Training in the Woodwork Workshop
96 out of 100 Marks
- von Cathrin Becker
- 23.07.2026
The drawer glides silently back into the elegant chest of drawers with its ceramic top. When you open the door of the slender TV stand, featuring a herringbone pattern, a warm light seems to greet you. You don’t even need to open these two pieces of furniture, which are on display in the UDE’s woodwork workshop, to be impressed. A first glance is enough. An independent jury is also convinced: Lucie Niedereichholz and Alexander Hielscher received 96 out of a possible 100 points for their journeyman’s pieces. And why? “Deservedly so.” Their tutor, Matthias Spehr, agrees, as does the jury of the guild competition “Die Gute Form”, which also voted the two journeymen into second place for their design ideas.
For three years, Lucie Niedereichholz and Alexander Hielscher trained as joiners at the UDE alongside three apprentices from other cohorts. Instead of building windows and doors – as is common in many places today – they were able to work on completely different projects at the UDE: alongside outdoor benches and kitchen fittings, the training programme also included bespoke pieces for laboratory projects.
The pair also tinkered with special solutions. “Once we built a transport box for a laser that was sent from the university to Japan. You can’t buy something like that – it’s really exciting,” recalls Alexander Hielscher. “Our work here isn’t routine; it’s always varied.” His colleague Lucie Niedereichholz sees it exactly the same way. “I’d happened to see the job advert by chance. I hadn’t even considered a university as a place to do my apprenticeship, but then the pleasant atmosphere and the friendly team here won me over straight away.”
Matthias Spehr, who trained at the UDE himself, then went abroad for a while and returned as a master craftsman, is clearly proud of his apprentices’ achievements. “Not least because they had to work for two and a half years in the temporary workshop on the Duisburg campus. They were only able to work here in the large, newly renovated and fitted-out workshop in Essen for half a year. Lucie and Alexander showed a great deal of flexibility and, despite our move, were able to complete their journeyman’s pieces in a hundred hours – pieces that are among the best to have come out of our woodworking workshop to date.”
Both pieces, made from oak, now occupy places of honour in Lucie Niedereichholz and Alexander Hielscher’s homes. Both would like to continue working in furniture-making. They will continue to work as joiners for the UDE until the end of the year, after which they are both looking forward to seeing what the future holds for them.