Jennifer Hickey always wanted to make things with her hands. Brought up in a family fascinated by fashion, she went to art college in her native Dublin with a view to exploring textiles. But during the course she was introduced to ceramics and simply “fell for it”. She particularly loved the ethereal properties of porcelain, and has used it ever since. Jennifer now makes sculptures inspired by the detail inherent in the natural world around her. Each takes months to make, being comprised of hundreds or thousands of individual elements, sewn together with translucent thread, a process that takes delicacy, discipline and endless patience.

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This work is made from hand-formed featherlike pieces of bone china sewn onto tulle to create a larger sculptural piece. The two pieces interlock, suggesting strength in their completeness.

Entwined

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Made from hand shaped feather like pieces of porcelain, each individual and unique piece is hand sewn onto tulle to create a wreath like form. To Jennifer the shape is suggestive of feelings of fragility and loss.

For September

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Inspired by the beauty of the natural world, this sphere is made from hundreds of handmade featherlike porcelain pieces. Each unique piece is then handsewn onto tulle.

Untitled 1

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Exploring ideas of a new beginning, this work is in two parts. The porcelain spheres have been created by making hundreds of hand formed pieces that have been sewn onto tulle. The two spheres have been sewn in such a way that the pieces almost come to a point, suggesting a bud-like form.

Spring spheres

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The Design & Crafts Council of Ireland (DCCoI) is the main champion of the design and craft industry in Ireland, fostering its growth and commercial strength, communicating its unique identity and stimulating quality design, innovation and competitiveness. DCCoI provides a range of programmes, support and services for artisans, learners and teachers, retailers and gallerists, shoppers and collectors, media and partner organisations. Its activities are funded by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation via Enterprise Ireland. DCCoI currently has 64 member organisations and over 3,200 registered clients.

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Nuala O’Donovan is fascinated by structural patterns in nature, particularly irregularities and imperfections that tell a story, such as a growth on a tree formed in response to a branch being cut off. “I am always interested in seeing what happened, how it responded and how it goes on. That’s the amazing thing about nature, it just goes on,” she says. Her hugely detailed sculptures in unglazed porcelain are inspired by these irregular patterns and natural forms, and are constructed in a slow, repetitive and open-ended process. “I don’t really like knowing the end at the start,” she says. “The excitement is in not knowing how it will turn out.”

O’Donovan, Nuala

Finding stories in nature

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Vivien first fell in love with ceramics after a visit to a pottery studio in County Waterford where she was allowed to try her hand at throwing clay. Having chosen her craft, she spent four years training at the Limerick School of Art and Design, following which she undertook the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland’s Ceramics Skills course. Before setting up her own ceramic business she apprenticed in several potteries in Ireland and Australia, mastering her craft and learning the ins-and-outs of running a business. Her work captures the energy of the wheel, which echoes the energy of the Irish sea. She uses the ebb and flow of the clay to create delicate pieces which speak to Ireland’s rich seascapes.

O’Malley, Vivien

Throwing clay to the boundaries

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Clay has been the central force in Alison Kay’s creative practice for over 40 years. Her contemporary sculptural forms contain echoes of ancient influences. They evoke a feeling of connectedness, an essence emanates from the work, reaching out to the viewer. They are pieces which seduce the mind and eye. Each object is mindfully constructed, until Alison is satisfied with its form and finish. Through her contact with the object she transfers an energy and vibrancy into the work. She has gained acclaim for her craft nationally and internationally. She has featured in exhibitions in Shanghai, London, New Jersey, and has two pieces in the collection of the National Museum of Ireland.

Kay, Alison

Merging form and surface

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Mandy Parslow has studied widely – from traditional skills and 3-D design, to the history of art and architecture. She set up her ceramic studio in the Glen of Aherlow, Co. Tipperary in 1999. Her early work focused on wood-fired, salt-glazed stoneware. Building on this foundation, her current practice is grounded in meticulous research and an understanding of the material. She completed a PhD entitled "Perspectives on place: a ceramic response", the work from which was exhibited at The People’s Museum Limerick. This approach requires a slowing down, close attention and living in the moment. Her response to place involves using wild clays alongside objects found in the landscape and utilises woven materials such as birch, beech and willow.

Parslow, Mandy

Ceramics embedded in place and time

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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

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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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