It is difficult to prove mathematically that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Aristotle's knowledge, more than 2000 years old, is still true.

Actual evidence?

The collective Matter of Course.

Eleven independent designers from Berlin have teamed up under this name to present their work together, to exchange ideas and to support each other.

They didn't have any concrete role models for this, but collective work is generally booming in the creative professions.

"Energy is created when there is an echo," says Carolin Zeyher, one of the founders.

Zeyher designs furniture made of wood, her ten colleagues work with glass, metal, porcelain or ceramics, they have lamps made of feathers and unusual carpets are woven.

They are all seasoned entrepreneurs, established as designers, with their own language and product world.

It should stay that way: "We're not a new label," says Mareike Lienau from LYK Carpet.

“Each expert stands for herself and her label.

This is important to us.

We don't want to iron anything out."

The lockdowns were too much even for them

The fact that they nevertheless joined forces to form Matter of Course was also due to the pandemic.

As freelance designers and entrepreneurs, they are experienced lone fighters, but the lockdowns were too much even for them.

"We all had the feeling of being isolated," recalls designer Elisa Strozyk.

“Usually we ran into each other regularly at trade fairs and exhibition openings.

Suddenly this network no longer existed.”

When they started reconnecting in Zoom calls, they quickly realized that it gave them a lot of energy.

"The collective offers a protected space to talk about ideas or plans and to get a well-disposed but honest assessment or suggestions for implementation," adds Claudia Schoemig, who has been self-employed with Schoemig Porzellan for more than ten years.

The eleven took their first steps out of the protected space into the public eye professionally: with a photo shoot, website and an exhibition in Berlin in the fall.

The next one is planned for spring in Frankfurt.

Of course, the work in the collective does not come without compromises, otherwise the interests of eleven independent designers could hardly be reconciled.

"There will always be conflicts or differences of opinion," says Heike Buchfelder, founder of the lighting label Pluma Cubic.

“We have a very good flow at the moment.

We want to strengthen the common.”

Competition isn't everything

The fact that the whole can be more than the sum of its parts is also shown by the important currency attention: The eleven report many reactions in the social media, more inquiries and positive feedback on the founding of the collective.

So they have already achieved one of their goals, namely to become more visible.

"It has become much more than I could have ever imagined," says Simone Lüling, who has lamps and glass objects produced under the Eloa label.

“I love spreading this woman power and experiencing it myself.

In particular, many women with whom I have business contacts are very impressed by the idea of ​​mergers and networks.”

The designers cannot yet assess whether the attention will also pay off economically, with new orders and increasing sales figures.

But one thing is certain: the eleven show that competition is not everything.

Instead of stalking and separating one another, they prefer to join forces, share their contacts and help each other.

Perhaps others will be infected by this good spirit.