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17 October 2025

From Lingerie to Letters: Austria’s 3D-Printed Edelweiss Stamp Weaves Textile Tradition into Innovation

Two men present Austria’s new 3D-printed Edelweiß stamp, featuring a tactile white flower motif produced by Hämmerle & Vogel.

Starting tomorrow, Austria's Post Office will release the world's first 3D-printed postage stamp — "Edelweiß reloaded". Presented together with the Austrian Alpine Club, this €6.50 special issue combines alpine symbolism, cutting-edge technology, and textile craftsmanship from Lustenau's renowned embroidery firm Hämmerle & Vogel.

A Blossom of Alpine Spirit

The Edelweiß, long a symbol of courage, love, and devotion, has deep roots in Austria's alpine heritage. Its star-shaped, velvet petals once inspired legends and royal fashion — and today, they adorn postage. This isn't the first time the Edelweiß has graced an Austrian stamp: back in 2005, the same motif appeared as the country's first embroidered stamp, also made by Hämmerle & Vogel.

The new edition, "Edelweiß reloaded", goes one step further. Using state-of-the-art 3D printing, the delicate bloom emerges layer by layer from tiny drops of photopolymer hardened by UV light. The result is a tactile miniature sculpture — soft, flexible, and remarkably similar to a real flower.

From Lustenau Lace to Global Innovation

The story of this stamp leads to Lustenau, Vorarlberg — a small town with a big name in textile artistry. Lustenau has long been the heart of Austria's embroidery industry, known worldwide for precision, beauty, and high craftsmanship.

With roots dating back to 1900, Hämmerle & Vogel grew out of Vorarlberg's long-standing embroidery tradition. The firm's modern chapter began in 1958, when Heinz Hämmerle founded an export business that later merged with the Vogel family enterprise. Officially registered in its current form in 1992, the Lustenau-based company evolved from a family-run operation into a creative powerhouse for international fashion brands. On its Instagram page, Hämmerle & Vogel showcases images of lingerie and fashion pieces by international labels such as Victoria’s Secret, Agent Provocateur, Hanro, Calida, and Akris, offering a visual glimpse into the world where textile tradition meets contemporary design.

Beyond haute couture and lingerie, the company also turns its expertise toward philately — creating embroidered stamps for Austria, Luxembourg, and the Vatican. Among its notable works is the Vatican's 90th-anniversary issue, crafted from tens of thousands of metres of metallic and silk thread. In another international collaboration, Hämmerle & Vogel embraced sustainability with the "Dove of Peace" stamp, produced together with several postal administrations and the United Nations from recycled polyester yarn. This fusion of textile artistry and stamp design has become a defining hallmark of the Lustenau-based firm.

The Texture of Tomorrow

The "Edelweiß reloaded" marks a technological milestone — the first-ever postage stamp produced entirely via 3D printing. Unlike embroidery, which weaves threads, this process builds the motif in microscopic layers, creating height, softness, and tactile realism without fabric. The technique enhances not only the visual detail but also the sensory experience: the Edelweiß feels alive under one's fingertips.

Beyond its charm for collectors, the innovation reflects how textile technology continues to evolve beyond fashion — shaping fields like art, design, and even postal philately. From the looms of Lustenau to the precision of photopolymer printing, Austria's textile heritage finds new expression in miniature form — one that can travel the world, stamped with history and innovation.


Images, from left: Wolfgang Schnabl, President of the Austrian Alpine Club, and Walter Oblin, CEO of Austrian Post AG, present the new 'Edelweiß reloaded' stamp — the world’s first 3D-printed postage stamp, produced by Hämmerle & Vogel. Photo on the left taken by Yvonne Fetz. Photos: © Österreichische Post AG