MAKE YOUR PAIR OF SHOES

Olivia, shoe maker and designer

The beauty of a bespoke pair of shoes lies in its construction. This course offers an alchemic journey from the raw material to the finished shoe, a journey through which you will appreciate and understand the hidden beauty of creation. Thanks to slow and repetitive motions, just like a mantra, you will forget about hectic life and delve into a very special mood. The model of shoes for this hands-on workshop is a traditional unlined lace-up with Norwegian structure, but different kind of personalization are more than welcome. The process will be split in two parts: a stage will be totally directed by me and the other one will be carried out in collaboration with other professionals. This second stage consists in a 25 hours program that can be organized upon your schedule. During the module that we will have together, we will also prepare the necessary tools to work, such as leather covers for the fingers and twine for the handmade binding. I suggest you this experience if you want to dedicate some days to creativity and manual work, and it will also be a perfect occasion to enjoy the beautiful Pesaro and Urbino. I’m more than available for any kind of tips for your accommodation and I’ll be glad to suggest you the most peculiar places around the city. Since we will share the whole week together, everyday I will offer you a very special break with the best tastes that Marche has to offer!

PESARO, Pu

FIRST STEPS TOWARD MINIATURE

Anna, miniature and typography

In the wake of ancient amanuensis, the gestures of calligraphers and miniaturists are living again. In the XIII century they gave life to flourishing and eminent “Scriptorum” in Gubbio. It stands out the figure of Oderisi, narrated by Dante in The Divine Comedy, XI Canto of Purgatory: “non se tu Oderisi, l'onor d'Agobbio e l'onor di quell'arte ch'alluminar chiamata è in Parisi?”. A fascinating art, made of pigments and gold leaves, goose feathers and nibs, inks and a lot of patience and knowledge. The final result though, is unique, and what you bring back home with you is such a precious and original object.

GUBBIO, Pg

GLASS FUSION IN THE NATURE

Maya & Denis, glazier

Our lab is located in a small town in the heart of the Belluno’s Dolomites. Here, lost in the green and inspired every day by nature, we give life and shape to our ideas. With this hands-on workshop we want to share our skills and knowledge and we want to give the opportunity to anyone who is interested in discovering the world of glass’ art; specifically, you will make an artifact in glass fusion of approximately 15cm x 15cm that can be used as a decorative addition to your home. The object, after a 24 hours cooking time in the oven, will be sent to your address or you can take it directly in our laboratory in the days after the experience. The costs of packaging are included in the price of the hands-on workshop.

LIMANA, Bl

FROM WOOL TO FELT

Lucia, felt maker

During the experience, the artisan will explain the various stages of wool processing, starting with the production of sheep's wool by small local farmers in Valsugana. In particular, the processing of carded wool and the subsequent transformation into felt will be proposed. The artisan will explain the path of raw wool from washing to carding using a special tool. After a short break with an organic snack you will go on with the design and construction of a personalized felt hat or alternatively a felt seat / seat cover, suitable for all seasons and all uses. You can choose your favorite hat model and add decorations with various colors wools, that can also be used for the seat cover.

PERGINE VALSUGANA, Tn

SCAGLIOLA, BETWEEN ILLUSION AND REALITY

Elisabetta & Alessandro, scagliola

We will tell you about the history and the state of art of this ancient, and somehow "lost" craft, showing you some secrets and some stylistic and technical aspects. Starting from a "simple mineral dust", with a practical exhibition we will took you back in time, when the ability and skills of the craftsman began with the preparation of the tools, the sketches and the color pigments. The realized artwork remains yours. Finally we will discuss together about the most important existing collection, with the practical support of some antique pieces, dating from the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, collected with great passion by our family.

PONTASSIEVE, Fi

THE PILGRIM’S NOTEBOOK

Lucia e Hans, bookbinder

The experience involves the creation of a notebook made of paper, leather, and string (of about 8x13cm in size). You may choose your favorite colored leather from the many in the bookbinding workshop. With Hans and Lucia’s guidance, you will be able to follow the different workshop phases, which include a medieval technique in the preparation of the paper sheets, which are sewn and bound directly onto the leather cover. This way, book cover and stitching make a single piece and the notebook will be ready in just a few steps. You may also personalize it with graphic or floral motifs, or with your initials, directly embossing the chosen decoration on the surface. Finally, a leather string around the notebook will help tie it shut.

VITERBO, Vt

CLAY AND NATURE IN POSITANO

Elisabetta, sculptress

Immersed in the luxuriant and wild nature that this territory still offers in abundance. Along the hills cordillera of the Peninsula, going down towards the breath-taking coasts. There where at sunrise and sunset you can spot dolphins jumping through the waves. Among so much beauty, we'll find the inspiration, in its harmonious geometries and in the perfume of its colors. We'll create objects by using clay gathered exactly in these places. We'll immerse ourselves in moments where the nature will create with us, filling ourselves with its most luxuriant expression. We'll shape our precious artworks in an upland in front of a 360° view. We'll decorate by observing the geometry of a leaf or using the streaked surface of a shell found on the cliffs. Listening the symphony of the breeze among the branches in a little clearing. In the evening we'll fire our objects relaxing ourselves around the fire. This creative path will occur at the “Rifugio La Selva” in Positano. It's an evocative place with the slopes of Montepertuso behind his back. The perfect location for this workshop that will accompany us for a full day.

POSITANO, Sa

ARTISAN FOR AN HOUR

Gianpaolo, screen printer

A tour inside the discovery of screen-silk printing, a technique that allows you to experiment with colors and make a reproducible work of art while maintaining its uniqueness. The hands-on workshop takes place in the historic silkscreen laboratory of Cannaregio, in a unique and authentic Venice where art and tradition come together and come to life in the ancient crafts of the artisan workshops. Immersed in an archive consisting of more than a thousand works of art printed from 1968 to present, you will learn the secrets of the silkscreen and you will experience the printing of a one-color graphic on a support you choose among cardboard, t-shirt or canvas bag, which you'll take home as a souvenir of a creative and unusual adventure.

VENEZIA, Ve

YOUR UNIQUE JEWEL

Negar, goldsmith

Gerd Rothmann is a master goldsmith and his contribution in making the theme of unique jewel internationally recognized has been huge. The unique jewel is the one made with your fingerprint, or with that of a person we love. In this hands-on workshop we will re-elaborate this concept and you’ll be able to make your own brass jewel, under my guidance. Once in my studio, you’ll be fingerprinted and we will decide together if you are going to create a pendant or a ring. Then we will proceed with some sketches and the design before the actual realization of the jewel in wax. The experience will end with the creation of the wax jewel, after which I will send it to a specialized lab in order to brass molding it with the lost wax casting. I will then pick it up and polish it before sending it to you within 10 days after our meeting.

FIRENZE, Fi