The Pickmotion Story
From Kreuzkölln out into the world
PICKMOTIONS startup story began in 2013 in one of the liveliest residential areas of Berlin, the Reuterkiez in Neukölln, inside of a shared flat that got turned into a makeshift office. Driven from his idea, to use digital content for more than fast Likes, founder Lorenz Hartmann tinkered on the idea to take especially beautiful Berlin pictures from Instagram users and to print them on postcards in a polaroid style, and place these as a new format on the retail market. The result: The first postcard “Life is Confetti”, the card portrays a moment from a street festival in Berlin. Since the picture is framed in a polaroid style you get the feeling that you were a part of the moment. This card channels in one picture the zest of life, that’s inside all of the PICKMOTION products since then.
Enthusiasm for the concept and rapid expansion
The motif is the starting signal for a rapid expansion. The concept is very well received by traders and customers alike. Just a few weeks after the start, the collection grew, employees were hired and, in addition to the regional picture series, greeting card motifs for all occasions from birthdays to weddings were quickly added. In cooperation with well-known Instagram artists, additional motifs are continuously licensed, refined with loving slogans, and immortalized on high-quality postcards.
A worldwide community and a colorful 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 across Europe in retail. For many years, German customers such as Thalia, Hugendubel, and AIDA have been part of the regular customer base as well as Globus in France and ARK in Norway. But the product portfolio is also growing: in addition to postcards and greeting cards, magnets, photo strips, art posters, and more recently, wall calendars and planners are also part of the product range. All products combine a unique, innovative format, collaboration with Instagrammers, a wide range of motifs, and perfect presentation in retail. In addition, the topic of sustainability has come to the fore in recent years. All products are printed CO2-neutrally and produced in the EU.
Moments that matter
What began 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 worldwide by over 2500 retailers, large and small, and since 2021 there has also been its online shop, where curated products from the PICKMOTION range are also available directly to end customers. Of course, the journey doesn't end here! With a bundle of other ideas, Lorenz Hartmann and his team are striving to inspire new topics relating to decorating and giving with the PICKMOTION spirit, to develop great products with the community, and to work on the common mission: “Moments that matter!”
