THE APOTHECARY AND THE SECRETS OF THE HERBS

Alberto, apothecary

Lucia, Sara and Alberto will welcome you to the Foletto museum, in the heart of the village of Pieve di Ledro, showing you the spaces of the old family pharmacy. You will be told the history of the museum and explained the workshop that will follow, it will be time to get to work and prepare a syrup based on flowers and medicinal herbs, with balsamic and expectorant effects. To recover from so much effort, a tasting of the company's products will follow. Upon request, it will be possible to collect the raw materials in the garden adjacent to the museum, followed by a snack based on homemade cake and syrups.

LEDRO, Tn

YOUR WOODEN INLAYED FLOWER

Renato, inlayer

During this 4-hour workshop I will show you the various wooden inlay techniques: fretwork, "buio", "toppo", the perspective inlay and the boulle technique. In particular, the fretwork technique will be studied in depth with demonstrations of the various processing phases, up to the final polishing. Afterwards, we'll try an easy workshop, where you'll learn the use of the fretworked arch, and I'll show you how to create three small inlays with floral motifs which will also be sandblasted. Three wooden flowers made by your hands, that you'll bring home as a perfect souvenir of this experience and that can be used as a bookmark.

FIRENZE, Fi

FAMILY-FRIENDLY EXPERIENCE

SANTI, ebony joiner

The courses will be held in my workshop where you’ll be able to get to know the tools of my trade by completing a small marquetry project or learn how to approach the restoration process of an antique piece of wooden furniture. I’ll welcome you to my shop and we’ll have Vin Santo, fruit juice and cantuccini while I’ll tell you about the materials and tools of my work. Then I’ll follow you through the making and finishing of a small project that you’ll get to take home along with a mounting box that will allow you to put your project together once home using the techniques learned during the course. The price is intended for a family group of 3 or 4 people. If you should need a different option, please ask in the green box "customized experience": it will be a pleasure for me to find out the right solution for you. We can offer a translation service to English on request.

ANGHIARI, Ar

YOUR OWN MARQUETRY PROJECT

SANTI, ebony joiner

Is there anything more fascinating than learning the art of marquetry directly in the workshop of the Master Artisan or being able to restore an art piece while in the beautiful small town of Anghiari in the Valtiberina in Tuscany? The course will be held in my workshop where you’ll be able to get to know the tools of my trade by completing a small marquetry project or learn how to approach the restoration process of an antique piece of wooden furniture. I’ll welcome you to my shop and we’ll have Vin Santo and cantuccini while I’ll tell you about the theory regarding marquetry. Then I’ll follow you through the completion of your woodworking project that you’ll be able to bring home as a memento of this small but important experience. We can offer a translation service to English on request.

ANGHIARI, Ar

WOOD INLAYING 5 DAYS WORKSHOP

SANTI, ebony joiner

This course is spread on 5 days of 6 hours each. Here you’ll be able to learn all about marquetry: both theory and practice will be covered together, discovering the history of this trade, testing different methods and materials. You’ll learn the differences between different kinds of wood and how all the tools work. As a starter you’ll be given the book Tarsi that contains all the notes I’ve taken during my 40 years of activity and you’ll be able to take whatever you made during the course home! If you want to cover special techniques or make a specific piece you can ask for a custom course by sending me a message.

ANGHIARI, Ar

A DAY AT THE ATELIER

Mara, engraver

An entire day to explore the wonderful world of Japanese printing. We will spend the entire day together: from 10 am until 6 pm (with a break of one hour for lunch) and you will have the opportunity to see all the steps that go into creating your own print. After the initial phase where you will learn about the techniques and see some original prints, you will be allowed cut out your first drawing (or you can take inspiration from one of the various books we have in our studio) and create your own 3 colour print on Japanese paper. This workshop is perfect for people who want to create their own cards or presents. This experience is for beginners and people wishing to improve their techniques: in case you have former experience please contact me in advance so I can prepare myself to accommodate your needs.

AVIGLIANA, To

INSIDE THE LUTHIER LAB

Eugenio Lorenzo, luthier

People that come to visit me in my world find measurements, cuts and sounds. I like to explain my job and tell people why I do it. By spending a couple of hours with me, you'll be able to discover how a guitar is crafted starting from a piece of wood, in a journey through many sensorial experiences: different wood smells, weights, colours or textures. Being a job that's strongly connected to this land, you will see how a joiner's shop works, and during your visit, you will have a chance to see a musician try a brand new instrument, learn how wood is bent or how the guitar neck is sculpted. My job is not made out of secrets, but instead its main ingredient is experienced dexterity. Discover it by yourself!

VIBO VALENTIA, Vv

THE HOKUSAI EXPERIENCE

Mara, engraver

On the occasion of the exhibition "Hokusai, Hiroshige and Utamaro" to be held in Milan from 22 September 2016 until January 29, 2017, I will take you in my atelier to describe all the wonders of the technology adopted to create these prints. We will experience together all the steps and the tools, unchanged until today, needed to create a Ukiyo-e press and, specifically for this event, I will print with the some original vintage Japanese blocks. Finally you can choose one of my small print to take away with you as a souvenir.

AVIGLIANA, To

REALIZE YOUR INLAY

Renato, inlayer

A one week holiday in Florence to visit the city, its museums and its churches but, above all, the perfect occasion to learn the basics of inlay right inside an old traditional workshop. During the 24 hours course (4h per day from Monday to Saturday, in the morning or afternoon) you will realize some inlay works experimenting different traditional techniques. At the end of the course you will bring home the artifacts and most of all you will have the knowledge you’ll need to create other brand new works on your own.

FIRENZE, Fi

YOUR FIRST JAPANESE PRINT

Mara, engraver

Become a carver and printer for a day and create your first Japanese woodblock print. An afternoon to be introduced to the wonders of this ancient printing technique that does not require the use of solvents or acids. After a brief introduction where you will have the chance to admire some original vintage woodblocks and some original Ukiyo-e prints; I will explain you the steps to create your first print. At this point you can work at your own design, or you can let yourself inspire by the many books in the studio. Carve and print your first simple printing with two wooden matrices and then print more copies of them on Japanese paper.

AVIGLIANA, To

JAPANESE XILOGRAPHY

Mara, engraver

I will bring you to my atelier, where I'll describe you all the secrets behind the Japanese print. There will be the chance to admire original Japanese molds and vintage prints. You can directly observe how to etch and how a mold is printed. Finally, you can choose a little print to bring home with you as a memory.

AVIGLIANA, To

YOUR PULCINELLA

Pasquale, engraver

The hands-on workshop will start with a theoretical introduction of the tools and materials that we are going to utilize and will then proceed with a practical full immersion during which you will design and create your own Pulcinella to bring home. For those who doesn't know what Pulcinella is, it is one of the main character of the Neapolitan puppetry. We will run together all the production cycle, starting with the painting of head and limbs, the assembly of the structure and ending with the setting of the posture and the dressing of the mannequin. All the necessary materials are provided by the artisan and included in the total price. The final Pulcinella will be 30/35 cm tall, will have terracotta head and limbs, glass eyes, hemp and haywire body and fabric clothes. The overall process will last 12 hours, the whole weekend. (8hours on Saturday and 4 on Sunday) We will have a wonderful lunch break to taste some traditional Campania food such as Mozzarella di Bufala, small tomatoes from Piennolo del Vesuvio (seasonal product), Maialino nero Casertano ham, warm sfogliatelle, brick-oven home made bread and some good wine.

MADDALONI, Ce

LEARN ABOUT THE INLAY CRAFT

Renato, inlayer

During this 2 hours visit inside the old workshop, you will learn about the intaglio carving craft, appreciating especially the technique commonly known as "foro-controforo". You will participate in a practical demonstration during which all the various traditional stages of production will be displayed: we will start with the preparation of woods before going through the cut stage carried out with a small arch, then we will proceed with the assembly and sandblasting just before the glueing and then finish with the French polishing. Moreover, we will discuss about other inlay techniques such as the so-called "a toppo" and "a buio".

FIRENZE, Fi

YOUR HANDMADE TAMBOURINE

Pasquale, engraver

The craftsmanship of these fascinating musical instruments has ancient origins, and it is amazing to think that the production process has remained unchanged over time. With this experience we will see together all the phases necessary to achieve a Neapolitan Tammorra or a classic tambourine. The hands-on workshop will include a short theoretical introduction about the tools and materials that we will use, and then we will have a full immersion that will allow you to design and create your own tambourine to take home. The equipment and the materials are included and will be provided by us. The Tammorra, the main instrument of the Neapolitan tradition, is a large frame tambourine with a membrane of dried skin (mostly goat or sheep) stretched over circular wooden frame to which are attached metal disks called " cicere "or cymbals. The working plan is structured for the weekend and includes a 12 hours totally (8 on Saturday + 4 on Sunday). A one-hour lunch break with tasting of typical products from Campania is included: Buffalo Mozzarella, tomatoes from Piennolo del Vesuvio (seasonal product), Caserta Black Pig ham, warm Sfogliatelle, homemade bread baked in wood and some wine

MADDALONI, Ce