The environmentally responsible use of resources and the longevity of products have always been key aspects of Ute Ketelhake’s design approach. “Already during my studies in 1983, I dealt with recycling, at that time a rather unpopular topic,” she says. However, it took two decades of working and gaining experience as a freelance designer, consultant, and lecturer until she felt it was the right time to fully focus on the question: why continue to launch more products with a limited lifespan when so much is already available? With that in mind Ute developed a unique technique to upcycle brand new pre-consumer waste material from the textile industry, combining it with traditional weaving techniques to create ecological, resource-efficient products.

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In this workshop tour, Ute Ketelhake shares her methodology and ecological convictions with visitors. During the visit you will discover how she upcycles pure wool textile waste from the textile industry, which she cuts and fashions to suit her project. Ute will explain how she imagines artistic combinations of patterns and colours to ensure the most aesthetically pleasing result. She will also show how she uses various traditional weaving techniques on looms to create her pieces, some of which may take up to two months of elaborate work. Her creations encompass a wide array of items, from traditional rugs to original furniture coverings and even toy animals for children. The price of the tour includes coffee.

Visit a textile workshop

Discover the methodology and ecological convictions of a special textile artisan.

Discover a unique textile artisan

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This meditation floor cushion was hand knotted on the loom from pure new organic merino wool. Each fringe has been individually shaped as a calla flower.

Lana Calla

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Hand knotted on the loom from pure new organic merino wool, the Lana Cotta stool has a soft and comfortable seat.

Lana Cotta

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The Pebbles on River Bed rug was hand knotted on the loom from GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified merino wool. The fabric was shredded, boiled and converted into thick, soft fringes, giving the rug its warm and furry texture.

Pebbles on River Bed

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A special and lasting gift for baptism, birth, Christmas or Easter, this hand-knotted woolly sheep is the perfect cuddly friend for little ones. It is handwoven on a high loom using felted new wool fabric.

Dolly the Sheep

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This floor cushion was hand knotted on the loom from pure new organic merino wool. It has a coral inspired shape and a soft, furry texture.

Coral-inspired floor cushion

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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.

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Nicole Kiersz is a textile artist from Hamburg. Although she gained a master's degree in textile design, she decided not to work in the industry. Nicole describes her studies at the HAW as being craft-focused. There she became intrigued by the loom and she decided to learn more. The desire to produce her own fabrics forced Nicole to learn increasingly complex techniques so she could experiment with haptics and optics. Nicole's woven pieces are inviting to touch, not least because of the superior quality materials that she chooses. In her free work, she explores the facts and aspects of different environments in greater detail. Among other things, she studies the colours and shapes of places in nature to gain a new perspective on objects, which she then translates in her weaving.

Kiersz, Nicole

Artistic research

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Elisa Strozyk transforms wood into a flexible surface by deconstructing it into small, thin tiles, which she then attaches to a textile base. Depending on the size of the tiles and the pattern, each design behaves with a different degree of flexibility and mobility. “I studied textile and surface design at the KHB in Berlin and completed the master’s course in future textiles at Central Saint Martins in London in 2009. During my studies I was always interested in combining hard and soft materials to create surfaces that are very tactile and desirable to touch. Also the idea of movement and transformation from 2D to 3D was important for me. I felt very inspired by wood and the fact that it was once alive.”

Strozyk, Elisa

Looking at wood with new eyes

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Sandra Schollmeyer is a textile and set designer in Hamburg. Her product design studies began in Kahlsruhe, where she was granted a scholarship to study at the Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome for two semesters. Upon returning to Germany, she enrolled in Textile Design at the HfbK in Hamburg, immersing herself in all textile techniques, such as tufting, weaving, screen printing and dyeing. After a semester, Sandra realised she could achieve a lot with her hands. Alongside her applied work and design activities, Sandra is interested in textile research and development. She worked as a project manager, consultant and researcher for the Goethe-Institute in Bangkok and Indonesia on the three-year regional project IKAT/eCut. The project explored the past, present and future of textiles in southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand between tradition, technology, art and design.

Schollmeyer, Sandra

Textile sculptures

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To embellish and design rooms has been Michaela-Stefanie Karle's passion ever since she can remember. She planned on studying architecture after completing her apprenticeship in weaving. However, she soon realised that design rooms and spaces can be done with beautiful textiles, so Michaela-Stefanie decided to complete a very classical training in textiles instead. She followed a two-year apprenticeship in her parents' master weaver business and took the journeyman examination in 1981 via her vocational school. In 1989 she achieved a craft master diploma at the Stuttgart Chamber of Skilled Crafts. Michaela-Stefanie then took over her parents’ workshop which has been open since 1953. It is the only house that has been allowed to continue its weaving activities in the former flax growing area of Aichwald.

Karle, Michaela-Stefanie

Weaving luxury into daily life

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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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