Unlike a strictly industrial operation, which manufactures its products primarily with the aid of machinery, a Manufaktur produces its products in great measure purely by hand, in accordance with traditional production methods that have been handed down through generations. The term "Manufaktur" is made up of two Latin words:

manus (the hand) and facere (to make).
Therefore, manufacere means "to make by hand".

In a porcelain Manufaktur, products are made almost exclusively by hand. The artistic tradition of handcrafted products is cultivated with great care in order to maintain our cultural heritage. Freehand painting, in particular, gives each piece of porcelain its unique character. This, in turn, makes it a desirable collector's item, thereby preserving the value of each individual porcelain item.

KPM's décors are applied exclusively by means of freehand painting, including the painting of gold, flowers, fruits, animals and Watteauesque scenes. All backgrounds are also applied by hand. Unlike industrial manufacturers, who employ identical transfers, KPM painting is absolutely unique. Each painter has the artistic freedom to individually design the motifs in keeping with the respective decoration.

KPM is the world's only producer of handmade porcelain that also offers all its products in pure white, without any decoration. In addition, for some of its porcelain dinner services, KPM offers as many as 20 different decorations from a wide range of varying decorative schemes (décors). KPM can also lay claim to having created style-setting porcelain in every important style era, beginning with Rococo and continuing to the present, both for its dinner service product line as well as its gift items. Connoisseurs have a high regard for the pieces' strength and stability and for the porcelain’s gleaming white colour.

A training period of three and a half years is followed by an apprenticeship of around seven more years. During this period, KPM painters are acquainted with all aspects of their new vocation. In other words, only after this relatively long period of time can he or she claim to have complete mastery of all the tasks that may arise in relation to painting.

The name KPM stands for the highest material quality in terms of design and workmanship. Producing porcelain under handcrafted conditions demands the expenditure of a great deal of time, which may mean spending several weeks on some very special pieces. KPM products are elaborately handmade and undergo numerous and meticulous individual steps. A few products, such as the figurine of the two princesses, are made up of 88 individual parts which have to be produced piece by piece. This category of precise handcrafted work, which is only carried out in Germany, combined with a high level of artistic skills, is ensured by means of numerous quality controls. The items produced earn the royal sceptre, which guarantees that they are exceptional and unique.