Tag: artisanship

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Back in 2014 the FabLab in Donetsk, Ukraine, was closed at gunpoint at the command of someone who was a user of the space until then, and my acquaintance K who ran the Donetsk FabLab had to flee. In the past months I have regularly wondered about Ukrainian makers and small production companies. I’m sure all have been struggling.

During the pandemic lockdowns I ordered online with independent book stores and artisans in several European cities, to contribute something to their continuity.

After the summer I started looking for Ukraine based makers to similarly order some useful things, but I found it hard to find such makers. Then a FT journalist posted a number of links to Ukrainian brands in a Twitter thread, which I looked at.

I’ve ordered a blanket with the printed street pattern of Kyiv, which is a nice open data touch, from woolkrafts. A glass artefact from Olga Turetska, and two copies of an English language book on innovation in Ukraine from Osnovy Publishing. In a conversation with one of the staff at the publishing house, I was pointed to a newly launched online platform where you can find Ukrainian products. It’s called Made with Bravery. The list of makers selling through the platform is slowly growing.

My packages are making their way to me, and one has reached Dutch customs. If you order something too, do allow for a longish shipping period. There are other logistical issues way more important in Ukraine at the moment than delivery of commercial packages.

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Today I had some appointments in Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands. On my way back to the railway station I walked past the Groninger Museum and noticed an exhibition by the US glass artist Dale Chihuly. I decided to use a bit of time to spare before taking the train back, and visit. Such spur of the moment decisions are made very easy because both E and I have a Museum card, which makes access to all Dutch museums free of charge, or with a small surcharge for special exhibits such as this one. It means only time and appetite determine the decision to visit an exhibition. And if it disappoints to simply walk out after a few minutes.

Chihuly’s work is about the artisanship involved in making large scale glass objects and installations. Forms, textures and riots of color. I find it endlessly fascinating to read the small stories about the difficulties of artisanal processes like these.

It’s why the hallway filled with notes, sketches, doodles and descriptions would have been enough of an attraction to me, although the finished objects often presented in combination with sketched preliminary studies were great too.