Rediscovering the value of craftsmanship

July 18, 2018

If we had to find one word to capture the spirit of this young century so far, that word would most likely be “exponential”. Among other things, the rate at which wealth can be acquired is faster than at any time in recent history and with this has come a rapid growth in the business of luxury. For those of us in this sector, it means we have been and remain extremely fortunate.

Exponential growth has also carried with it a few losses though. When it comes to luxury, one of them, quite simply, is fun: the fun of discovery. Today, whether you are walking down Bond Street in London, Montenapoleone in Milan, Ginza in Tokyo or Fifth Avenue in New York, you find for the most part the same beautiful stores with the same beautiful products. Unfortunately, the smaller, individual creators of products of lasting beauty can no longer afford a presence in these prestigious areas.

And this is the more important loss: the values that the individual creators represent and carry with them. These values are a unique blend of culture, heritage, excellence, mastery of skill, creativity and – very importantly – the relationship between the maker of an object and its owner. These values encompass an extremely high level of human mastery of techniques and materials and this mastery takes years of dedication to acquire, cultivate and transmit.

Homo Faber is a salute to these values. It is a way to hold them up, to honour and reinforce them, and to celebrate and encourage those who remain committed to them. The way in which our society today regards master craftsmanship is largely uninformed and even negative. Rock stars and sports heroes are venerated while someone who can transform raw material into a gorgeous, useful product with their own two hands is for the most part entirely disregarded. Homo Faber quite boldly wants to reverse such a view and, in the process, to begin – together with anyone and everyone who understands and agrees with our perspective – to craft a more human future.