The Dollfus-Mieg et Compagnie (DMC) was founded by Jean-Henri Dollfus, Jean-Jacques Schmalzer, and Samuel Koechlin as a textiles company in 1746 and was originally known as Koechlin, Schmalzer & Co. Daniel Dollfus, a nephew of Jean-Henri Dollfus took over the reins of the company in 1800 and the firm was renamed after him (Dollfus married Anne-Marie Mieg and added his wife’s family name to his own).Following DMC’s acquisition of the patent rights to a yarn-making process called mercerisation, the company started to manufacture sewing thread from 1841. The new venture reaped enormous profits for the firm as the mercerised threads were not only more durable and easily dyed, they also gave off a lustrous, silk-like sheen. Thread production thus became DMC’s core business and the firm succeeded in establishing itself as a leading manufacturer of sewing threads and decorative yarns. The firm published a book written by Theresa von Dillmont in 1886, entitled ‘Encyclopedia des Ouvrages des Dames’, which was later renamed ‘The Encyclopedia of Needlework’. The 800-page tome was translated into 17 languages and sold worldwide.The DMC Group is now a conglomerate with varied business interests ranging from crafts and trimmings, to home decoration and textiles.
