Already more than 1000 pieces: Senior woman from Eichenau has been folding stars for a good cause for years
Created: 12/07/2022, 11:15 am
By: Laura May
Painstaking manual work: It took a little while for Johanna Schlederer to figure out the folding technique.
But she remained persistent and today she helps many children with donations.
© LAURA MAY
Seven years ago, Johanna Schlederer discovered beautiful folded stars in the display of Kaut-Bullinger.
She thought to herself: I want to do handicrafts for a good cause.
Eichenau/Unterschleißheim
– Johanna Schlederer has known the center for the blind and visually impaired in Unterschleißheim (SBZ) “from day one”, as she says.
Her husband was a close friend of the founder, Father Setzer.
When she found out that there was not enough money for the renovation of the playground as part of the extensive renovation work on the training center from 2014, she had only one question: "What can I do to help?"
The 90-year-old found the answer to this in Munich's Kaut-Bullinger, where she saw folded paper stars on display.
In 2015 she looked for instructions, bought the materials - and gave up after several attempts.
The folding and sticking technique with the solid paper seemed too complicated for her.
"The following year I succeeded," she recalls today.
“You need patience and you have to fold precisely.
Otherwise it won't work!"
Folded over 1000 stars
In the meantime, Johanna Schlederer has folded over 1000 stars.
Each star consists of 30 parts, each part of ten folds.
Working time for one copy: Around four hours.
Most of their production goes to the Sternstunden and comes to the Nuremberg Christmas market, where everyone who donates to needy children is rewarded with a Schlederer star.
“The proceeds go to the children”
The same principle applies to the Advent market in the SBZ Unterschleißheim.
"The proceeds go to the children," emphasizes Schlederer.
"The concern is the donation." If you want one of the unique stars, you have to go to one of the markets and donate.
In addition to the ingenious folding technique, she also builds small battery-powered LED lights into her stars so that they can light up their owners throughout the Advent season.
The stars are even equipped with sustainable, replaceable LED batteries.
And anyway: if you pay close attention, you can enjoy the Schlederer-Stern for the rest of your life and not just during the Advent season.
"In many families he is considered a good star for the whole year."
With discipline at work
Johanna Schlederer doesn't look 90 years old.
She works on her paper stars with discipline.
"I make a star every night when I'm home," she says.
200 to 300 stars come out every year.
Despite being mass-produced at home, there is love and care in every copy.
"I'm happy about every star and try each one to see if it works." She doesn't do it for the money, but for the children.
As in previous years, Schlederer's commitment will be rewarded again this year: her shining treasures are highly coveted as a reward for a donation to the children: "Except for the last star, they are all gone."
