
When you meet people like Wolfgang Lederhaas and talk with him about his company, such slow-paced meetings tend to surprise people in these times of digitization and automation.
Lederhaas Cosmetics recently became a member of WIEN PRODUCTS and I want to learn more about this brand and its creator for our blog.
We meet up for a talk and I dive into the world of Wolfgang Lederhaas, who has led an exciting and varied career. Philosophy, German, psychology, music, chemistry, cosmetology, pharmaceutical studies and aromatherapy were all part of his studies – he has got some very different places and interesting jobs on his resumé.
The renaissance and its thirst for knowledge and universal inventive spirit comes to mind during our conversation – anything is possible, if you focus on it intensively.
The catalyst for this fascination with cosmetics was a childhood memory – the scent of his grandparents‘ lavender soap – which got Wolfgang Lederhaas to start experimenting. The first soap was created more out of curiosity and as a hobby –he tells me.
One thing has led to another and high expectations about the product and sustainability considerations eventually led to the founding of the brand that carries his name.
Just making soap was not enough – the customer also gets some literature, art or music in addition to a piece of soap, which is – of course – free from artificial fragrances, preservatives, parabens and silicon and contains high-quality ingredients which are certified as organic.
One of the Lederhaas Art Editions – 1800 – consists of six exclusive soaps, each of which is dedicated to a piece of romantic literature. The passionate beauty specialist and opera lover developed a Magic Flute soap for the Salzburg Festival for Nicolaus Harnoncourt and one for the opera Fidelio at Theater an der Wien.
He is definitely not bored; he says with a laugh when I ask him what he is working on currently.
His cosmetics series, which is created predominantly from the natural realms of plants and minerals is presently adding a line dedicated to the bees of the animal world. This series contains bees’ wax and honey, for example, and is designed to soothe extremely dry skin. The Rock Salt Edition is made from salt from the Ausseerland region and is specially for oily skin, and the plant series — the first to come onto the market – cleanses and soothes normal skin using selected plant extracts.
In the meantime, more and more hotels have got in touch with him, looking for special cosmetics, which is very much valued by their guests. These establishments are not anonymous, concrete hotel blocs, but hotels which think about sustainability and provide excellent quality.
Guests at the Taubenkobel in Burgenland, Wiesergut in Saalbach, Augartenhotel in Graz and the Guesthouse in Vienna are impressed by the certified organic cosmetics that are not only vegan, but also so elegantly packaged. I find out from the management of the Guesthouse that the series ARRIVEÉ is really appreciated by the guests and the pillow spray by Wolfgang Lederhaas is a highly valued “good night” tonic.
This seems to have reached as far as Berlin in the meantime – the next project for his hotel cosmetics is the brand-new GAIJIN in well-known Nollendorfplatz.
How do you cope with this workload, when you are also a Guild Master for the Chemical Industry in the Vienna Economic Chamber?
That works best with a great, small team, befriended designers and photographers who share the passion for perfection. For instance, Alexandra Pecher from Said the Fox has designed a cosmetics bag for the hotel line and Mark Glassner very reliably creates the perfect image for the products.