Presentamos a dos dúos de maestro artesano y aprendiz que colaboran con casas de alta costura y marcas de alta joyería y ahora participan en Homo Faber Fellowship

La colaboración entre diseñadores y artesanos siempre ha sido un factor fundamental en las creaciones exclusivas y productos hechos a medida. Para que la artesanía siga siendo esencial en la industria del lujo, es necesario que las futuras generaciones de artesanos aprendan y dominen las técnicas con las que se crean piezas únicas en dicho sector. Los artesanos de hoy en día deben, por un lado, dominar y preservar refinadas técnicas ancestrales y, por otro, avanzar hacia el futuro, innovando con nuevos métodos y materiales que sean sostenibles. A continuación conoceremos a dos dúos de maestro artesano y aprendiz del programa “Homo Faber Fellowship” que trabajan en Francia, preservando y reinventando unas técnicas muy apreciadas por las casas de alta costura.

Tejidos para marcas de moda: Cecile Feilchenfeldt y Karla Huff, bordado artesanal, París

Cecile Feilchenfeldt, diseñadora textil suiza, ha vivido y trabajado en París durante más de 20 años. Actualmente dirige un pequeño estudio que crea tejidos de punto para las casas de alta costura. “El nivel técnico que exigen mis clientes es altísimo, ya que solo trabajan con los mejores profesionales de cada sector. Me encanta trabajar en esta actividad porque siempre aprendo algo nuevo con cada colaboración”. Cecile aprendió a tejer de joven, con su abuela. Años después se formó y especializó en técnicas con materiales textiles en la Universidad de las Artes de Zúrich. De hecho, desde que adquirió su primera tricotadora, ha diseñado casi exclusivamente tejidos de punto.

A Karla Huff, futura diseñadora de artículos de punto y aprendiza de Cecile, le fascina la creación de tejidos bidimensionales. Karla se inspira en su doble educación germano-croata. Su formación en Diseño multidisciplinar le permite aportar una perspectiva diferente a este oficio. “Estoy impaciente por enfrentarme a nuevos retos profesionales, deseo ampliar mis horizontes como diseñadora de punto para poder así aprovechar todas las oportunidades que se presenten en París”.

Karla deberá seguir el estricto programa del estudio de Cecile durante las semanas de la moda de París, que están dedicadas a la alta costura y a las colecciones de prêt-à-porter femenino y masculino. Dicho estudio ha firmado importantes contratos con famosas casas de alta costura, pero también tiene proyectos simultáneos con talleres más pequeños como Thomasine Gloves y Hors Studio. Así, Karla aprenderá todas las técnicas del tejido de punto para poder participar activamente en la preparación de los proyectos del estudio.

Paneles decorativos para diseño de interiores de tiendas: Pierre Henri Beyssac y Victoire Camus, Francia, marquetería en madera

Desde su taller del sur de Francia, el maestro marquetero Pierre Henri Beyssac crea piezas únicas para las casas de alta costura. Durante los últimos cinco años ha fabricado murales decorativos a gran escala para las tiendas de una marca de alta joyería presente en todo el mundo, en países tan diversos como China o Suiza. “Normalmente, la marquetería consiste en realizar incrustaciones en muebles u objetos pequeños, por ello, hacer un mural supone un verdadero desafío. En mi última creación, el panel que sostenía la marquetería era curvo. Por este motivo debimos fabricar primero un molde enorme que nos permitiera diseñar un panel curvo en el que pudiéramos encolar la marquetería”. Hace tres años, Pierre Henri tuvo la oportunidad de trabajar con una de las principales marcas de coñac del mundo, que le encargó la fabricación de 90 cajas exclusivas para celebrar el 110º aniversario del lanzamiento de su colección Cordon Bleu. “Solo tres de nosotros podíamos trabajar en este proyecto, por ello nos ha llevado dos años acabarlo”, nos explica Pierre Henri.

Refiriéndose a la importancia que implica trabajar para la industria del lujo, Pierre Henri nos confía que “cada colaboración me ayuda a preservar el saber hacer de mi oficio. Hace diez años en Francia no era habitual que una marca de lujo o diseñadores de interior utilizaran la marquetería. Sin embargo, paulatinamente y colaboración tras colaboración, hemos ido recibiendo cada vez más pedidos de casas de alta costura”.

Pierre Henri es consciente de que se trata de un sector que constantemente busca lo nuevo, por ello, siempre trata de innovar, buscando incansablemente nuevas técnicas y maneras de utilizar su oficio para crear piezas únicas. Actualmente, está trabajando en un nuevo proyecto con un pintor. El objetivo de ambos artesanos es conferir una nueva imagen a la marquetería, gracias a la unión de sus respectivas técnicas. A Victoire Camus, aprendiza de Pierre Henri, le entusiasman este tipo de colaboraciones porque “aportan una nueva perspectiva que va más allá de las limitaciones técnicas de cada oficio artesanal y que genera nuevas ideas y diseños únicos”.

A Victoire, que cuenta con un máster de La Sorbona en Historia del Arte, le apasionan el legado cultural, el Arte y la creación en general. Respecto a la historia de la marquetería y el impacto que tienen las marcas de lujo cuando utilizan y, por ende, respaldan esta técnica ancestral, Victoire nos comenta que “las casas de alta costura aportan a los maestros marqueteros los recursos necesarios para que puedan potenciar su saber hacer y expresar toda su singularidad mediante creaciones únicas. Las marcas de lujo se pueden permitir escaparates suntuosos que promocionan la marquetería a nivel internacional, ayudando así a que sea un oficio vivo e innovador, fuera de los museos con los que muchos suelen asociarlo”. Además, Victoire considera que las colaboraciones son elementos esenciales para su desarrollo profesional. “Cuando evocamos el sector del lujo, las expectativas siempre son altas, lo cual nos obliga a renovar e innovar nuestro saber hacer, pero siempre con un nivel de excelencia”.

Los jóvenes artesanos que participan en el programa Homo Faber Fellowship recibirán una ayuda clave para las futuras colaboraciones que tengan en su vida profesional, ya que se beneficiarán tanto de los conocimientos teóricos necesarios para el desarrollo de un proyecto, como de la creación conjunta que llevarán a cabo con su respectivo maestro artesano.

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@homofaber

Homo Faber Fellowship is a 7-month sponsored professional integration programme designed for duos of master artisans and craft graduates, proposed by Homo Faber NextGen. The second edition begins for the fellows in September 2024 with a one-month creative and entrepreneurial masterclass taught by ESSEC Business School and Passa Ao Futuro at the International University of Art in Venice. The participating fellows will then spend six months in the workshops of their paired master artisans across Europe. During these months spent in the workshop together, the 23 duos will be challenged to design and handcraft a co-creation inspired by a theme chosen by the programme’s supporting partner Jaeger-LeCoultre. The Fellowship is developed in partnership with local members of the Foundation’s network. homofaber.com

The Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship is a non-profit institution based in Geneva, which champions contemporary craftspeople worldwide with the aim of promoting a more human, inclusive and sustainable future. The Foundation seeks to highlight the connections between craft and the wider arts and the design world. Its mission is to both celebrate and preserve craftsmanship and its diversity of makers, materials and techniques, by increasing craft’s everyday recognition and its viability as a professional path for the next generations. The Foundation presents Homo Faber, a cultural movement centred on creative artisans worldwide. Its signature projects are education programmes for the next generations, an international biennial celebration and an online guide. homofaber.com

michelangelofoundation.org

Supporting partner of Homo Faber Fellowship:

Jaeger-LeCoultre: The Watchmaker of Watchmakers™

Since 1833, driven by an unquenchable thirst for innovation and creativity, and inspired by the peaceful natural surroundings of its home in the Vallée de Joux, Jaeger-LeCoultre has been distinguished by its mastery of complications and the precision of its mechanisms. Known as the Watchmaker of Watchmakers™, the Manufacture has expressed its relentlessly inventive spirit through the creation of more than 1,400 different calibres and the award of more than 430 patents. Harnessing 190 years of accumulated expertise, La Grande Maison’s watchmakers design, produce, finish and ornament the most advanced and precise mechanisms, blending passion with centuries-old savoir-faire, linking the past to the future, timeless but always up with the times. With 180 skills brought together under one roof, the Manufacture creates fine timepieces that combine technical ingenuity with aesthetic beauty and a distinctively understated sophistication.jaeger-lecoultre.com

Institutional partners:

Asociación Contemporanea de Artes y Oficios (ACAO) is an association that promotes both traditional and contemporary Spanish crafts. They seek to protect Spanish craftsmanship, and use it to foster the development of culture, history and art and boost its economic benefits on the environment and tourism industry. Their main targets are to ensure an environment in which Spanish craftspeople can thrive and to aid them in having further commercial reach in Spain and internationally espanaartesana.com

The B&M Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts and Music aims to encourage the public to enter into a wide-ranging and interdisciplinary dialogue with music and the visual arts. Founded in 2004, this non-profit organisation promotes the work of Greek artists at home and abroad, with support for networking, and maintains a directory of artisans. The foundation sponsors educational and academic research, and its cultural centre in the heart of Athens hosts exhibitions, concerts, lectures and educational activities as well as a café and art shop. thf.gr

Established in 1986, the Centro de Formação Profissional para o Artesanato e Património (CEARTE), is a vocational training centre in the craft sector, with its headquarters based in Coimbra. CEARTE masterminds training projects all over Portugal, supporting creativity, skills and talent development. Respecting and upholding time-honoured techniques and heritage skills, the organisation also places a focus on restoration and patrimony, as well as innovation. cearte.pt

The Cyprus Handicraft Service (CHS) is the Republic of Cyprus governmental body under the Deputy Ministry of Culture, responsible for promoting and preserving the rich heritage of Cypriot craftsmanship while enhancing its competitiveness through research and design innovation. The CHS designs and implements policies, to ensure that the local know-how in craft making will be preserved and passed on to the new generation of artisans. cyprushandicraft.gov.cy

Design & Crafts Council Ireland is the national agency for craft and design in Ireland, we support designers and makers to develop their businesses in a sustainable way, and advocate for the societal benefits of craft and design. DCCI's activities are funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment via Enterprise Ireland. DCCI currently has 64 member organisations and over 3,500 registered clients. dcci.ie

Institut pour les Savoir-Faire Français (The French Savoir-Faire Institute) is a non-profit association founded in 1889. Their work is recognized by the French Ministry of Economics, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, the French Ministry of Culture, and the French Ministry of National Education, and Youth. They conduct a support policy for fine crafts as well as Living Heritage Companies. The Institute actively participates in the promotion of French savoir-faire at national and international levels institut-savoirfaire.fr

The Norwegian Folk Art and Craft Association is a non-governmental organization that has over 350 local member groups across Norway. Since its inception in 1910, the association has been steadfast in its mission to champion traditional Norwegian handicrafts, perpetuate craft skills, and spread the joy of creating. In 2014, it achieved UNESCO accreditation. A core aspect of their work involves teaching craft skills, with numerous courses offered by local member groups nationwide. husflid.no

Nów. New Craft Poland is an association of original craft studios from all over Poland. The unique pieces created by their members are of the highest quality of workmanship. Their objective is to spread knowledge about contemporary Polish craft and promote it at home and abroad. They represent the interests of their members while dealing with public institutions and business. nownowerzemioslo.pl

The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) is a charity that transforms the careers of talented and aspiring makers by funding their training and education, creating pathways to excellence and strengthening the future of the UK’s craft sector. To date, QEST has awarded more than £6million to almost 800 individuals working across the UK in 130 different craft disciplines. While their Crafting Tomorrow programme inspires a new generation of makers through key partnerships. qest.org.uk

Academic partners:

ESSEC Business School, founded in 1907, is one of the world’s top management schools and holds the “triple crown” accreditation from EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA. With 7,221 students; a faculty comprised of 169 full-time professors, 23 of which are emeritus professors, in France and Singapore, recognized for both the quality and influence of their research; a wide range of management training programmes; partnerships with the world’s best universities; and a network of 65,000 alumni, ESSEC continues to foster a tradition of academic excellence and a spirit of openness in the fields of economics, social sciences and innovation. In 2005, ESSEC opened a campus in Asia. ESSEC’s operations in Asia Pacific, strategically located in Singapore, present the perfect foothold for ESSEC to be part of the vibrant growth of Asia and to bring its expertise to the expanding region. Additionally, in 2017 ESSEC opened a new campus in Rabat, Morocco. ESSEC’s international expansion allows students and professors to study and understand the economic forces at work in the different regions of the world. essec.edu

Passa Ao Futuro founded in 2016 by Astrid Suzano and Fatima Durkee, is a cultural initiative non-profit association that seeks out craftspeople in Portugal working with traditional techniques. It strives to support these communities and people through the documentation and preservation of their tacit knowledge, the development of case specific social, environmental and economic sustainability programmes, with a focus on the celebration and passing on of skills. The association activates this network through several initiatives including residencies, summer schools, exhibitions, social innovation and sustainability training. It supports the crafts as a catalyst for a regenerative future. passaaofuturo.com

Creative residency:

Since 1969, UIA Università Internazionale dell’Arte (International University of Art), located at Villa Hériot, is the most prestigious professional training centre in the field of cultural heritage restoration and conservation in Venice. Since its foundation, UIA has been a point of reference for education and training in the field of art, and a place of experimentation between the world of academia and the world of work. uiavenezia.com

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