From Kreuzkölln out into the world

The PICKMOTION start-up story began in 2013 in one of Berlin's most vibrant districts, the Reuterkiez in Neukölln, in a shared apartment converted into an office. Spurred on by the idea of ​​using digital content beyond a quick like, founder Lorenz Hartmann half jokingly and half seriously came up with the idea of ​​printing particularly beautiful Berlin photos from Instagrammers on instant-photo-style postcards and placing them in retail as a new trend format. The result: the very first postcard "Life is Confetti", which shows a moment from a Berlin street festival. Framed in instant-photo style, it gives you the feeling of being part of the moment and being there yourself. The card combines the joy of life that has always been in all PICKMOTION products in a single image.

Enthusiasm for the concept and rapid expansion

The motif is the starting signal for a rapid expansion. The concept is very well received by retailers and customers alike. Just a few weeks after the launch, the collection is growing, employees are being hired and, in addition to regional picture series, greeting card motifs for all occasions from birthdays to weddings are quickly added. In cooperation with well-known Instagram artists, further motifs are continuously being licensed, refined with loving sayings and immortalized on high-quality postcards.

A global community and a diverse product range

In the following years, the team succeeded in creating a great community of creative Instagram artists from all over the world and successfully marketing them in retail across Europe. For many years, German customers such as Thalia, Hugendubel and Aida have been part of the regular customer base, as have Globus in France and ARK in Norway. But the product portfolio is also growing: in addition to postcards and greeting cards, the product range includes magnets, photo strips, art posters and, more recently, wall calendars and planners. All products are united by an always independent, innovative format, collaboration with Instagrammers, a wide selection of motifs and the perfect presentation in retail. In addition, the topic of sustainability has moved to the forefront in recent years. All products are printed CO2-neutrally and produced in the EU.

Creating moments that make you happy

What started with the idea of ​​one person has grown into a creative company with 40 employees and a community of over 1,000 active photographers and 16,000 Instagram followers. Pickmotion is now sold in over 2,500 large and small retailers worldwide and since 2021 there has also been its own online shop where curated products from the PICKMOTION range are also available directly to end customers. Of course, the journey does not end here! With a bundle of other ideas, Lorenz Hartmann and his team strive to bring the PICKMOTION spirit to new topics related to decorating and giving, to develop great products with the community and to work on the common mission: “Create moments that make you happy”!