6 Exquisite Craftsmanship Trips
Tap your inner artisan: where to learn from master silk weavers, marble sculptors, jewelry makers, and more.
73/5, Luang Prabang, Laos
The shamanic Tai-Lao people mastered the ikat tie-dye technique centuries ago, weaving a single, continuous silk thread into exquisitely patterned scarves. This three-day class gives the literal ins and outs of the process, from cocoon silk...
Calle Briati, 8b, 30141 Venezia VE, Italy
The Abate Zanetti School of Glass has been home to masters of Murano glassblowing for 150 years, and today it provides an immersive experience into the island’s famed glass artistry. Located at the Glass Museum, a half-day program is offered...
Patacancha, Peru
Awamaki’s 10-day tour of the Andean heartland stops in the isolated village of Patacancha, where students learn how to color alpaca wool with natural plant dyes. Two more days are devoted to one-on-one backstrap loom sessions with Quechua weavers...
Tinos 842 00, Greece
At Dellatolas Marble Sculpture Studio, students take a page from ancient Greek artisans and chisel locally quarried marble into busts or relief carvings. Workshops of two weeks or longer are held on Tinos island. If your sculptures don’t fit in...
Emukai, Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture 758-0041, Japan
Artisans of Leisure’s privately guided, 17-day ceramics tour visits potters in 11 towns, including Imbe (known for its rustic Bizen-yaki ceramics) and Hagi (famous for its glazed tea accesories). Hands-on, clay-to-fire sessions can be arranged on...
22 Place Vendôme, 75001 Paris, France
$$$$
There are seven of us gathered in an airy second-floor salon of an 18th-century palace on Place Vendome in central Paris. Sunlight streaming through the tall French windows bounces off a long lab table strewn with clusters of jewels of every color...
