Born in Augsburg, Otto Blümel studied architecture at the Technical University of Munich and then took up painting. From 1907 to 1914 he was director of the design department at the United Workshops for Art in Craftsmanship in Munich, a pioneering force in the interior design and decoration of the era. It was during this period that he produced furniture designs that are still prized today. Otto Blümel’s most famous piece is the Nymphenburg coat rack of 1908.