When Martin Dolleschel buys himself a new piece of clothing, the first thing he does is cut off all the buttons and sew his own on. Dolleschel is the the head of Union-Knopf - the largest button maker in Europe. Whether they're made of horn, nutshell, metal, mother-of-pearl, glass or leather, the range is enormous - and much in demand.Union-Knopf serves the global clothing market - including big fashion labels in France and Italy. Buttons from Bielefeld - Sennestadt regularly go to Paris and Milan. Union-Knopf has a wide range of products - also pricey and exclusive buttons. It's the only firm in its field to make everything in-house - from the design to the finished product. They've even got buttons for allergy sufferers - the only thing the client has to do, is sew them on. Every day, the firm sends out 3.7 million buttons to 47 countries - with some costing an impressive 13 euro. The actual turnover figures aren't made public though - because Union-Knopf is being closely watched. These buttons are so well loved that they are often copied. Grit Hofmann tells us more....
