beyond the form
Bernadette Hehenberger worked as an international shoe designer for 7 years. Since then she has been passing on her experience gained in “ShoeBiz” to shoe enthusiasts, and curious minds alike – anyone with a feeling for or interest in sustainability – in the form of the CraftWerk workshops. Her accounts of travels to tradition-rich cultures with sometimes ancient handcraft knowledge make for authentic, deeply engaging storytelling. This tangible material transports the message in an ever fresh, ever engaging way.
Geschichten meiner weltumspannenden und tollkühnen Reise, um die wahre “Schuhmacher Seele” aufzuspüren
Handwerkliches Erfahren anderer Kulturen. Eine Werkstatt die sich an Wildnis- und Vertiefungswünsche anpasst.
Experience producing your own handmade pair of summer shoes. Making things by hand creates a feeling of independence and achievement.
Being individual
Experiencing a new attitude towards life
Taking time for themselves
Having fun creating something with their own hands
Being impressed by something completely new
Expressing their own personal lifestyle
Fun factor: Shoes by happy people
A feeling of independence from industry
WUK – Workshop and Culture, Vienna
As a place for creation, exchange, inspiration and networking, the leather workshop in WUK was founded in 2014. “WUK” stands for Werkstätten und Kultur (Workshops and Culture), and is the largest independent cultural centre in Europe. It wasn’t long before the leather workshop gave rise to “Craft Folks”, formed by the mixture of handcraft workers, designers and artists working there, brought together by their enthusiasm for weaving traditional handcraft techniques into the modern world.
“This shoe making workshop has been a truly exhilarating experience for me. Most interestingly, it was not just about the stitching, glueing, cutting, but also about the exchange of ideas, helping each other along the way, with the exuberant mood of our amazing teacher, ‘Bernie’, as I called her :). It surely gives a feeling of building up a connection with the materials found in nature, which in general we have lost touch with. Last but not the least, the shoes looked amazing! A big recommendation to the people who are interested in this artistic journey of shoemaking for themselves or for their loved ones.”
– Ankit Mittal, New Dheli, India (PhD Student Solar Energy)
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“It was a wonderful week making my own shoes with Bernadette, moon queen and shoe goddess, which I remember with great affection. I love my shoes and have worn them all summer.”
– Lizie Hall, seamstress, teacher, painter
