In 1922, Hans Stockmar, born in Sydney in 1890, founded a company for beekeeping supplies and beeswax candles in Kaltenkirchen. The industrialisation taking place at this time was turning out factory workers, and the first Waldorf school was established in Stuttgart three years before the foundation of Stockmar. The Waldorf teachers formulated new quality standards for teaching materials, which Stockmar then adopted. For the most part, the wax crayons were the brainchild of Hans Stockmar’s two sons - by now, Anselm Stockmar had joined the company and was adopting ideas suggested by Heimdal Stockmar. Heimdal was a teacher at the second Waldorf school in Hamburg’s Wandsbek district.

From very early on, the threads of Hans Stockmar’s life became woven into an increasingly complex web of closeness to nature, craft, pedagogy, and creative energy that also engaged mindfully with social issues. From beeswax melts, the company turned its attention to creative, artistic processes and products. Along with wax candles, Stockmar began producing modelling beeswax for sculpting in class. The classic wax crayons were added to Stockmar’s product range in the 1950s. This shows that the company focused on people rather than markets right from the start.

Just like we did in the early days, we see our enterprise as a cultural mission. Our self-concept is built on a triad of business, ecology and society. This is why we don’t think twice about donating part of our profits to charitable causes through the company Neuguss Verwaltungsgesellschaft. It’s why we are committed to biodiversity and the continuance of organic farming. And why we have established an aesthetic form of governance in our company which is flexible enough to keep responding to changes in the individual needs of all our staff and partners, all while still doing business successfully.

The colours of the rainbow are not just important for our harmonious colour spectrum. The interaction between rain and sunshine, a vital rhythm of nature, is also fundamental to our philosophy. The colourful rainbow symbolises hope, tolerance and diversity worldwide - values with which STOCKMAR feels deeply connected. We will therefore be producing a limited rainbow anniversary edition to commemorate our centenary year. The emphasis on each of the six colours in our logo represents diversity, while the gold and silver reflect the celebratory character of our anniversary. The six crayons and two blocks in this edition are made of beeswax supplied by beekeepers who keep their bees in species-appropriate conditions in the north of Germany.

This year, we are not only celebrating 100 years of STOCKMAR but also 50 years of the Neuguss Group. The foundation of Neuguss was inspired by the question of how the reconciliation of various economic interests could allow industrial and creative processes to unfold and break new ground. All surplus profits accordingly flow into not-for-profit projects. Our actual business activities also focus on precisely these areas. One of our most important partners in the Neuguss Group is the company Mercurius, which distributes our products to schools worldwide. Because schools and pupils need art, perhaps now more than ever. Partnership is above all a matter of intention, which is exactly why STOCKMAR and Mercurius have been cooperating so well and so successfully.

Artistic activity is important for society – we have known this since Beuys, if not earlier. He claimed that everyone is an artist and can therefore shape and give meaning to society. STOCKMAR products are created to foster artistic endeavour. To help shape education differently, and to make the living conditions of children in particular a little better, no matter where they are in the world. This mission is reflected not only in the products, but also in the way in which we have been doing business and defining our corporate culture and governance for the last century – i.e from aesthetic perspectives. STOCKMAR unites genders, cultures, and nations through art – this is the link to the society, the future that we want. Art makes sense!

1966: Backing the right horse.

Begine Stockmar made her mark on the company with an illustration for the wax crayon tin produced in 1966. The horse on the tin links generations of pupils and artists, and has become an integral part of the company’s identity.

 

Since 1970: Agriculture and inclusion - the Weide-Hardbek farming community

Dynamic organic farming is not only the agriculture of the future. The Weide-Hardebek community consists of a group of people who live and work together on a farm and who follow holistic principles. Agriculture, social work, and nature conservation are closely interwoven. This is a “social business” with which we feel profoundly connected and which we are glad to support.

 

1979: Capital neutralization – STOCKMAR becomes a Neuguss company

Becoming part of the Neuguss Group was a logical consequence of our ongoing endeavours to neutralize our capital and live up to our conviction that corporate profits should be used in service of society. For a sustainable future, society, and education.

 

2002: Hans Stockmar recognized posthumously as one of the “Righteous Among the Nations”

The Israeli Holocaust Remembrance Center Yad Vashem recognized Hans Stockmar posthumously as one of the “Righteous Among the Nations”. During the Nazi era, Stockmar was unable to prevent his Jewish colleague and close friend Josef Gelbart from being deported to the Warsaw ghetto. However, he supported the family for many years, sending them clothing packages and numerous letters in which he bravely defied race laws and the prevailing spirit of the times.

 

2019: “Economy of the Common Good” certification

Our economic system has become unsustainable. But how can we create positive images of the future and bring about the paradigm shift that is so urgently needed? The concept of the economy of the common good aims to shift the focus to behaviour that serves the good of all. Cooperation and solidarity instead of competition and maximizing profits. We at Stockmar have always done this, so taking the step of issuing an ECG balance sheet in 2019 was simply the logical consequence.