Hummel History Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel and the Convent of Siessen, authorized Goebel to manufacture M.I. Hummel figurines in 1934. Sister Maria Innocentia born Berta Hummel in Bavaria in 1909 attended the Munich Academy of Applied Arts in 1927, from which she graduated four years later. In 1931, upon her graduation from the Academy she entered the Convent of Siessen, on taking her vows she took the name Maria Innocentia. In order to help raise revenue she received permission to exhibit and sell some of her art. It was then that her charming postcards depicting children, both those remembered from her childhood and those who played in the convent garden, came to the attention of Franz Goebel, who was in search of inspiration for a new line of figurines. Franz Goebel, then arranged a meeting with the Mother Superior and Sister Maria Innocentia, and a licence agreement was granted providing Goebel the sole right to make and distribute three-dimensional adaptations of the artists work, and giving the convent final artistic control. The first figurines were then introduced in 1935. Hummel figurines are handcrafted and hand painted by highly skilled artists who have been trained by Goebel. The creation of each figurine is an extensive process. A six-inch figurine can require as many as 700 hand operations, and take several weeks to complete. The Convent of Siessen is responsible for Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel's artwork. To maintain the high artistic standards established by Sister Maria Innocentia, each figurine is developed in close cooperation and coordination with the Convent of Siessen.