Artisanal luxury honours the handmaking process by emphasising the unique quality of handcrafted products that bear the individual imprint of the maker. In highlighting the skill of the artisan, the focus shifts from the expensiveness or exclusivity that tends to define luxury. Instead, the artisanal input becomes a medium for bringing sincerity and soul, and meaning into the heart of the product or experience.

Artisanal luxury chooses to place the focus on:

• People and community by respecting cultural bonds, inherited knowledge, and ancestral skills and techniques

• Celebrating heritage by upholding the value of craft traditions.And, seeking to preserve the skills and precious know-how, while enabling them to evolve

• Collaboration
 through skill and knowledge sharing for mutual benefit

Spotlighting craftsmanship within luxury production, therefore, reveals the essential role of highly skilled artisans in creating high-quality, well-made objects. Connecting with and getting to know those behind the products helps to humanise what is often perceived to be an entitled sector. For more on the role of craftsmanship in luxury, read: Craftsmanship artisans and their central role in the rise of true luxury

That said, not everything made by hand automatically qualifies as ‘artisanal luxury’. Alongside the mastery of skills, there is a need for creativity and imagination to transform artisan know-how into exceptional, relevant objects and services. And this is where the designer or retailer adds value, and collaboration becomes a necessity.

If you want to know more about creating an artisanal luxury goods brand, have a look at my services here.

– Tapiwa Matsinde

[Image credits: The image shown belongs to Mathilde Langevin via Pexels. If downloaded and used elsewhere, please credit accordingly.]

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In the last few years, the luxury industry has been forced to take a hard look at itself from a sustainable production perspective, among other factors. This resulted in a series of shifts, including turning the industry away from mass consumerism and instead returning to its foundational roots of a more considered approach that re-embraces the values that define true luxury.

‘True luxury’ is a standard of luxury that is not defined by hefty price tags, but rather by the ‘money can’t buy’ attributes of time, skills, experiences, and emotional connections. These four sought-after attributes are embedded into the products created.

True luxury recognises and brings our attention back to the role that the artisan, exceptional craftsmanship, and creativity has at the heart of luxury. It does this by respecting the time it takes to craft an object either entirley by hand or using hand-guided machine. The very touch of the human hand, infusing an object with heart & soul, rendering it animate.

Being aware of true luxury enables us to see and appreciate materials through the eyes of the creator, marvelling at the way light shines through a glass vessel, casting patterns on the wall behind it or the way a piece of furniture has been carefully joined together. Materials that are continually pushed and expanded beyond their common capabilities, yet thoughtfully and sustainably sourced with health, well-being, and longevity in mind.

True luxury is not a principle that remains in the past. It is forward-thinking, using the present to create responses to address tomorrow’s challenges. True luxury is about embracing the concept of slow design, which in turn results in fewer products, mindfully crafted to last a lifetime, or at the very least last much much longer than the current behaviour of objects being thoughtlessly discarded after a couple of uses.

True luxury does not shy away from transparency. It is heart-centred, offering an invitation to personally connect with and, therefore, treasure an object on a deeper, emotional level. It is an invitation to experience and appreciate the finer details of what go into crafting an object. To uncover the stories of the maker that are woven, moulded, and carved into it. And to discover the heritage that forms the foundation upon which an object has emerged.

The discerning customer is becoming more conscious about what they buy and the impact it has on their life and world. True luxury is the response to meeting their exacting needs in a sophisticated and holistic way.

– Tapiwa Matsinde

Image credits: Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels

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I am honoured to be taking part in this event as the curator of The Artisan: a crafted tea room. It is one of 15 immersive exhibitions curated by 22 curators and designers, 350 master artisans, rising stars and designers, with a special focus on Japanese National Living Treasures.

In what has been my most challenging curatorial role, the brief of transforming this empty space by turning away from the typical look-but-don’t-touch exhibition format to embrace an interactive presentation that invites and expects visitors to get up close and personal with the objects on display. 

The result is an intimate setting that has been described as ‘feeling like home’, and having ‘a wonderful vibe’. I couldn’t ask for much more than that. Thank you, Homo Faber for the opportunity. And a huge thank you to all the artisans, designers, and manufacturers for loaning their objects to make it all possible.

– Tapiwa Matsinde

Image credits: Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Simone Padovani©Michelangelo Foundation, Nicolò Zanatta©Michelangelo Foundation, Tapiwa Matsinde

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As a curator of one of the exhibitions, The Artisan: a crafted tea room, I am proud to be taking part in this exceptional event.

For more visit: https://www.homofaber.com 

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My mission is to transform the Padiglione delle CapriateRoom / Truss Pavilion into a functioning tea room that is filled with exceptional furniture and objects crafted by artisans and manufacturers from around the world. The challenge is that not only will visitors be able to view the objects in the room they will also be able to interact with and use them during their time touring the event’s other exhibitions. This means sitting on chairs, having a cup of tea, or having a bite to eat on dining and Bistrot tables. Reclining on armchairs and sinking into plush sofas as they take time out to refresh and recharge.

And to do all this in just over 3 months, yikes!

An initiative of the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity & Craftsmanship, Homo Faber 2022 features 15 exhibitions, 22 curators and designers, 12 Japanese Living Treasures, and over 400 works crafted by over 350 artisans, and designers, and manufacturers representing over 30 countries.

Image credit of Padiglione delle Capriate belongs to The Giorgio Cini Foundation

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Presenting existing and never-before-seen collectible artworks made especially for the exhibition Art & Exception brings together 45 exceptional pieces from 25 artists representing 15 African countries. The objects are by emerging and established names working across a range of disciplines from woodwork to embroidery, among them the South African ceramist Zizipho Poswa, the intricate lighting of Meftah House crafted in their Moroccan workshops, the entirely hand-embroidered paintings by Rwandan Christine Rwagatare, the watercolours of Bartholomew Toguo on a series of ceramic plates, and the textile universe of Ghizlane Sahli.

Art & Exception is on show in person at the French auction house, Artcurial, or view the live experience online.

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