It is known that Italy has influenced the whole world with its unique designs in many fields. The design culture has been piled up over the years and layered from the past to the present. Arts and crafts can be used as a solid link between the ages. History and identity are embedded in each other.

The cultural diversity of civilizations is the wealth of our world and it is the fingerprint of human history. Both Turkey and Italy are rich in historical and cultural sense.

In this case, the connection with our roots needs to be re-established.

Especially when we consider young designers, it would contribute to their designing skills, as they connect to the past solutions and learn from them.

“As an architect I visit Anatolia on any occasion and each time I learn from what crosses my path…

I observe the artifacts and buildings around me. How the details are resolved and how they simply respond to the needs of the viewer intrigues me deeply.”

My designs are not formed from a nostalgia for the past, but from my desire to carry on the knowledge of that time to the future.

I produce small scaled objects like jewelries and home accessories by spending a lot of time in craftsmen’s workshops.

As a native of Istanbul I am surrounded by so many gifted masters in (such) different fields. From glassblowing to mold making or small scaled porcelain workshops to silversmithing or blacksmithing, I consider myself lucky they are all related to my production lines.

Technology and Handcraft
When I examine and try to understand the creating process, products in many scales are only based on needs of the past, nothing more, nothing less and the design solutions were mostly made by the craftsmen then.
Mostly they carry on the paternal profession. They had to find a solution with the little technical means they had. I am amazed when I see what wonders they can create with these limited opportunities.

When I received a humble workshop’s video about bell making I was fascinated, a bell making workshop in east Black Sea region. The craftsman casted different sizes of bells into sand molds he was melting discarded iron water pipes.

He probably has never heard of the cool word Up cycling! but without knowing the worlds new trend he has been producing these for a long time

If he would have been explored by young designers, I am sure many different daily objects could have been produced with him using this simple technique which is almost extinct.

Many similar simple techniques are disappearing, and craftsmanship is being swallowed by technology.

Even though we cannot underestimate the benefits technology provides us, but technology and craftsmanship can be intertwined. As daily needs change and technology evolves rapidly, we still can stay connected to the past experiences.

The benefit that will emerge from this cooperation will be carrying the knowledge to the future while supporting the economy of craftsmen. Economical wellbeing will create attraction to their profession

RE- CONNECTION
There is a lot of information that can be followed and used today and
modernizing them with the contribution of technology and design makes it even more attractive. I call it the re-connection of the past present and future of MAKING.

Whenever I start to a new design with a new material i get together with the craftsmen, listen to their ideas about my designs and learn about the technical limitations. We re-design regarding their suggestions and come to a safer conclusion. It ends up in a more realistic and non deformable way.

In this example without knowing the shrinkage rate of porcelain or not knowing how much the glass loses its volume after grinding all our efforts for 3 dimensional drawings or 3D prints could be a waste. The time consumption is significantly reduced when defining production stages together with craftsmen. Otherwise, designers may have to compromise their designs.

Introducing the knowhow behind craftsman’s making process to young designers will nourish them both.

Establishing a collaboration in their workshops not only in schools or offices; is also the key.

This can make the design thinking more effective and enables them both to benefit from each other’s strengths.

We live in an age of transition want them both to adapt to this.