The examination to become an interior decorator is no walk in the park. After several months of planning and design, 23-year-old Maren Hartz from Oberwürzbach had to furnish an entire shell consisting of a floor panel and two wall panels as a room: laying carpet, covering and wallpapering walls, sewing curtains, and traditionally upholstering and covering a complete chair prepared as a wooden frame. The young woman accomplished all this after her three-year apprenticeship with the St. Ingbert interior decorator Albersmeyer GmbH as the best trainee in her field with a grade of 1.
After graduating from high school, Maren Hartz initially enrolled at Saarland University to study psychology but quickly realized it wasn't really her thing. "I then looked for a creative, craft-based vocational training, for example as a seamstress, costume designer, or makeup artist, but none of these applications led anywhere," she recalls. Then, through a Google search for apprenticeships in St. Ingbert, she came across the St. Ingbert company Albersmeyer. Here, after a two-week introductory internship, she began her training as an interior decorator with a focus on upholstery in July 2019. A versatile apprenticeship where she learned to lay different types of flooring, plan and manufacture lighting and sun protection, and—according to her specialization—upholster and cover old and new upholstered furniture. "It's exciting to get to know these three areas, and you have to master them all. But upholstery is my passion," explains the young woman.
Further training as an "Interior decorator"
After completing her Abitur at Leibniz-Gymnasium, Maren Hartz worked for a year as an au pair in Hamilton near Boston, USA, and – in the words of Marlene Dietrich’s song – still has “a suitcase in the USA.” In October 2021, she applied for the Parliamentary Sponsorship Program, a youth exchange program of the German Bundestag and the US Congress, for which young people up to 25 years old with completed vocational training can apply. The program promotes German-American friendship and the cultural exchange of young working professionals. She won the scholarship and the associated sponsorship of a member of the Bundestag, in her case Markus Uhl. The scholarship finances a one-year stay in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is housed with a host family. In the first half year, she will attend courses related to her profession at Cape Fear Community College in the city. For the second half year, she has to find a job, preferably in her profession as an interior decorator specializing in upholstery – but in an emergency, also in a supermarket. Then she is also obliged to pay the contribution for the host family herself – personal responsibility is therefore highly valued.
“I am really looking forward to the year. I simply fell in love with the country as an au pair,” says Maren Hartz. “Actually, I plan to come back after one year and complete my master’s qualification, but who knows what might happen…” she continues laughing.
The city of St. Ingbert wishes you lots of joy, many wonderful experiences, and countless new friends!
