Students

I took the lamps course at a workshop in Florence and then started working in the same shop two years ago.

I began working to show the beauty of light through the glass and the change of the metal with the passing of the years.

I would like to reproduce the artisan techniques I inherited in Japan.

Now I sell the lamps and my jewels online (I also did a jewellery course for two years). I mainly use the welding technique to make lighting equipment and streetlights.

I live in Florence where I have a business called “fioribrillanti”.

www.fioribrillanti.com

I did a 72-hour leather shoe-making course over two weeks. It was such a blessing to learn this beautiful art form through a teacher who is passionate and well skilled in it. It made me understand the importance of personalized and specialized products and the process of keeping these traditions alive in a consumerist world. It also helped me to respect why handmade is more expensive in the short term, but why this perfect quality and workmanship is of so much more value. They are more comfortable, beautiful and durable. It showed me how producing less, but better quality, is much more sustainable. I would now rather make fewer specialized pieces that are better value long-term for the consumer (comfort, style, individuality, durability) than thousands of consumer driven products.

We all need to care of our earth; bespoke, thoughtfully and ethically produced products are the way forward to preserving our world. I had the pleasure of meeting my teacher’s maestro one day during my course and I realized how grateful I am that these traditional methods are being preserved through people who are concerned with making less quantity and more quality. It would be a sad thing if we were to lose these arts. I think one-on-one courses would be much more beneficial to the learner as the teacher is divided when more than one student is trying to learn; when you are doing a short course every minute of learning is important. Or if there is more than one student, they should be starting at the same time, same level of ability and doing the same lessons. It is an experience that has changed my life and that I will hold dear to me always. I have been blessed to have a master craftsman sharing their knowledge with me.

I am very grateful that he was open to sharing this knowledge and skill, and preserving this beautiful art form. We are friends and share a passion and understanding of things that others will not understand unless they experience it!

I currently work with my boyfriend in Harare, Zimbabwe, but am hoping to start my own clothing and shoe line soon.

I do not currently produce any fashion items but hope to soon, and the course has given me invaluable tools and expertise for achieving something great!

I loved this course. It is perfect for people who already know some footwear making and want to deepen the craft technique.

We made the models, mounted the sole and finished the shoe. I took the opportunity to buy some tools, too. I was anxious to assemble another pair of shoes, putting into practice what I had just learnt, but I did a short course and did not have much time.

I highly recommend this course!

My website is: www.luciacornejofirfina.com

From 2008, for three years, I learned the foundations of furniture restoration and inlay technique in Florence.

In Japan, I worked at the office of a furniture manufacturer as a member of the sales staff. So I started working with my hands from scratch. In addition to the foundations of artisanal work, I have had many experiences that cannot be learned in books or on the Internet, such as working with antique furniture.

The technique of wood inlay, which I found particularly attractive, is now the basis of my work.

As a wood inlay craftsman, I opened my own studio in the San Frediano district in Florence in 2014. It is my job to create objects with wood inlay decoration and to restore the antique furniture through traditional techniques using ox glue or polish.

http://zouganista.com/#a02

I had been researching pottery courses for nearly a year before I came across Studiainitalia. Having a small child limited my free time and many of the courses that interested me conflicted with my schedule. Studiainitalia connected me with the atelier and organised a two week intensive wheel throwing course during my daughter’s school holiday. It was a great introduction to the craft of ceramics.

Learning from artisans with years of experience while living in Florence was an unforgettable experience and one that sparked my passion for ceramics. After returning home I continued to learn as much as I could and eventually opened LAM studio in Venice, where I currently live.In my studio I work mainly in stoneware. Most of my pieces are thrown on the wheel – a process that, once learned, is incredibly satisfying.

My forms are rather simple, but strong. I like finding balance in asymmetry and putting a subtle twist on a traditional shape. I mix my own colours and tend to use soft, matte tones that accentuate the form. All of my work is designed to be used: a carafe that fits nicely in the hand; a cup that can be held comfortably and lifted easily from a saucer; a plate that is a little different, but still stacks nicely in the cupboard. I try to make everyday items a pleasure to look at, to touch and to use.

Pottery takes time and has moments of disappointment and exhilaration, yet it is work that is immensely rewarding and one that I am grateful to have.

My website is:  lamvenezia.com

The binding course was based on the implementation of all the phases of training involved in bookbinding: cutting and folding the paper; and stitching, passing from the decoration of the back, uniting the pages with the cover and decorating them.

Between these phases it would be necessary to indicate the procedure and the decoration applied to the back, through which the pages are sewn, with threads of different colors.

In addition, the binding is sewn directly on the back, with leather reinforcements that allow you to sew straight and evenly.

You can make the seams with strips of leather on the covers, which served both as an ornament and to support the external structure and the edges of the corners.

Finally, a book closing system is created, using strips tied together or leather buttons.

I would like to highlight the professional quality and the attention of my teacher in my path to learning this knowledge.

I started learning jewellery making in 2013. Since then I have covered such techniques as jewellery making, wax modelling & enamelling with a great teacher and to be true, he was the one who helped me to develop the right attitude to the whole process of jewellery making and uncovered my passion for this job. Also I’ve learned stone setting and for me, these lessons were very useful as I am using a lot of gemstones when creating jewellery pieces.

Amazing teacher  Riccardo introduced me to engraving, although I am not engraving ‘Mona Lisa’ or ‘Ponte Vecchio’, but I do use a lot engraving tools when finishing jewellery pieces. Gianni taught me a lot of the ‘tips & tricks’ of jewellery making and introduced me to the beautiful art of fretwork, and I do use these skills on a daily basis. As to the designing of jewellery, the talented Enrico helped me to find my own way to transfer my ideas from my imagination to paper (and I was an absolute disaster in drawing), but thanks to his hard work and patience, my clients easily understand the sketches I make and get my ideas, and this is the start point of every piece I create.

I am a self-employed jewellery maker, based in Riga, Latvia. I established my own brand in 2015 (KRYN JEWELLERY).

I sell my pieces in galleries in Milan, London and Riga. Also I have a lot of commissioned work, including engagement rings and wedding bands.

The designs are totally inspired by unpredictable and flowing forms of nature with its ability to reflect and generate beauty and ugliness at the same time. The use of precious stones, organic shapes, rough cuts and finishes in designs help to emphasize the idea that imperfection is beautiful and that people, like nature, are often at their most beautiful in the rough.

www.kryn.eu (temporarily under construction)

email : kk@kryn.eu

Karina kocejeva

I decided to enrol a gilding restoration course and painting course in Florence, a city that has always inspired me because of the local passion for craftsmanship. Once there, I started to learn hand by hand with great restoration professionals, as well as with other incredible people who opened the doors of their workshops to share their knowledge with me.
Personally, I had never worked with gold or silver leaves and I did not know anything about working techniques with these materials. The artisan process fascinated me from the very beginning, I never imagined that it would be so demanding, but at the same time so enjoyable.

Thanks to these courses, I not only learned a new artistic technique, directly derived from ancient methods, but, what is more, I finally decided to decorate my own picture frames, on which I could let my imagination go and practice using this technique to create the pieces myself.

First, I learned how to apply gold and silver leaves, trying different techniques, on wooden boxes. From there, I went to picture frames, working first small ones and, little by little, taking enough courage as to try with bigger ones. All in all, the whole process took several months, during which I enjoyed learning and working with my own hands. It is so satisfying to learn to use such an ancient technique from scratch and to be able to put it into practice to create your own works!

Ever since I visited Cappella dei Principi or the Chapel of Princes in the Medici Chapel I was enchanted with the beauty and intricacy of the technique of Florentine Mosaic, or Mosaico Fiorentino as they call it in Florence. I always used to wonder how one can create such beautiful art using something as crude as stones.

So, when I came across this course on the Studia in Italia website I was sure that I would do this. The course was definitely a unique experience not only because of the beautiful technique that I was learning, but also because the studio workshop was around 30 minutes drive from Florence. A drive, which I used to take everyday with none other then my instructor Lituana, and her student Satomi. Since the very first day, because of this drive, we developed a lovely friendship that was the icing on the cake of our student-teacher relationship.

The course itself was something that I couldn’t have ever imagined. The workshop was a riot of colours with so many different beautiful stones, some precious and semi-precious while others the commonest of all. Lituana has prepared for me a simple mosaic with three pieces of stones. She taught me how to cut the stones using machines, file them to fit together, and then pasting and polishing the final piece. After that she asked me to draw a shape of my liking, which was supposed to be my second piece. She also helped me to select the stones for it and then we repeated the entire process again.

Since I had a little time during my winter break, I had to complete my 24 hours of lessons in four days. Lituana was so understanding and helpful and she used to stay back late with me to help me complete my project. On the final day she called a photographer friend Ruth to get my pieces photographed. I couldn’t contain my happiness and excitement when I had both my artworks in my hands. They were beautiful.

Apart from learning and doing the technique, the thing that I remember the most is having lunch together and going out for coffee breaks. One of the dearest moments for me from the course is when I took home cooked Indian lunch for Lituana and Satomi. It was more than a course to me, something that is going to stay with me my whole life. I wish I could go back and work alongside Lituana and Satomi someday. It was all so beautiful!

I worked for more than 27 years as a journalist, until the newspaper crisis devastated the sector. So, I was forced to adapt, and looked for new ideas to put into action, which I really did not like very much.

I had always liked working with my hands; the concentration needed to use them properly, creatively; the result you get after long hours of hands-on manual work; it makes you smile and feel proud of what you do and what you can achieve.

I looked for courses to learn how to create a bag as craftsmen have always done. But in Spain there were few opportunities and places. Then I found Studiainitalia; I enrolled for three weeks in a course with a Florentine artisan and I packed my suitcases to travel to Italy.

It was a unique experience. It was intense and I took full advantage, learning a great deal of new knowledge – lessons and tricks that I brought back home with me, and, of course, in an idyllic and magical place like the city of Florence.

As soon as I landed in Spain, I made a list of things to do to be able to open my shop. The list was long: machinery, tools, materials, and work table … until finally, I managed to open my studio in the attic of my house. It is there that I design and create my pieces, which very soon, will be on sale on my website.

www.pepeberto.com

For me, this change of course was not just a new opportunity to re-introduce me to the world of work, but it also inspired me and gave me a new lease of life; an activity where I can apply my creativity as I want, with the great satisfaction of creating something with my own hands.

Ciao Florence!! I’ll be back!!