5Hidden Crafts

Open Call, 13 February 2014
Is there new life to found in the methods, outcomes and distribution of craft? What can designers learn from a country’s craft tradition? Tapping into Slovenia’s rich craft history, a number of the country’s manufacturers will be chosen to collaborate with designers in a discovery process. All participants will contribute with time and engagement, embarking together on a trip that has no pre-defined destination.

Reaction, 17 July 2014
The term “hidden” can also be understood as invisible, unknown, overlooked or underestimated. This last term, particularly, allows a hint of the project this team was involved in. In Hidden Crafts, six companies cooperated with twenty-two designers. Not all companies can be seen as classic craft companies, but all are characterized by a deep knowledge and know-how, using handwork in different degrees. The designers range from industrial to experimental, from Slovenia and Germany to Italy and Austria. Every one involved in the project – the partner companies as much as the designers – critically questioned their abilities, searching for the hidden potentials in six different materials.

RCKE/BIO 50 was part financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund.