FAVRE Leandro
Leandro Favre, one of the few sabotiers (clog maker) still operating in the Aosta Valley, produces about a thousand sabots a year, about 16 pairs a day, and also manages a farm.
Sabotier by family vocation, he began his activity as a craftsman around the Sixties together with his brother with whom he participates in the Sant’Orso Fair since 1966.
Sabots, although not as widespread as they once were, are still in great demand as a traditional object that becomes a decorative piece of furniture.
These sturdy and easy-to-walk wooden clogs, once present in every family and testimony of the region’s agropastoral economy, are now recognized as symbols of the Aosta Valley.
DENARIER Giorgio
The Denarier company was founded in 1980 by the common passion for woodworking of two brothers, Edoardo and Giorgio.
In the beginning their production was totally manual, while over the years the support of machines in the manufacturing process has become increasingly important.
Today only one of the two brothers, Giorgio, continues the activity of craftsman. His production is mainly based on turning and aimed at the realization of household items such as plates, cutting boards and bowls.
Under the banner of continuous research, Giorgio’s work is characterized by the ability to adapt to the evolution of the times and to the taste of customers while maintaining a strong link with the tradition and history of Aosta Valley craftsmanship.
DEL FINO Giulio
Giulio Del Fino, famous furniture worker of Pont Suaz, started working wood very early. His beginnings saw him as an employee in a craft company in Milan, where he learnt to work with solid wood by making furniture for shops and large offices.
In 1979, he moved to the Aosta Valley and in 1980 he opened his own workshop. Since then, Giulio continues to work exclusively with national wood to create furniture with a growing number of people who appreciate his style characterized by “the elegant rustic”, the ageing effect that recalls past times.
DAYNÉ Fabio
An electronics enthusiast, Fabio attended Isitip in Verrès and later became an electrical technician. Ever since he was a child, however, he has admired the small works made in wood by his father, a sculptor and exhibitor at the Sant’Orso fair, and was particularly intrigued by the ability to transform roots and pieces of wood into something alive and animated. Following in his footsteps, he then began sculpting cockerels and carving gnomes from roots and branches he collected in the woods and vineyards. At just 12 years old, he then decided to also participate in the Sant’OrsoFair to carry on the family tradition. Fabio believes that sculpting allows him to express his imagination, providing great satisfaction and joy.
COSTALAIA Cristina
Cristina enters the world of handicrafts almost by chance: as a hobbyist, she attends decorative carving courses organized by the Municipality of Pont Saint Martin, but observing the masters transform simple pieces of wood into works of art, she becomes involved and fascinated. So she decided to participate in a sculpture course and, once she obtained her certificate, to delve into bas-relief sculpting techniques.
Cristina seeks innovation in the shapes and colors of her creations, but never strays from the tradition of Valdostan craftsmanship.
Dishes, bowls, clocks and carved furnishings in Gothic and floral styles, along with mountain landscapes in bas-relief, have always been well received at the exhibitions and competitions in which she has participated, thus fueling her desire to turn this passion into a profession.
COQUILLARD Dario
He developed a passion for wood and sculpture at the age of twenty: first he devoted himself to it during his free time, then in 2000 he decided to open his own workshop. He mainly creates animal sculptures, often in funny attitudes, and mountain or fantasy characters like elves and fairies. All its products are made with love and finished with care and attention to detail. Among the artisan’s favourite woods, alongside almond, pear, maple and cherry, is walnut. Its characteristic colour, with warm veins, is enhanced by using beeswax placed hot, without varnish or solvents, thus respecting the millenary tradition of woodworking.
BOGNIER Mirko Mario
After attending the Professional Institute of Aosta, he developed a keen interest in woodworking. In the first place as a hobbyist, he subsequently decided to make it his job. In 2011, he opened his own carpentry in La Thuile.
His production consists mainly of furniture but also doors and coverings. He predominantly uses larch and fir woods, but working principally on commission, customers often choose furniture lines and materials. What he appreciates about his work is the possibility of continuously creating new things: there is never one piece of furniture identical to another. This boosts him to proceed on, as he is also mindful of the value of craft production compared to the industrial one.
BERTHET Patrizio e Giacomo
Belonging to a family that has always been in the handicraft business, Patrizio began “breathing wood” at a very young age. He is currently the furniture maker who can boast the highest number of participations in the Sant’Orso Fair (since 1968), making him a point of reference within the Aosta Valley scene.
His production consists mainly of furniture made of pine, larch and walnut. In his work, the care taken in making the furniture starts from the moment the lumber is purchased and goes all the way to the resolution of construction and decorative details of the furniture.
Recently, his son Giacomo also decided to join him in the enterprise.
BARAVEX Manuel
He began his journey as a craftsman with the processing of leather on which he performs carving at the tip of a knife, a technique usually used on wood. The palms and rosettes made with this technique still enrich his works. He then attended a workshop course with the Master Craftsman Luciano Regazzoni, thus putting in his artistic baggage also sculpture: today he performs in fact sculptures on wood and stone, combining the various materials with each other. Manuel’s favorite subjects are gnomes, which he depicts in fine medieval costumes. For years he has participated in the different Fairs in the Aosta Valley and has been a guest in Switzerland, France, Malta and Holland, promoting the Aosta Valley crafts.