Jaeger-LeCoultre and Michelangelo Foundation announce the successful completion of the first stage of the inaugural edition of Homo Faber Fellowship. The seven-month programme began in Portugal in September with a month-long residential masterclass in creativity and entrepreneurship certified by ESSEC Business School.

Held at the Lisbon studio of the renowned Portuguese contemporary artist Joana Vasconcelos, the masterclass brought together 20 duos of Master Artisans and newly graduated talents (Fellows). ESSEC presented a bespoke programme to the participants, which included entrepreneurial vision, leadership skills, brand desirability, digital marketing and business planning – topics new to the audience of recent graduates, and essential knowledge for aspiring craft professionals.

Joanna Vasconcelos, who has been chosen as the ‘Godmother’ of this first Homo Faber Fellowship cohort, shared the artistic vision that has made her so successful – that of combining territorial and ancestral crafts with a modern point of view – and revealed her working methods in hands-on workshops. Further support was given by Passa ao Futuro design agency, which addressed the issues of design and sustainability.

During the masterclass, Jaeger-LeCoultre presented a design case study related to Art Deco and the Maison’s CEO, Catherine Rénier, together with Lionel Favre, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Product Design Director, travelled to Lisbon to meet the participants and exchange ideas with them. Catherine Rénier shared Jaeger-LeCoultre’s vision and values related to craft and education – values rooted in a long history of facilitating the transmission of knowledge between masters and trainees to preserve vitally important skills for future generations.

The masterclass will now be followed by a six-month residential placement for each of the Fellows in the workshop of their corresponding Master. The Masters’ ateliers are located in five European countries – France, Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain – and the Fellows have been drawn from a variety of backgrounds and a diverse range of crafts, including ceramics, textiles, bicycle building, feather-work and basket weaving.

Beginning in late October, the six-month residential placement in the Masters’ workshops will focus on the development of practical skills. While the Masters will teach their traditional savoir-faire, the relationship is envisaged as a two-way exchange, with the Fellows bringing a modern sensibility to their work and enabling the Masters to see their crafts through fresh eyes. During their six-month residencies, the Fellows will be continuously mentored and will co-create an object with their Master, with the potential for it to be commercialised. The co-creations will be based on a theme related to Art Deco.

The 20 duos of Masters and Fellows for the inaugural Homo Faber Fellowship are as follows, together with names and locations of the Fellows’ schools:

FRANCE

Marquetry: Pierre Henri Beyssac & Inès Rauch (Ecole Boulle, FR)

Bicycle building: Sébastien Klein & Tom Even (Ecole Boulle, FR)

Metalworking and engraving: Cédric Lamballais & Léandre Le Bail, (Ecole Estienne, FR)

Featherworking: Julien Vermeulen & Matéo Laurent (Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, FR)

GREECE

Jewellery: Akis Goumas & Karolos Vlachiotis (Art Jewellery School, GR)

Ceramics: Giannis Zois & Shokhrukh Rakhimov (Kamoliddin Behzod Institute, Uzbekistan)

Textile design: Christiana Vardakou & Emily Criddle (University of Edinburgh, UK)

Stone sculpture: Tom von Kaenel & Clara Coujaty (Ecole Boulle, FR)

IRELAND

Ceramics: Mike Byrne & Noel Donnellan (Van der Kelen Logelain, BE)

Silversmithing: Seamus Gill & Claire Mooney (Ulster University, IRL)

Cabinetmaking: Stephen O'Briain & Richard Butler (Atlantic Technical University, IRL)

Furniture making: Sasha Sykes & Jackson Byrne (Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, IRL)

PORTUGAL

Stone sculpting: Alzira Antunes & Corentin Fossemo (L’Association Ouvrière des Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France, FR)

Textile design: Vanessa Barragão & Yaroslava Shkurat (Ecole Duperré, FR)

Basketweaving: Isabel Martins, & Alba Fernandez Castro (Escola Massana, ESP)

Cabinetmaking: Tomás Viana & Soraia Santa (Ricardo Espírito Santo e Silva Foundation, PT)

SPAIN

Engraving: Dan Benveniste & Guillermo Garcia (Artediez, ESP)

Gold thread embroidery: José Luis Sanchez Exposito & Gonzalo Garcia Cuevas (Centro de Formación Profesional Dolores Sopeña, ESP)

Textile design: Camila Puya de Arcos & Sofia Lausero (Escola Massana, ESP)

Metalworking: Ramón Recuero Ibáñez & David González Parrilla (Escuela de Herreros Ramón Recuero, ESP)