Wiener Werkstätte: [VEEN-er VEHRK-shtet-teh] (German for "Vienna Workshop") A firm established in 1903 as an association of artists and craftspeople working together to manufacture fashionable household goods. The firm was an offshoot of the late 19th century Vienna Secession, a group of artists and architects who sought to establish a "new art" for the new century. Simplified shapes, geometric patterns, and minimal decoration characterized Wiener Werkstätte products.