Loaira Pérez studied design at the Mestre Mateo Art School in Santiago de Compostela, painting conservation at The Higher School of Cultural Assets, Conservation and Restoration of Galicia, and fine arts at the University of Vigo. She later completed a master's degree in ceramics at the Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea in Bilbao, where she learned techniques with renowned artisans. With this impressive training, she decided to return to her rural roots. In 2019, thanks to an entrepreneurship grant, she transformed the garage of her grandmother's house in Lomba, Galicia, into her workshop. Since then, she creates pieces of subtle shapes, primitive decorations, and a stony feel. "We work to embellish everyday life sustainably," she says, convinced that, after difficult times, the best is yet to come for artisans and their trade.

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The ceramic course of Loaira Pérez is tailored to those with limited experience with pottery making. Loaira will offer technical support and supervision of each student’s creative process, adjusting the course according to the student’s needs, interests and level. Loaira will cover various topics, such as working with red clay, using manual techniques such as warping of rolls or plates, decorating with slips, glazes and third fire techniques, and elaboration of moulds. Materials are included in the price, which is 25 EUR per session or 70 EUR per month. The course runs on Mondays and the hours change according to the season.

Ceramics course for beginners in Galicia

Initiation to ceramics

PROFILE

CENTER

PRES

This set of four triangular bowls, handcrafted from stoneware and handmade glazes, are part of Loaira Perez's Lomba collection, the name of her village that means hill. The bowls, coated with a cream hued glaze on their interior and various glaze colours on their exterior, are part of a series of utilitarian objects that attend to this form and to the observation of the growth of the orchard from a geometric prism.

Four triangular bowls

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Medium-big square bowl (or "Bol mediogrande cadrado"), handcrafted from stoneware and handmade glazes, is part of Loaira Perez's Lomba collection, the name of her village that means hill. The bowl, coated with a cream hued glaze on its interior and yellow hued glaze on its exterior, is part of a series of utilitarian objects that attend to this form and to the observation of the growth of the orchard from a geometric prism.

Medium-big square bowl

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Small jar (or "Ámboa pequena"), handcrafted from stoneware and handmade glazes, is part of Loaira Perez's Lomba collection, the name of her village that means hill. It is part of a series of utilitarian objects that attend to this form and to the observation of the growth of the orchard from a geometric prism.

Small jar

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Medium jar, handcrafted from stoneware and handmade glazes, is part of Loaira Perez's Lomba collection, the name of her village that means hill. It is part of a series of utilitarian objects that attend to this form and to the observation of the growth of the orchard from a geometric prism.

Medium jar

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This set of glasses (or "Vaso"), handcrafted from stoneware and handmade glazes, are part of Loaira Perez's Lomba collection, the name of her village that means hill. The glasses, coated with a cream hued glaze on their interior and various glaze colours on their exterior, are part of a series of utilitarian objects that attend to this form and to the observation of the growth of the orchard from a geometric prism.

Set of glasses

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Juan Pablo Martínez Muñoz’s father created a pottery workshop, Alfarería Tito, in 1965, and passed on his love of pottery to Juan Pablo at a very early age. At the time the workshop was created, Juan Pablo’s father faced many challenges related to rapid industrialisation in Spain. He decided that if his work were to survive he would have to transform his production – until then based around the manufacture of clay pitchers – into something suitable for modern demands. These days the workshop creates objects for the contemporary market using centuries-old techniques passed down from master artisan to student, generation after generation.

Martínez Muñoz, Juan Pablo

When tradition meets innovation

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After graduating as a civil engineer from the University of A Coruña, completing a master's degree in Transport and Sustainable Development at Imperial College London and working for seven years designing engineering structures, Paula decided to devote herself entirely to ceramics. "I realised that this craft allowed me to express myself by applying my knowledge as an engineer and bringing a new perspective to it". In 2015 she moved to Vigo in Galicia and set up Ojea Studio, where she creates ceramics that play with the viewer's point of view and combine precision and irregularity, accuracy and imperfection. She draws inspiration from the coastal environment, shipyards, port cranes and the fishing activities of the Rías Baixas, the region where she lives, and from engineering and architectural works such as skyscrapers, bridges and metal structures.

Ojea, Paula

An engineering approach

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Paula Gertel is from Argentina and Cameron Fraser is from Australia, and the two came together in Barcelona, where they have been sharing a studio for over ten years. Paula became interested in ceramics while still living in her homeland and wanted to learn how to make her own tableware. Cameron’s background is in printmaking and by joining forces they have created a unique vision in creating ceramic tableware combining their skills, personal vision, ingenuity and experimentation. The location of their studio – the industrial Poblenou neighborhood – provides them with inspiration paired with their interest in food and cooking, respecting chefs’ needs and expectations. Paula and Cameron’s body of work is about experimenting with shapes, patterns and textures; opening the kiln after firing is the most exciting moment in their creative process.

Gertel, Paula & Fraser, Cameron

Two of a kind

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Paula Gertel & Cameron Fraser

Push

With a degree in Fine Arts from the San Carlos University of Valencia, Inés Piqueras specialized in engraving and printmaking. She also took some classes in jewellery making before teaching herself ceramics. She has enjoyed working with her hands since she was a child, and it was always clear to her that she would dedicate herself to craftsmanship. She opened her workshop in 2010 and since then she has not only produced unique pieces but also sold them in her store called La Arponera. Her specialties are ceramics, lost wax jewellery in silver and brass, as well as intaglio and woodcut engravings. She likes to mix disciplines such as ceramics and jewellery.

Piqueras, Inés

Mixing and matching

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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

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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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