Josin Neuhäusler was born in Engadine and was destined to perpetuate the local craft, sgraffito. A technique of carving façade decorations that can be seen on many houses of the region, the craft was brought back from southern Italy around the 15th century, becoming a local Engadine tradition. The Romansh word “sgraffito” comes from the Italian “sgraffiare”, meaning to scratch. Being the third generation of his family to master the technique, Josin decided to focus on passing on his knowledge to those eager to discover the ways of sgraffito. People flock from all over the country to get a chance to participate in a masterclass with Josin, who gladly teaches all ages and all levels, for the pleasure of sharing his craft.

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In this three-hour workshop, local sgraffito expert Josin Neuhäusler will start by talking about the origin and background of the sgraffito technique before explaining how it is used to decorate house façades. By seeing examples of his own work and learning about the theory behind it, you will then be ready to try for yourself. After choosing the subject of your design – by studying existing pieces –  you will start scratching your tile with a compass, a nail and a scraper, creating a unique piece that you will get to take home at the end of the day. An enthusiastic teacher, Josin will gladly accommodate children, people with special needs or even travel to a location to suit you.  <br>
Children 20 CHF, price upon request for groups smaller than 10 people.

Sgraffito workshop in the Swiss Alps

Learn about the origin and background of the sgraffito technique and carve a tile to take home.

Carve your own sgraffito tile

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The façade of this old mill was restored by Josin Neuhäusler in 2017. Using the technique of sgraffito as it was first intended, to decorate houses, Josin created all sorts of traditional ornaments, from texts to decorations surrounding the windows and doors, to drawings of plants.

Alte Mühle

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The façade of this house was restored by Josin and his father in 1987; it is the family house where the craftsman grew up.  Located in the village of Susch in the region of Engadine, it bears the inscription “Chasa Solena”, meaning “Solena house” in Romansch. The sgraffito decorations are focused around the windows, the door and on the outer part of the façade, and the motifs used are traditional ones of the sgraffito art.

Chasa Solena

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This Venus star, sometimes called six-star rosette, Aphrodite star or star of Mary, is symbolic of femininity and beauty. The symbols used in the making of sgraffito are usually traditional patterns that are recreated with slight variations. The star stays the same, but the ornaments around it can vary from one piece to another

Venusstern

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This six-star rosette, sometimes called Venus star, Aphrodite star or star of Mary, is symbolic of femininity and beauty. The symbols used in the making of sgraffito are usually traditional patterns that are recreated with slight variations, but always holding the same ancient meaning.

Sechssternrosette

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Roman Räss is one of the few Weissküfer artisans still working in Switzerland. He masters a technique that originated in the late 17th century as a way of shaping and bending wood to create milk pails, buckets, butter churners, moulds and other tools needed by alpine farmers. Woodcarving was a source of income for generations of families in the Bernese Oberland. In its heyday, in the second half of the 19th century, around 2,000 people were occupied as woodcarvers in the area. They made souvenirs such as wild and domestic animals and human figures, but also things for everyday use. The Brienz School of Woodcarving, which still trains woodcarvers today, was founded in 1884.

Räss, Roman

Upholding a Swiss tradition

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Lucien Carrel lives and works in the Swiss canton of Fribourg, which, together with the canton of Vaud, is well known for a particular type of roofing that is made by layering shingles cut out from spruce wood. Lucien learned the technique from his master Camille Charrière. The wood is selected in winter with the collaboration of foresters who assist him in choosing the logs to be cut, which are mainly felled in the Trême Valley. “Choosing logs in winter allows me to decompress after eight months of intensive laying, which I spend on top of roofs, sitting on a special small seat. There I lay out four spruce shingles, like a card player unveiling his game, before nailing them one by one with the help of my hammer.”

Carrel, Lucien

Master of a Swiss rural tradition

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Frank Mark has not been a professional woodworker all his life. After receiving a strict technical and science-based education and obtaining a degree in chemical engineering, he spent over 30 years working for a multinational chemical company. Only in his spare time he cultivated carpentry as a hobby, along with gardening, drawing and practicing various sports in the Swiss mountains. Then in 2007 he moved to the high Alps of the canton of Grisons, where he renovated by himself a 400-year-old house built from local materials. Experimenting with different woods and exploring their properties fueled his passion and improved his skills. His growing desire to create new, unique objects that combined fine taste and functionality has resulted in a collection of wooden objects for the home.

Mark, Frank

From chemistry to carpentry

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When Reto Nardini was a child, he had a dream, where he installed a mechanic part in a car. “There was a profound sense of calmness and a remarkable state of mind I had in this otherwise random activity,” he recalls. After 30 years of experimenting with orthopedic leg covers, modular wooden tree-of-life and dolls, Reto once again turned to cars. Today, he makes car kits that can be assembled and dismantled by his customers that bring together his physics, technology and woodworking knowledge. With these car kits, Reto wishes to encourage others to work hands-on with both electronic parts and basic natural materials, such as wood, as well as to provoke a conversation on how electronics changes the way we perceive nature and interact with one another.

TJ --> specialises in CNC machining, electronics and laser cutting

Nardini, Reto

Electric wooden cars

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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.

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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.

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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

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What craft does the artisan practise?

What is the artisan’s Instagram page?

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Does the artisan have a website?

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