This week’s dose of inspiration comes from Craft Draft! It should come as no surprise that a talented and dedicated artisan such as Hamza El Fasiki has created such a beautiful website.
We couldn’t help but want to know more and more about each of the workshops that Craft Draft offers, and we were fascinated by the intricacy and skill of the work they do by hand. It’s truly a blast from the past, and we loved seeing how much craft is involved.
Let’s let Hamza take it from here:
Who are you and what do you do?
I am Hamza El Fasiki, and I am the owner and operator of Craft Draft, a multidisciplinary art studio offering traditional Moroccan visual arts & crafts workshops for all age groups.
How did you get started?
The studio was established as Dar Attamania in 1968 by my father, Master Mokhtar El Fasiki (head of the metal-smith guild), and was handed over to me, his son and apprentice, in 2011. Since then, we have been known as Craft Draft.
What sets you apart?
Craft Draft’s mission is to facilitate: access to craft sites, knowledge of crafts and associated skills, and connections with artisans. In addition to our studio in Fes, Morocco, we also travel and put on workshops around the globe, and we’ve been lucky to work with amazing artisans from all over.
What obstacles did you have to overcome?
It was very hard to find a method to do short-term workshops for the general public. The traditional method of apprenticeship usually takes up to 10 years. In this modern time, nobody has 10 free years. So it took me about 2 years of trial and error and experimentation to find the right pedagogy for my workshop.
Do you have any tips for other creators
Remember that that experimentation is very important! You must continue to try and try and try and don’t be afraid to do things differently. And write down all your ideas – you never know when they may inspire you later!
As you can see, Hamza’s inspiration is not just in art, but in artisans, and we couldn’t agree with him more. The only thing we feel he’s missing now is a workshop on web design!
To see the full site and explore all of what Craft Draft has to offer, go to http://www.craftdraft.org/
To get started on your own site, click here – we promise it’s easier than learning how to weave 🙂
