Rewarding workshop participation for student Hannah Klein/Design Ecologies

8 October 2024

With the objective to push the boundaries of what the material wood and its processing methods can be used for in the twenty-first century, the MADE IN / PRECIOUS WOOD workshop took place with one Konstfack student among the participants.


Hannah Klein, master student at Design Ecologies year 1, was one of 38 participants in one the workshops MADE IN / PRECIOUS WOOD, organized by University of Applied Sciences, faculty Angewandte Kunst Schneeberg 16–27 September 2024. The workshops offer young designers, craftspeople and creatives an opportunity to experiment with wood, guided by mentors in engineering, craft, and design.

Hannah, please tell us about your experience!
– The whole workshop series was amazing! It consisted of lectures, workshops and field trips. All with a focus on wood. It was very inspiring to learn about traditional wood crafts in eastern Germany and see how they are working proactively to preserve that legacy. I learned a lot.

What do bring into your work after the workshop?
– The role craftsmanship and design play in our society is not nothing. It can be a way to tell stories, share memories and speculate on what the future might look like – and that's all very important.

The objective with the workshop is to push the boundaries of what the material wood and its processing methods can be used for in the twenty-first century in a beautiful, intelligent and compelling way. Furthermore, the workshops will bring together a younger generation with craftspeople and design mentors, celebrating a multidisciplinary way of sharing knowledge. The participants will create a series of completed exhibition-quality pieces, as well as expressive studies and prototypes that will be presented in two exhibitions in Ljubljana, Slovenia and in Schneeberg, Germany in 2025.

Can you describe your "exhibition-quality piece"?
– For the 3D-printing wood workshop I made a small foot stool, called a Hitsche in German. I wanted to create something that instantly brings your mind to trees as we were using sawdust for 3D-printing, as a sort of meta-way to make a tree from a tree out of a tree.

What are your expectations for the participation in the two exhibitions this spring?
– I really appreciate the initiative to create an exhibition with creative people from all over Europe. It's been incredibly inspiring to be in a space where people have a chance to work together and learn from one another. I hope I can make it to Slovenia to see the opening!