stained glass is KRAUT ART GLASS. In 1911, family patriarch MATTHIAS KRAUT, born in Saarbruechen, Germany, arrived from Switzerland as a representative of Moore Paints, distributed in Manila by Sprungli & Co. Within a year after his arrival, the enterprising Matthias made a name for himself as a house painter among the illustrados of Central and Southern Luzon through the Standard Paint Co., and was widely known as "The Standard Painter". It was soon later that he diversified into artistic glass windows after purchasing equipment from a compatriot's short-lived attempt at a stained glass business. In 1912, he diversified artistic glass windows and put up the first KRAUT stained glass studio in Bilibid Viejo, Quiapo. This was where he met, and eventually married, the lovely Pilar Gonzalez. Before long, Matthias was selling a novel decorative concept: interiors planned not just with paints, but colorful windows as well.

Matthias employed two brothers-in-law, Fernando and Alvaro Gonzalez, when he started out in his studio in Quiapo, Manila in 1912. The two brothers were still actively engaged in the business 60 years later. In 1926, Heinrich Berghoff, a nephew, arrived from Germany with special training in the medium; he assisted until the outbreak of World War II. From 1938 to 1967, Paul, the eldest of the seven sons of Matthias, enriched the firm's artistic offerings, while Ludwig and Peter, second and fourth among the siblings, handled the management responsibilities. Paul retired from the profession in 1967, while Ludwig and Peter retired in 1997. At present, the craft is under the management and supervision of three third-generation Kraut’s - Robert, Jr., Roland and Rochelle, children of the youngest of the seven siblings, Robert, Sr.