For Hungarian basket weaver Márta Legeza, craft is so much more than just a profession. She never tires of the joy of creation, it also gives her great spiritual nourishment. She is forever striving to improve her skills as a craftswoman by attending workshops held by old masters and famous basket weavers across borders. Her style is an intriguing mixture of traditional patterns with an exciting modern twist, resulting in masterpieces fitting the lifestyle and taste of today’s people. Márta reckons that humans are always on the lookout for beauty, and although in some ways we are slowly seeing the disappearance of these age old traditions, she expects future generations to see the value in these ancient crafts, and that the beauty lies in the making.

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Just as Buda and Pest form two halves of Hungary's capital, so the form and function shape the city’s rich output of craft. Creating unique tableware, hats, shoes or knives is not only about aesthetics! Inspired by age-old methods, and conscious of the importance to keep the traditions alive, Budapest's artisans believe the beauty of their wares cannot come at the expense of either usability or wearability. Follow our ten recommendations to get a flavour of the variety of craftspeople who combine novel forms with practice and mix tradition with innovation.

Budapest: fusing form with function

Craftspeople of Buda and Pest, two faces of one city, draw inspiration from their heritage but are still keeping the Hungarian traditions alive, fusing from with function. Explore our itinerary for Budapest and see why Hungarian craftspeople believe that novel forms cannot come at the expense of usability.

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This traditional three litre glass carboy is covered with raw, hulled and boiled wicker, assembled using traditional basketry techniques

Braided carboy

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This brown hued wicker basket with a lid is decorated with two nude coloured ring braids made of hulled and boiled wicker. The sides, and thus the seams, are also made of hulled and boiled wicker. The centre binding is handcrafted in double thread, two steps in front and one behind.

Storage basket

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This traditional shopping basket is made of hulled, boiled and nude-coloured wicker. The sides of the basket are decorated with a brown coloured ring braid made of barked wicker. This traditional market basket with a traditional handle, complete with braided seams, is a favourite for everyday shopping.

Shopping basket

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This handcrafted bicycle basket is fitted with a lid made of hulled, boiled and nude-coloured wicker. The basket is decorated on its sides with three brown coloured ring braids made of barked wicker. The leather closure and leather strap enhance the aesthetics of the object.

Bicycle basket

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This basket perfect for shopping in a market is handcrafted from hulled, boiled and natural coloured wicker. It is decorated with one brown coloured ring braid made from barked wicker. The traditional market basket, a favourite piece for everyday shopping, is fitted with a braided handle.

Market basket

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The Association of Hungarian Folk Artists (Népművészeti Egyesületek Szövetsége, or AHFA/NESZ) is a non-governmental organisation which brings together over 50 folk associations, craft workshops and art houses from across Hungary. For more than three decades it has worked with its members and partners to preserve and promote the country's diverse heritage crafts. The association's youth training programmes aim to inspire the next generation in the art and business of crafts, and its annual Festival of Folk Arts at Buda Castle showcases the work of the masters, attracting some 70,000 visitors. The association also have a folk art shop, MESTERPORTA, which sells traditional goods all year round.

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Judit Pinviczki's leatherwork contains many layers of meaning. She is immersed in traditional techniques, and combines her creativity with her deep knowledge and respect for ancient cultures. The two types of techniques she has developed are based on years of research, studying the use of the material on several continents: it is tied with a thousand threads to craft traditions. Her pieces are unique and unforgettable. She sources only the best materials. For Judit, leather design is a meticulous job. Fewer and fewer young people are working in the field of leather  – so she supports emerging young talent as she is determined that her craft survives.

Pinviczki, Judit

Lacing leather

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Péter Borkovics studied Glass and Porcelain Design at the Hungarian University of Applied Arts (now known as MOME). His objects are both dynamic and static, thanks to the combined use of glassblowing and electric furnace melting, which is unique in the industry. He came up with his special glassmaking technique in 1989, but it took time until technological improvements and experience made it feasible. He places his polished glass compositions in the oven, so that when they reach a certain temperature, their surface can be manipulated with special tools. The final pieces are like snapshots. He sets up the conditions for the creation in the furnace, leaving the rest to coincidence. Borkovics received the Lajos Kozma Applied Arts Scholarship (1998), the Noémi Ferenczy Award (2004), and an Honorable Mention at The International Exhibition of Glass in Kanazawa, among others. Since 2019, he has been the head of the Glass course at MOME.

Borkovics, Péter

The mechanisms of nature

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Katalin Jermakov received a degree in Metalwork and Metal Industrial Design from the University of Applied Arts (now MOME). Since 2005 she has been running a studio called MANA Jewelry Studio, where she designs both unique pieces of jewellery and series. Her work is rich in archaic symbols, strong colours, contrasting materials, and geometric forms. For her, jewellery making is like composing a piece of music, in which invisible connections are made between pieces of jewellery and their owners. One of her most important sources of inspiration are gimmel rings from the 17th century, which can be interpreted and worn in a contemporary context. Katalin received the Hungarian Design Award in 2001 and the Noémi Ferenczy Prize in 2009.

Jermakov, Katalin

Creating connections

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For leatherworker Csaba Pankotai, the passion for leather runs in the family: he got a taste for the craft at the shoemaker shop of his grandfather when he was only 12, after creating a simple bag. Since then, leatherwork has not only been his profession but also his passion. He crafts masterfully made leather outfit accessories in his small workshop in the heart of Budapest for all genders and ages, and sometimes he also experiments with revolutionary techniques such as seamless leatherwork. He draws inspiration from age-old heritage and deems it important to keep traditions alive, but he also believes that it cannot come at the expense of wearability.

Pankotai, Csaba

Leather meets folklore

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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.

Our Partners

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.

Enrich your experience beyond Homo Faber 2024: The Journey of Life

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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.

Join the Homo Faber Guide!

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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