Hannah Rembeck is one of the people who was hit hard by the Corona crisis. Shortly before the first lockdown, the now 25-year-old goldsmith and gallery owner fulfilled her dream of having her own gallery in downtown Regensburg. For this she took out a large loan that is difficult to pay off. The lockdowns meant she could sell a lot less jewelry and therefore less money in the till. A year after the first lockdown, little has changed.
Financial situation was stressful
The 25-year-old gallery owner has debts, she is paying off a large loan. She needed all that money two years ago to set up the gallery. For this she hired an interior designer. In addition, there are high rental costs in Regensburg’s old town and the insurance of the valuable pieces of jewelry. During the lockdown, Hannah Rembeck was often afraid that she could no longer afford all of this: “It was exhausting. I never knew whether I would get the fixed costs in and then also my private living costs. It always ran out, but it did was exciting, “she says.
At times no more motivation
Exciting, scary – this is how the gallery owner described the Corona period last year. At that time she would never have thought that there would be a second lockdown. But he came – and the Regensburg woman fared similar to the first time. The motivation slackened. The goldsmith had “sagging”. It was grueling to sit at the workbench and make jewelry that nobody could look at, the goldsmith describes.
No further bridging aid requested
While she applied for immediate corona aid during the first lockdown, she tried to get along without government aid during the second lockdown. “I’ve heard time and again from other shopkeepers that they are afraid that something will have to be paid back. I just want to apply for Corona Aid 3 when I know for sure what I’m due.”
Abandoned by politics
Aside from the financial state support, which Hannah Rembeck found “great”, she often felt let down by politics: “I had the feeling that of course decisions have to be made quickly, but that somehow the little ones have been forgotten . ” The gallery owner would have liked “Click and Meet” to have been possible earlier.
Support from regular customers
Then and now, the young entrepreneur receives support from friends, family and regular customers. During the lockdown you operated “Click and Collect” – discovered jewelry in the shop window and then ordered it over the phone. Laura Blüml and her husband came across their wedding rings. They also want to buy the rest of the bridal jewelry, such as earrings and a necklace, in Hannah Rembeck’s gallery. Online shopping was never an option for the bridal couple. “The personal contact, the individual advice that you get there – that’s something different than when I click my way through the Internet and the person doesn’t know me,” says Laura Blüml.
Women are buying more jewelry for events again
The goldsmith benefits from wedding celebrations, opera, theater and concert events that are taking place again. Women in particular are buying more jewelry again for such occasions: “It definitely made a difference that there were events again where you like to decorate yourself and want beautiful colored jewelry to go with the right dress. That definitely made a difference there was life in the streets again. “
Corona has become everyday life
Will there be another lockdown? Hannah Rembeck doesn’t want to get into such thoughts. For her, the constant up and down to her gallery has become something like everyday life. She doesn’t know any other way, she says:
“As soon as the gallery was complete as I wanted it to be, the first lockdown was there. So actually I haven’t seen a time when it was normal. It’s actually always different.” Hannah Rembeck
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