Crafts have always been a means to an end for Christoph Finkel. “I have been practicing and learning about traditional wood working techniques in my father’s wainwright workshop ever since I can remember” however, despite the classical background “it was never an option for me to train as a carpenter or cabinetmaker, as I wanted to experiment with the freedom of expression within the material”. Studies in sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Nuremberg allowed for the longed-for creative freedom. This propelled him in the direction of a remarkable artistic expression in wood, which has seen him be awarded with the Bavarian, as well as the Hessian State Prize. Christoph Finkel’s bowls, gyratory bodies, at times with an almost sliced appearance, are fine examples of creative genius.

1610356027_material-jpg.jpeg

1384-ITW1.jpg.jpeg

4731-MM1-2.jpg.jpeg

9103-MM3.jpg.jpeg

8265-MM5.jpg.jpeg

8715-panoramic.jpg.jpeg

9464-ITW3.jpg.jpeg

3086-MM4.jpg.jpeg

3471-portrait.jpg.jpeg

5385-ITW2.jpg.jpeg

The sycamore maple used to create this hand turned sculpture was 300 years old when it was taken down by an avalanche in the German Alps. Thanks to the rough climate, it had been growing slow and strong, which is shown by its surface.

No. 22/2019

9881-objet4.jpg.jpeg

This sculpture was hand turned from a single piece of a 150 year old pear tree from Christoph's village in the German alps. The final shape was reached after a few days, when the wood dried completely. Christoph carefully sources every piece of wood he uses from his natural surroundings.

No. 34/2017

4567-objet5.jpg.jpeg

Flügel

635-objet3.jpg.jpeg

Lichtgestalt

8799-objet2.jpg.jpeg

This sculpture was hand turned from a single piece of a 100 year old apple tree from Christoph's village in the German alps. The final shape was reached after a few days, when the wood dried completely. Christoph carefully sources every piece of wood he uses from his natural surroundings.

Versuchung

9112-objet1.jpg.jpeg

German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks, ZDH) is responsible for the whole of the skilled crafts sector in Germany. It consists of two entities. First is the Chambers of Skilled Crafts, which provides advice on financial and legal matters and training in their vocational centres. All craft enterprises must join one of the 53 chambers. Second is the National Confederations of Skilled Crafts which have a voluntary membership and represent the specialist interests of a particular trade sector or skilled craft. The purpose of ZDH is to reach a consensus on all major issues in crafts policy in Germany. ZDH is also responsible for coordinating activities related to European policy affecting skilled craft companies.

zdh-jpg-5819.jpeg

9017-ZDH-portrait.jpg.jpeg

7773-panoramic.jpg.jpeg

germany_panoramique_2000x1000-jpg-1477.jpeg

Lars Zech’s workshop is located in the town of Gechingen, Germany, at the northern edge of the Black Forest. His work is deeply rooted in the natural world, which is the source of both his raw materials and his inspiration. He only uses tree trunks that come from near his workshop, which have been cut down due to disease, age or the weather. Some of them are hundreds of years old. “Seeing all the history of an ancient tree with missing branches and physical injuries leaves me awestruck, and I feel that I should take care of it. In using them for my sculptures, I feel that I am giving them new life, giving them back the energy and majesty that they once possessed.”

Zech, Lars

Honouring the history of wood

5315-GERMANY-LARS ZECH-MIX AND MATCH-3) DWG_0471.jpg.jpeg

1599482489_itw1-jpg.jpeg

5811-GERMANY-LARS ZECH-INTERVIEW-2) moving portrait black.jpg.jpeg

3412-GERMANY-LARS ZECH-MIX AND MATCH-1) DWG_0405.jpeg.jpeg

6806-GERMANY-LARS ZECH-MIX AND MATCH-2) DSC01408.JPG.jpeg

4992-GERMANY-LARS ZECH-MIX AND MATCH-5) DWG_0185.jpeg.jpeg

5607-Lars-Zech.jpg.jpeg

3592-GERMANY-LARS ZECH-INTERVIEW-3) Screen Shot 2017-10-16 at 13.35.58.jpg.jpeg

6574-GERMANY-LARS ZECH-MIX AND MATCH-3) DWG_0471.jpg.jpeg

7959-GERMANY-LARS ZECH-MIX AND MATCH-4) DWG_0234.jpeg.jpeg

At the first floor above a carpenter workshop in the historical town of Bamberg you can find Gabriel Tarmassi’s workshop. His passion for wood started as a child, making  simple hand carved spoons and bowls, but it was during his studies in engineering – with a focus on wooden constructions – that he realised that he didn’t only want to work with wood in a theoretical way, he wanted to get his hands dirty: “I felt the urge to be in direct contact with the material.” Consequently, he signed up for a cabinetmaker apprenticeship, which he followed by studies in design. Gabriel has developed a unique form of expression in wood that was awarded the Meisterpreis der Handwerkskammer für München und Oberbayern in 2018 and was featured in the Talents section of the IHM Munich 2019.

Tarmassi, Gabriel

The dialogue between man-made and natural

1637858008_itw1-jpg.jpeg

1637858008_itw2-jpg.jpeg

1637858008_itw3-jpg.jpeg

1637858008_mm1-2-jpg.jpeg

1637858008_mm3-jpg.jpeg

1637858008_mm4-jpg.jpeg

1637858008_mm5-jpg.jpeg

1637858008_portrait-jpg.jpeg

1637858008_selection-face-jpg.jpeg

During his architectural studies in the 1980s, Lutz Walter started to specialise in the preservation of historical monuments. Years later, he worked as an architect restoring the residential house of famous German poet Friedrich Schiller in Weimar. One important part of this project was the reconstruction of the house's historic wallpapers and trims. While preparing the reconstruction  and researching historical wallpaper printing, Lutz realised that the borders could only be printed by hand. He went on to learn more about wallpaper production in the 19th century by reading his way through the specialised literature he found in the Anna-Amalia Library in Weimar. Finally, he knew enough to embark upon his new profession, and printed his very first product using traditional hand block printing.

Walter, Lutz

Recreating the past

1598012394_itw1-jpg.jpeg

4283-int_2.jpg.jpeg

8660-mm_1.jpg.jpeg

8192-mm_2.jpg.jpeg

2185-mm_3.jpg.jpeg

8039-mm_4.jpg.jpeg

6-mm_5.jpg.jpeg

9343-panoramic.jpg.jpeg

1598012422_portrait-jpg.jpeg

8107-int_3.jpg.jpeg

Initially a carpenter, Karl Schöberl owned a workshop with up to ten workers before turning to his current craft. He took a three-year creative training course at the Academy of Crafts in the 1980s and this triggered his entrepreneurial turnaround. In addition to private customers, he worked for museums, artists, and exhibition organisers. During this time, he also began turning wood in his family's tradition. Karl's works are characterised by very clear shapes and straight lines, allowing the wood to express itself. In making his pieces, Karl crafts wooden vessels in harmony with the natural form of the piece of wood he holds. For his collection Dating Agency, Karl creates vessels to suit a series of lids he was given by a friend. He sees this as a pairing that gives both lid and vessel a new lease of life, akin to a new romantic relationship.

Schoberl, Karl

The matchmaking woodturner

Artisan - Schoberl, Karl - left1

Artisan - Schoberl, Karl - left2

Artisan - Schoberl, Karl - right1

Artisan - Schoberl, Karl - right2

Artisan - Schoberl, Karl - center

Artisan - Schoberl, Karl - interview1

Artisan - Schoberl, Karl - interview2

Artisan - Schoberl, Karl - portrait

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

Name

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.

Create your account

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?

Hello, I thought you would be interested in this ambassador of crafts I found on Homo Faber Guide:

Hello, I invite you to explore craft through the Homo Faber App:

Hello, I thought you would be interested in this craft experience I found on Homo Faber Guide:

Hello, I thought you would be interested in this craft venue I found on Homo Faber Guide:

Hello, I thought you would be interested in this craft discovery itinerary I found on Homo Faber Guide:

Hello, I thought you would be interested in this handcrafted object I found on Homo Faber Guide: