Alexandra Ferdinande was first introduced to wild basketry when she moved to the countryside. Fascinated by craftsmanship, this "art of weaving nature" – closely linked to her surroundings – was an instant revelation to her. The very next day, she was ready to learn the craft. Trained in wild and traditional French basketry, Alexandra enjoys exploring the technical and artistic potential of weaving. She works mainly with wicker, which she transforms in luminaries, baskets or sculptures. Magnifying the raw material is what she loves about wickerwork, the slow process of the natural elements evolving into a contemporary object. Through the natural colour range, the interplay of techniques and movement, she gives each creation a unique character.

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In the masterclass created by basketweaver Alexandra Ferdinande in her countryside studio, you will learn how to weave a round zarzo basket. The technique of zarzo basketry first originated in the Asturias region in the north of Spain, and it involves careful interlacing of alternating strands. During the class Alexandra will give you long wicker strands to implement in large and repetitive gestures. Following symmetrical and graphic techniques, your woven strands will gradually transform into a basket that you can then take home. The course lasts approximately 8 hours.

Basketweaving masterclass near Lyon

Make your own large wicker zarzo basket

CENTER

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PROFILE

This zarzo basket offers a variation on lines and curves with its circular design, which is emphasised by the contrast of raw and barked wicker.
The basket is made using the zarzo technique, a weaving method that focuses on the movement, a wide gesture. This technical approach enhances the circular shapes of the object.

Zarzo basket

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This suspension lamp is made of barked wicker. Thanks to its open-work, the weaving releases a generous light. The object aims to play with light and shadows, through a contemporary design. The material offers an interesting natural colour palette.

Gousse fendue

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This flat basket is made in the zarzo weaving technique, using raw wicker. 
Its openwork weave combines the contrasting natural colours of the raw wicker which give this contemporary basket an elegant look.

Flat zarzo basket

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With its circular design, this circular zarzo basket proposes a variation on lines and curves. It is made of raw wicker, using the weaving technique called zarzo, which implies an ample gesture and a research in the movement.

Circular zarzo basket

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The Helice wall lamp is made of raw wicker and has been designed to play with light and shadow. When the lamp is switched off, it creates a natural, wall design decoration. But when the object is switched on, it casts subtly a game of shadows and creates a warm, cosy atmosphere. The raw wicker offers a natural colour palette.

Helice wall lamp

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Janaïna Milheiro stumbled upon featherwork quite by chance. At textile design school she was encouraged to collect materials. When the moment came to start her end of year diploma work, she delved into her collection and picked out feathers, using them to create a series of small fabrics. Her journey with feathers then unfolded very organically, through experimentation. “I started to work the feathers by weaving and embroidering them,” she says. “Weaving helped me discover this material.” Following her studies, she presented these pieces at a Paris exhibition dedicated to exceptional textiles, kick-starting her career.

Milheiro, Janaïna

Experimenting with a Parisian tradition

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Looking back over the years, there is sometimes a moment that stands out, drawing a line between what was and what is. For Eric Charles-Donatien, that moment was when he met the man who would become his mentor, André Lemarié. While studying at the Ecole Duperré in Paris, Eric was working on a dress for an exhibition and wanted to incorporate feathers into his design. A woman working for a South African ostrich farm gave him the material to do so, and was so enthralled by his work that she introduced him to her friend Lemarié, the Parisian master of featherwork. Lemarié decided to have Eric temporarily assist in the modernisation of his archives, and Eric ultimately stayed with the company for 15 years, becoming its creative director.

Charles-Donatien, Eric

Flying high in the Paris fashion world

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Stéphanie Dunand’s career as a floral designer sprouted in Africa and blossomed in France. It all started when she was living in Senegal. A flower lover since childhood, she met Ousmane who shared her passion, and together they decided to launch a florist's especially for expats, as there was no such thing there. The business flourished: "We wanted the best for our customers, so we used to get a great variety of flowers from Holland: lilies of the valley, tulips, orchids and many others," she says. Yet, soon Stéphanie got bored with the shop. As she dreamed of shifting her focus from selling bouquets to arranging flowers for weddings and big events, she moved back to her native France, where her luxury atelier So Art Floral was born.

Dunand, Stéphanie

The bride's fairy godmother

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Valérie Tanfin is a master featherworker who draws from her experience working in haute couture and performing arts. The juxtaposition of these two worlds allowed her to acquire a unique and broad savoir-faire. From the lightness and delicacy of a feather, to its movement and volume, Valérie’s work is a constant quest for pure refinement. Light holds a particular place in her creations, she likes to play with it to reveal the nuances in each feather. Whether for interior decoration projects, adornment accessories or works of art, Valérie’s feathers unfold gracefully and highlight the poetry of this natural material. Besides her fascination for nature, she is inspired by many artists such as Frida Kahlo, Pierre Soulages and Anish Kapoor.

Tanfin, Valérie

Magic feathers

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Developed in partnership with Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte and made possible by the support of Cartier, Homo Faber in Città gives you a rare chance to visit over 70 artisan workshops. The project is developed in collaboration with Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Confartigianato Imprese Venezia, CNA Venezia, Consorzio Promovetro Murano, The Venice Glass Week and Venezia da Vivere.

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Step inside the workshops and ateliers to learn the secrets of local master artisans and manufacturers

Try your hand at different crafts with an authentic experience

Marvel at examples of fine craftsmanship by doing our itineraries

This september, the second edition of Homo Faber in Città invites visitors to step off the beaten track and discover the artisanal addresses where Venetian craftspeople create objects of exquisite beauty. A rare opportunity to witness Venice’s master artisans and young talents demonstrating their crafts and presenting the tools, materials and skills involved in contemporary Venetian craftsmanship.

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Homo Faber Guide is an online portal dedicated to contemporary craftsmanship, showcasing artisans, ateliers, museums, galleries, shops and experiences. Create your user account for access to exclusive features on Homo Faber Guide: save your preferred pages, hear about hot topics first, leave recommendations for your favourite artisans and much more.

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Although the Michelangelo Foundation researches the talents for its projects autonomously, collaboration with our ambassadors is fundamental. Over 120 associations, schools and institutions allow us to map the continents for craftsmanship and to have partners in each country who share our vision and goals. In addition, we have asked well-known personalities in the craft, design and art world to be our ambassadors in the cities where they live, so that their recommendations can offer a unique insight into craftsmanship in the major cities of Europe and beyond.

Who are our ambassadors?

Download our free Homo Faber Guide app (iOS and Android) to discover artisans, museums, galleries, shops, and experiences by location. Search Homo Faber on the App store on your mobile device.

Find craftsmanship destinations on the go

Discover the addresses of esteemed manufacturers, well known for producing high quality objects across a wide variety of crafts. Read their stories and find out where you can shop their contemporary pieces, see their archive collections and even in some cases visit their workshops. Find exceptional ateliers where artisans collaborate creatively to create fine pieces of craftsmanship. Reach out to them to commission something special.

Ateliers & Manufacturers

All the artisans and small workshops featured in Homo Faber Guide have been carefully researched and selected. They are presented and narrated through a selection of images and an interview, which allows readers to immerse themselves in the universe of these makers who exemplify excellence in their individual fields or are promising talents of the future. Find masters and rising stars who share the same passion and determination, and whose workshops are ready to share their secrets with visitors.

A selection of the best artisans

Are you eager to discover a city through craftsmanship? Do you wish to spend a few hours visiting an applied arts museum or attending a course on a craft with one of the masters featured in Homo Faber Guide? Browse the section dedicated to experiences and find your next adventure.

Experiences

An expert artisan is an accomplished artisan who has been in activity for more than ten years. He or she may also be engaged in passing on their knowledge to the next generations, but they have been doing so for less than seven years. Beyond this, they will become a Master artisan.

Who is an Expert artisan?

Homo Faber Guide provides you with a selection of the best addresses across Europe and further afield, where you will be able to discover and purchase exceptional objects, some of which are created by artisans featured in Homo Faber Guide.

Galleries

Homo Faber Guide is an online platform dedicated to craftsmanship that allows you to discover artisans and their masterpieces; explore museums, visit galleries and shops selling unique objects; enjoy experiences in cities across Europe and beyond.

Homo Faber Guide is a signature project developed by the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship, an international non-profit organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, which was set up in 2016 thanks to the intuition of Franco Cologni and Johann Rupert. The Michelangelo Foundation’s mission is to celebrate and preserve master craftsmanship, and for this reason it has created a map of the most significant representatives in this field, with the aim of connecting all its protagonists: artisans, designers, gallery owners, art curators, collectors and enthusiasts of high-quality handmade pieces.

About the Guide

Are you an artisan, atelier or manufacturer? Would you like to be featured in Homo Faber Guide? The Michelangelo Foundation encourages self-assessment initiatives and is pleased to evaluate new members to appear on the Guide or in other projects. Thanks to the Master’s Touch Evaluation Tool, every artisan can send their application: register and access a questionnaire to see if you fulfill the 11 criteria for excellence that stand behind all the activities of the Michelangelo Foundation. If your answers reach the minimum requirement, your application will be brought to our attention; if, on the contrary, you should score below the minimum requirement, we will give you some points for improvement, in the hope that you may participate in future initiatives of the Michelangelo Foundation.

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Our artisan labels

A master artisan is an accomplished artisan who has been in activity for more than ten years, and who has also been engaged in passing on his or her expertise to the younger generations for more than seven years. This is in keeping with one of the key values of the Michelangelo Foundation: the transmission of knowledge in craftsmanship.

Who is a Master artisan?

Find museums handpicked for their links to contemporary craftsmanship and the exquisite collections they have on display. In each city, discover a museum of interest and organise your visit. From Italian museums displaying coral collections, glass pieces and ceramics to decorative art museums in Russia and Greece, marvel at the variety of museums exhibiting masterpieces, showcasing techniques and recounting histories.

Museums

A rising star is an artisan who has been active for less than ten years, and who is capable of expressing his or her craft with competence, creativity and originality. Whether self-taught or trained, the rising star represents the future of craftsmanship, in creativity, concerns and approaches.

Who is a Rising star?

The artisans featured in Homo Faber Guide have been selected through a meticulous assessment process based on the 11 criteria for excellence, identified by Alberto Cavalli, Executive Director of the Michelangelo Foundation, in the volume The Master’s Touch, written with researchers Giuditta Comerci and Giovanna Marchello. The members of the Michelangelo Foundation’s network who have been invited to participate in sourcing artisans for the Guide use an evaluation tool based on these criteria. In this way, they can identify the most suitable artisans to include in the project.

Simple rules for a transparent selection

In which city does the artisan work?

In which country does the artisan practise?

What craft does the artisan practise?

What is the artisan’s Instagram page?

What is the name of the artisan you are recommending?

Does the artisan have a website?

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