addition to the application process that are used for everyday flags such as advertising banners. This is the job of 32-year-old Jan Wiltschek, who edits symbols and texts on the computer. "I send the template to the textile printing company, which carries out our order using screen or digital printing."
Finally, in the case of national or signal flags for shipping, the different coloured fabrics are sewn together. This is why flag experts refer to this as a "sewn flag". The flag cloth for maritime use is UV-resistant, has a fabric weight of 155 grams per square metre and is therefore one of the strongest textile fibres in this area of use.
Despite urgent customer orders, tricky jobs and meticulous material inspections by public clients, the working atmosphere in the workshop and office at the Flensburg-based company is relaxed, respectful and on an equal footing. A flat hierarchy and the individual responsibility of each employee ensure a high level of motivation. In addition, there is an inherent passion for flag production, with which the grandfather and then the father once built up and ran the business.
Family-internal takeover as lateral entry
Flag boss Finke is an all-rounder. In her company, she takes care of existing and new customers, commercial matters, quotations and tenders and also sits down at a sewing machine herself when the need arises. "You can't do it without real passion," says the mum of a five-year-old daughter, who already has more children knocking on her door. "But luckily we have a really great community here, everyone lends a hand everywhere."
The fact that Christin Finke has now been flying the flag for the family business herself for five years was not actually planned in the life of the creative businesswoman: "Even though I was often in the workshop and shop after school as a child and was fascinated by the sewing machines and colourful fabrics, I actually always wanted to go my own way."
And so Finke successfully studied culture, language and media. After completing her Master's degree, however, her favourite job offers were too far away from home or had already been filled. Finke therefore took on smaller tasks in her parents' company and was later familiarised with all areas of the business.
"I started with reservations, but then I liked the work so much that I didn't want to leave." The fact that the takeover within the family went so well is also thanks to Fischer senior, who continued to provide active support and advice for a long time without dictating the day-to-day business.
Quality and precision prevail over the competition
The competition for maritime accessories has changed significantly in recent decades due to global production locations, a topic that did not play a role for the founding fathers. How does the comparatively small manufacturer from the fjord manage to position itself alongside the global players and online shops from overseas? "High-quality materials and manual, precise production," is the answer. "This specialisation allows us to meet individual customer requirements, which gives us a firm foothold." The range also includes standard flags such as national or country flags, which are no more expensive than those of the competition.
When it comes to marketing, the Flensburg-based company relies on customer satisfaction and word-of-mouth advertising. "Good quality gets around, and our regular customers have been making sure of that for generations." Whether sailors, clubs, companies or authorities, the Flensburgers' order book is colourful - and usually full. And with modest pride in their voices and a gleam in their eyes, the seamstresses talk about the 15 square metre black, red and gold cloth on the stern of the German Navy's training sailing ship: because the "Gorch Fock" also carries a 300 by 500 centimetre cloth from Flensburg as the service flag of the naval forces.
Flag or banner? Explanation of terms
The terms are often used synonymously - wrongly, as a look at history makes clear. Even early civilisations such as the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks and Chinese used textile or paper-like materials with coloured or applied elements for military, religious and cultural purposes. These flags were unique items that were only produced and used for a specific purpose. They were attached to a staff or stick and could be carried around. If such a flag was destroyed, it had to be decided whether and in what form it could be replaced.
The church used flags to demonstrate its power, kings and nobles used this symbolism to show their secular claim to power, and in the military it was used to mark units of troops. An ensign was responsible for maintaining the flag, even if it cost him his life. Since the 19th century, clubs have also had embroidered flags made to recognise them, and to this day the flag is regarded as a symbol of loyalty and is still used for ceremonial purposes.
Flags have a long tradition in seafaring
In contrast, a flag is not unique, but can be produced in large numbers and replaced with a new one if lost. The flag is not carried on a pole but is hoisted on fixed masts. Although the symbolism is the same, the size and type of material can vary; a piece of paper or metal can also be used to display a flag.
Flags have a long and important tradition in seafaring, which was shaped in the High Middle Ages. There were various reasons for their use: to identify ships, to communicate between boats and nations and to publicise the status and intentions of a ship and its crew. To this end, the early flags were so large that important information could be transmitted from ship to ship. In shipping, the most important uses to this day are nationality flags, merchant flags, naval flags, signalling flags and decorative flags.
Conclusion: Flags are carried and are unique, flags are hoisted and occur in large numbers.
The article first appeared in YACHT Classic issue 1/2024.
