Kazerne is situated in what was one of the first military police barracks (1825) of the Netherlands. Dutch designer Annemoon Geurts,and musician Koen Rijnbeek transformed the complex into a one-stop creative hub in 2014. Visitors can enjoy exhibitions exploring the synergy of art, design, and craft, rejuvenate themselves with a stay in the hotel, which is adorned with well-crafted Dutch design pieces, and round-off the whole experience with a top gourmet meal. The gallery space houses 3 major thematic exhibitions per year and has featured artists such as Pieke Bergmans, Klaas Kuiken and Maarten Baas.

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Remembered as the man who brought the Netherlands to design, founder of the Frozen Fountain Dick Dankers started out in 1985 on Utrechtsestraat, Amsterdam. The idea of bringing designers and master artisans together gives the store a unique position in Dutch design history. With Cok de Rooy joining as partner in 1992, the store shifted its position – literally, by relocating to Prinsengracht, and metaphorically, by showcasing one-off items or limited-edition series by designers such as Piet Hein Eek, Jurgen Bey and Ineke Hans, thus creating a hotbed of Dutch design talent, a legacy it perpetuates with its continued attention to the chemistry between design and craftsmanship.

Frozen Fountain

Bringing designers and artisans together

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Educated as a social worker and a graphic designer, Rob Koudijs opened his eponymous contemporary art jewellery gallery in 2007, following his tenure with Galerie Louise Smit and Galerie Marzee. Located in the heart of Amsterdam, here you can find unique pieces that balance on the fine line between applied arts and fine arts. His selection leans towards eccentric pieces that communicate ideas with their sculptural qualities and innovative use of materials, which are mostly sought after by private collectors, as well as national and international museums. You can find one-of-a-kind objects crafted by Dutch artisans, such as Beppe Kessler and Ted Noten, or international up-and-coming jewellers, such as Benedikt Fischer and Shachar Cohen. Two solo shows are organised every 7 weeks, allowing the audience to zero-in on the latest pieces, giving them the attention they deserve.

Galerie Rob Koudijs

Contemporary art jewellery

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After his 30-year tenure in the international fashion scene, Wiet Hekking, nicknamed Mr WonderWood, decided to showcase his interest and expertise in woodwork by opening this space in 1999. His enthusiasm for the 3D plywood technique, invented in the 1950s, is clearly reflected in his vintage collections, and is echoed in the patinated old wooden ceiling of the space originating in 1565. The gallery-shop juxtaposes rare originals with Plywood Classics, their re-edition twins, alongside modern woodworks designed by Richard Hutten and Aldo Bakker. The curated space delineates how woodcraft has evolved, creating a sense of perpetual wonder.

WonderWood

Vintage to contemporary wooden objects

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Ex-silversmith Joke Doedens and ceramicist Simone Haak founded the gallery in 1986 with a simple and earnest purpose: to present a comprehensive range of contemporary ceramics, varying from autonomous artworks to functional design, in the historic centre of the city of Delft. The gallery host temporary exhibitions and a permanent display of the artworks of renowned Dutch and international ceramicists, including Anne-Soline Barbaux, Wim Borst and Takeko Sugimoto. Visitors can also find little gifts, such as Facecups shaped by Ines de Booij, and China Cloud rings moulded by Qui Yiping. A sense of versatility is reflected by the broad price spectrum.

Galerie Terra Delft

A versatile showcase of contemporary ceramics

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Your authorizations

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

Account and data history

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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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