Klára Binderová
The Joch workshop in Strážnice was founded in 1906. Their blue print had a regional character. What was typical of them was the banded arrangement of patterns and, in contrast to other Central European workshops, excluding the mountainous Slovak regions, it had a more distinct and more moderate motif shaping.
Following its closure, resulting from the changes of the political regime, it was re-opened in 1954 thanks to the Centre of Folk Art Production (Ústředí lidové umělecké výroby). The workshop in Strážnice had become part of it. Artists responsible for the overall artistic standard of the products cooperated with the workshop creating also new designs. The workshop production followed two directions at that period. The first one represented the trend of traditional patterns, the other one was aimed at applying newly created patterns on blue print products.
Following the fall of the communist regime, the Czech ÚLUV had collapsed and in 1993 the centralised management of the blue print production was stopped. Contact with the artists was also disrupted. The Joch workshop was privatised and, having overcome some initial problems, its activity renewed by the end of 1993 as an independant unit within the Arimo company focusing on the production of ready made clothes and blue print. František Joch was appointed its head.
It is mainly the duty of the blue printers family themselves to care for the workshop operation, such as securing the sales and the publicity. Similarly, as in the times of the workshop founder, the manufactured fabrics are abundantly used in folk clothing (folklore ensembles and individuals). However, the direction given by ÚLUV, i.e., modern, practical products of cultural and aesthetic value based on the originality of craftsmanship, manual production and links to the tradions, is still decisive.