After graduating in Cognitive Psychology at the Aichi Gakuin University, Akiko Hirai worked in advertising but very quickly she discovered it wasn’t for her. "I didn’t like the company, the job or my colleagues," she says. Looking for a change in her life, at the beginning of the millennium, Akiko Hirai left Japan for London. Here she perfected her English and she enrolled as an adult learner in a pottery course. Now, 20 years later, she is one of the United Kingdom's leading potters. Combining traditional Japanese methods and contemporary design, she works with rough dark clay using different building techniques. Multiple layers of glazes and slips in lighter tones are then applied to pieces that are deeply textured and wonderfully complex.

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Specialised in the field of crafts and applied arts, Brian Kennedy is an independent curator based in London. In his Homo Faber Guide itinerary selection, you will discover talented craftswomen working ceramics, wood or bones, as well as a selection of galleries to visit, either contemporary, design or purely craft-related.

London: a day around the Thames through the eyes of a craft expert

While spending time in London, come and discover the recommendations of independent curator and craft expert Brian Kennedy. This itinerary will guide you through his selection of 10 craftspeople and galleries around the capital.

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This hand coiled functional serving bowl has been handcrafted from stoneware. The bowl is finished with a white slip and transparent glaze coating.

Khoikhoi Bowl

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This decorative ceramic jar is handcrafted from a combination of stoneware and porcelain. The sculptural jar has been coated with several layers of glaze, creating a purposefully uneven surface.

The Moon Jar No 4

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The Moon Jar No 3

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This large hand-built bowl is crafted from stoneware. The shaped bowl is decorated with engobes and transparent glaze.

Sakura bowl

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This large ceramic plate is handcrafted stoneware. The surface of the plate has been decorated with a wood ash glaze, where ash is placed on the plate during the firing, imbuing the plate with colours and textures from the ash.

Sakura plate

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An independent curator, Brian Kennedy has curated acclaimed craft exhibitions all over the world, collaborating with museums, galleries and private collectors to develop strategies, organise exhibitions and build collections within the fields of craft and applied art. He is Artistic Director of TRESOR, the European fair for contemporary craft, and since 2012 he has also worked with Taste Contemporary.  He has curated exhibitions for the Crafts Council of Ireland, Oliver Sears Gallery and Contemporary Applied Arts London. Many of the exhibitions curated by him have been held in noteworthy international cultural institutions such as the American Irish Historical Society, New York; Somerset House and the Royal Academy, London; National Craft Gallery, Kilkenny; and Fonderie Kugler, Geneva. With Taste Contemporary he has curated projects at Art Geneva, Miart and Art Monte Carlo.

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There was a time, at the very beginning of her professional journey in the late 1970s, when Tina Vlassopulos was not so sure whether she should continue with ceramics or not. But then she took part in an exhibition in London, and Jean Muir, the fashion designer, bought three of her pieces. “I knew then, that I should not give up,” Tina says. She was right. Nowadays, she has become an internationally acclaimed artist, well known for her hand built ceramic sculptures. Her creations are distinctive and unique, characterised by sinuous and elegant lines. Tina says her inspiration comes from city life, from the performing arts especially, contemporary dance, ballet and opera. “Attending a live performance unlocks my creativity and allows me the time to freely roam around in my imagination,” she explains.

Vlassopulos, Tina

The ceramics that dance

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From a young age, Alison Brent knew she had an interest for clay, a field she sees as offering constant new areas and techniques to explore. After graduating with a Degree in Ceramics Design at Central St Martins University of the Arts in London, she went on to set up her own ceramic design practice in 2007, a space in which she enjoys mixing old techniques and materials with more contemporary applications, such as decorative enamels. Alison’s most recent work reflects her interest in the aesthetic design of an imaginary future through geometrical pieces with vibrant colours. A self-described ceramic designer and maker, she believes that a well-made object means that it is not only beautiful in its construction, but also clever in its concept.

Brent, Alison

A futuristic outlook

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Malene always enjoyed creative activities including drawing, knitting and crocheting, but she initially pursued her love of arthouse films by becoming a cinema projectionist in her native Denmark. During her 20s she started taking pottery classes with a friend on the weekends, a hobby that grew into something more as she fell in love with the material and started selling functional ceramic pieces at craft markets. When she turned 30 she finally gave up the cinema and went to study ceramics at art school in Bornholm, where she moved from functional work into sculpture. Now, she lives and works in London, where her many achievements include a residency at the V&A museum.

Hartmann Rasmussen, Malene

Fuelled by myths and fairytales

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Nicholas Lees was 13 when he first encountered clay thanks to a ceramicist neighbour. However, it wasn’t until his final years of boarding school that he became passionate about making, after a new pottery teacher got him "really hooked”, to the point where he was spending every weekend in the pottery room. Nevertheless, he initially went to university to study English and History, two other great passions, before pursuing a second degree in ceramics. Many years later, he still has the same love of ceramics as he did at school, enjoying the “meditative” process of spending hours in his studio making hand-thrown, lathe-turned ceramic sculptures so precise they almost appear machine-made.

Lees, Nicholas

When taking risks pays off

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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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