LE BOIS QUI TOURNE – PODDA Alessandro
After learning the technique of wood carving, Alessandro Podda approached the turning to have the opportunity to produce his own wooden objects to be carved. He then attended turning courses in France and in the Aosta Valley, becoming increasingly passionate about this activity, until this passion became a real profession in 2018.
Alessandro says that to create a turned object means to dedicate yourself with love to a project and only by taking care of the details and searching for the best wood you can, you get a unique result.
Its production ranges from objects of use such as plates, fruit trays and bowls, to furnishing accessories characterized by the elegance of the shapes and consists of local essences such as maple, linden, walnut, birch, elm, mulberry, boxwood, apple, pear, apricot, plum, cherry, almond.
IMAGO IMAGINUM – CINA Paola
Imago Imaginum was born from the desire to reuse poor materials that bring with them a great number of stories. The door of a piece of furniture or the side of a wooden cradle, the scraps of old hemp sheets, jute cloth sacks, pieces of rope and curls of iron beaten by hand are just some examples of materials and objects from which Paola Cina starts to produce new creations. Thanks to a process implemented in the laboratory with the use of drill, flexible, scissors, brushes and colours, Imago narrates a poem about the little things that communicate emotions thanks to the insertion of phrases from old songs of popular tradition, poems, nursery rhymes and proverbs.
HEARTELIER – AVANTEY Elisa
Elisa Avantey was born as a graphic designer by profession and approached crafts as a way to give voice to the images and stimuli that come to her from everyday life by transforming them into something innovative and captivating. Her work combines visual communication (editorial graphic design, logo design, illustration, fittings and packaging) with art and design.
Her production is varied both for the materials used and for the objects made, but what her creations have in common is that they are the fruit of an original idea, aimed at satisfying the requirements of each customer.
Since 2012, Elisa has produced also a line of fantasy jewellery inspired by nature and its countless shapes.
BACAN – CHEILLON Hervé
The company Bacan was founded in 2005 when the owner, Hervé Cheillon, decided to turn his passion, wood processing, into a true and proper profession.
Since then, the company has devoted itself to the creation of wooden products ranging from objects to craft art, from furniture to furnishing accessories.
Despite taking the path of professionalism, the passion that accompanied him since the early years has not changed: his love for tradition, his care for innovation and his creativity have granted his production a special place in the artisan local panorama.
TROJER Peter
He manifested a great aptitude for manual labor early on, and in fact, once he finished his studies, he decided to become a carpenter and opened his workshop in 2010. In addition to carpentry, however, Peter developed another passion, sculpture. He trained as a self-taught artist, realizing that he can instinctively give harmonious shapes to a piece of raw wood. He began by creating objects intended only for his own family, later moving on to sculptures for display at local fairs. His success on such occasions encouraged him to cultivate this passion in his spare time, which complements his daily work as a carpenter.
SCANDELLA Thierry
His passion for wood began when he was a child: in fact, he made some early small works with hand fretwork. He then studied carpentry, became a student at a school of sculpture and then became passionate about carving. After graduating, Thierry found employment with a famous firm and devoted himself to the manual finishing of friendship cups and grolles, typical objects of Valdostan craftsmanship. His production ranges from the more usual ornamental products such as frames and small boxes to highly customized objects made to measure for clients. For several years, Thierry has participated in numerous fairs and events both in the Aosta Valley and outside the region.
RODOZ Marco
Marco became interested in carpentry as a child following his father. He then attended the Don Bosco Institute in Châtillon, specializing in carpentry. After finishing his studies, he began to bring his first objects to life and worked at a carpenter’s business. In 2023 he decided to pursue his career path independently, opening a dual business as a wood craftsman on the one hand and a bicycle tour guide on the other. His production consists of furniture complements, turned and inlaid objects: in fact, Marco specializes in marquetry, a particular technique that is achieved by putting together minute pieces of woods of different essences in the original object in order to create patterns or designs.
PRESTI Fabrizio
Fabrizio Presti learned the art of woodworking with his brother Gino.
Today he mainly devotes himself to restoration: starting from old planks, ancient tables and other recycled materials, he creates different objects giving them dignity again.
Whether it’s furniture, small products or furnishing accessories such as its famous windows, Fabrizio is able to give the old materials the lustre they deserve, giving them a new value but without neglecting the traditional forms.
GERBORE Jonatha
At the Gerbore joinery time has stopped and the brothers Jonatha and Joyce love to work wood “as it once was”: their passion was born in fact in the family business, under the guidance of their grandfather and father. The secrets and techniques of working are still ancient and handed down by the family: the carving of wood is made strictly by hand and solid wood furniture with joints such as tenon and mortise, dovetail and half wood. Their production consists mainly of doors, balconies, stairs, boiserie and furnishing accessories. The most processed woods are walnut, cherry, fir and larch while the finishes are based on natural oils and waxes.
FRASCHETTO Fulvio
He is a craftsman from Gressan who makes the use of traditional and indigenous materials the essence of his work. In fact, the sculptor devotes himself to both woodworking, mainly walnut, and stoneworking. Trained as a self-taught, he became familiar with wood as a child: at 10 years in fact he created his first “pipe” to play Rebatta, a traditional Aosta Valley game, and reproduced a pair of small wooden sabots, traditional clogs. Craftsmanship finally became his work in 2019 when he presented his creations for the first time at the Foire d’Été: stone and wood squares. Fulvio believes that “dexterity and imagination are the essence of every creation and to improve, it is necessary to keep learning by observing the nature of wood and stone and their colors to be able to enhance them to the fullest.”
FRANCO Bruno
Bruno Franco began his activity as a carpenter, following in his father’s footsteps, and then devoted himself only to woodturning. In addition to his father’s laboratory, his training takes place mainly in the laboratories of vocational schools and at the school of Cogne, the Aosta Valley steel industry for which he works for several years.
After leaving the factory, Bruno devotes himself with passion and seriousness to turning, creating not only objects for the home such as bowls, grollas and dishes but also turned elements to be used for carpentry and restoration.
FERROL Sergio
He developed his passion for wood as a child by attending his father’s workshop. Always eager to deepen his knowledge, he takes part in numerous courses coming to master the art of woodturning with increasing skill and creativity. His production is very varied both in the type of objects and in the variety of wood essences used: from walnut to fruit trees such as cherry, apple and plum. Sergio also prefers to use the atypical parts of wood, such as roots and briars, from which he draws most inspiration: thus unique works are created in which the artifact highlights the particularity of the wood from which it is extracted.