ALBUM workshops FABIEN CAPPELLO London, 3-9 Belfast Road Fabien Cappello is a young furniture maker and designer with an international background: born in Paris, he studied in Switzerland and went on to specialise in England, where he now lives and works. He graduated from London’s Royal College of Art and won a prize with his “Christmas Tree Project”, in which abandoned trees were regenerated into stools. His London studio is a vast Lshaped space with huge windows and a large table where he draws, works on his computer and creates his projects. One is totally fascinated by the striking joy and creativity that emerge from the objects presented on his website: all are innovative, and he likes to use a wide variety of materials. Using corrugated recycled plastic sheets, for example, he created a shelving system and movable room partitions, which were presented at an exhibition in Japan. Cappello loves to create structures in plastic because the translucency and luminosity of the material makes the objects appear to float in the air. One of his most recent projects is the Planter Tower, a system of accessories that can be fitted to plant pots in order to stack them, creating a green tower. His projects range from limited editions, industrial products and public installations. www.fabiencappello.com
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LA VERRERIE DE BIOT Biot, France, Chemin des Combes A gem of craftsmanship is preserved in the small village of Biot, in Provence: hand-blown “bubbled glass”. This particular technique, developed from an initial defect, became the company hallmark in 1956: the master glassmakers imprison microscopic air bubbles between two layers of glass silica paste. With great skill, the artisans (around fifteen) produce glasses, jugs and chandeliers in a variety of models (approximately 300), in colours ranging from indigo blue to amethyst purple, sandy pink, emerald green, ochre and turquoise. It is a ritual that recalls the ancient technique of hand-blown glass and, as if by magic, produces forms that are always unique and unrepeatable. Today, the small family business run by siblings Anne and Serge Lechaczynski has started to attract tourists and students, with schools bringing pupils to admire the secrets of glassmaking. Next to the glassworks is the interesting Glass Gallery; opened in 1977, it displays unique pieces by b artisan artists. In addition to the permanent pe event of The exhibition is the annual eve Verriales, held on the first Friday of July, featuring the works in glass of 30 artists, from young talents talen to successful masters of the craft. www.verreriebiot.com
LISA FARMER, PROCESS 4 Milano, via Procaccini 4 Graphic designer and artist Lisa Farmer is well-known in Italy and abroad. She expresses her playful creativity in the prototypes and the unique pieces, often inspired by the world of nature, which she personally creates by hand. Born and raised in North Carolina, where she studied Visual Communication, she worked as a graphic designer for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Upon arriving in Italy, she started working with De Lucchi on a number of projects. Her clients also include Mandarina Duck, the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome, San Pellegrino and Saporiti. She settled down in Milan in 2000, where she obtained a workshop inside the Fabbrica del Vapore. She tirelessly experiments new techniques for drawing on different materials. Among her creations are the original tapestry headboards, modules that can be assembled in different ways, resulting in different designs according to how they are arranged. Then there are aeroplane lamps, arabesque curtains made of paper and plastic, and felt hats and capes. Her sculpture-bags in the shapes of fish, beetles and ladybirds are particularly remarkable: a collection of unique pieces made entirely by hand. She has won numerous awards both in Italy and abroad, taught at St. Martin’s School of Arts in London, and has also taken part in the Victoria & Albert Museum’s exhibition “The Power of Making”. www.lisafarmer.com
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