About us

A little bit about Striezi

Striezi - the tongue-in-cheek Bavarian synonym for the amiable rascal. A bit self-absorbed perhaps, he's striving for a casually elegant appearance and very concerned about his effect on the ladies. A Bazi who pursues his goals in a playfully unpretentious way, with genuine charm, simply a "Striezi". Striezi is versatile. Loving of his picturesque Bavarian countryside, he reveres the sceneries of the local mountains, fresh-water lakes and sun-drenched beer gardens, all unites under a white-blue sky. He spares no clichés to celebrate himself and his domain: the awaiting round of the "Schafkopf" card game, a cool pint of beer, his dachshund Waldi, but perhaps most importantly, the dashing Deandl, who oh so enamored see through him. The true Striezi is of course only to be encountered in Bavaria. One may meet him and his world in places such as the Chiemgauer Volkstheater or the "English Garden" in Munich, at the Oktoberfest, but also as a member of congress at the "Maximilianeum", the Bavarian State Parliament.

The Striezi experienced his primetime on postcards around 1900, which we come across among collectors or at Munich flea markets. During this time, an abundance of artistically remarkable illustrations were created. A demand that was later increasingly served by photography. But until then, a multitude of expressive, genuinely authentic Bavarian character heads were created, as well as young "Hupfa", dashing Madl and countless dachshunds, just as bright and headstrong as their owners.
The artists are mostly unknown today, their names for the most part not even researchable. Some of very few great exceptions of this are the illustrators Paul Otto Engelhart, Karl Feiertag and the well-known Jewish artist Alfred Schwarzschild, who was forced to flee his hometown Munichto England in 1938.
With Striezi® we strive to revive the most beautiful illustrations of both known and unknown artists.

Striezi® greeting cards are designed by us with great attention for tastefulness, creative imagination and attention to detail.
Every card's motif is distinctively unique. Suitable historical illustrations serve as excerpts from which collages are created. These are then artfully adorned with emblematic Bavarian phrases, traditional Bavarian patterns and retro design elements. Most of the time, the historical motifs are already quite faded. But lithographically reworked, they get to shine anew in fresh colours! Surely you have already noticed the sparkling glitter on our cards. In a final step, we use it to refine the motifs in an elaborate screen printing process. The glitter gives the cards a further degree of high quality elegance, making them a a real eye-catcher, in every sense of the word.

Discovering old high-quality llustrations, refreshing the colour and providing them with appropriate backgrounds, fabric patterns and cheeky sayings, is the chain of artistic creation that gives us joy and a lot of fun. However, the design process is also time-consuming, because the new card motif is intended to emphasise the special character of the old illustration and at the same time meet today's taste. Until this is achieved, we ask ourselves many aesthetic and design questions; not least, having the accompanying the text and image immediately catch the viewers eye and evoke feelings of compassionate sympathy. Our greeting cards are printed in Bavaria. High quality and environmentally friendly production is important to us, because also with the production process itself we are concerned with the preservation of old craftsmanship. Let Striezi deliver also YOUR "scheena Gruaß aus Bayern", charming, stylish and always "zünftig"!