A Handful: Contemporary Take on Traditional Craft

Keeping the old ways alive with new creative collaborations in textiles, terracotta, wicker, and more

When we talk about exploring the intersection of travel, design and craft, the emphasis is usually on the travel part. This week, we’re shifting the weight ever so slightly to feature A HANDFUL of contemporary designers/brands who are bringing new ideas and updated aesthetics to the hallowed old workshops of traditional craft. Like, say, modern Miro-like tapestries made with ancient weaving techniques in Oaxaca or reimagined elaborate bridal vases from Sardinia or giant wicker pendant saucers that take 40 hours to braid. Call it an antidote to mass production or a tender nostalgia for the old ways; whatever motivates these designers/brands, they are helping to preserve—and pass along—longstanding traditional techniques by exposing a wider audience. And for that alone, lots of claps.

1. // Sardinia, ITALY

I have been following Pretziada’s design journey for years, inspired by the achingly beautiful, slow way of life of Sardinia, the island where the creative couple Kyre Chenven and Ivano Atzori live and work. Together with highly skilled local artisans and international collaborators, their collection of contemporary furniture and objects relies on age-old craft techniques and traditions, ranging from playful versions of the traditional nuptial vase gifted to young brides on the island to reimagined tapestries featuring Sardinian pibiones (traditional technique resulting in raised bumps of thread).