Artisans “aim for the moon” at Salon UNIcréa at the Château de Morges + my top picks

So what are you up to this weekend? I ask just in case you don’t have plans or might be tempted to break them. For if art and creativity are your loves, then the place for you to be is by the lake at Morges, from tomorrow up to and including Sunday.

Seven ‘universes’ supply the materials

That’s where an abundance of talented painters, sculptors, clothes designers, hat makers, photographers, ceramicists, woodworkers and glassblowers will present their handmade creations fashioned from one of the seven “Universes” of wood, metal, earth, glass, textiles, stone and paint. You can see some of the offerings available on Salon UniCréa’s Facebook page.

Purchasing an item from one of the participants means you’re supporting independent creative artists and small businesses. Also, for this edition UNIcréa is sponsoring donations to Foundation Edmond Kiener, which provides micro-loans to some 700 women near Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, a number it hopes to increase to 3,000.

Practical Information

For information about location, hours, and admission, please click here. For a day-to-day programme of events, visit here. To register your child (from 7 years of age) for a fun-filled Saturday or Sunday workshop (CHF 10.-) entitled “when paper becomes a tree”, please visit this UNIcréa page. If you discover an artisan whose work you particularly fancy, please leave a comment afterwards so we can learn about them too.

Tip: If you’re interested in learning from some of the professional artists who participate at UniCréa, as well as others, then take a look at the choice of creative classes in different media that are available from “`A qui le tour? Cours de Création pour tous” at the Château de La Sarraz, near Yverdon-les-Bains. If beautiful surroundings can inspire creativity then you’re sure to produce something memorable.

Top picks from the Salon (so far…)

I spent a few hours at day two of Salon UNIcréa yesterday. There are so many talented artisans and the quality is so high that picking favorites seems almost unfair. There are a few, however, whose work was on my mind when I woke up this morning so that tells me my appreciation was not just a passing fancy.

If you happen to visit, and I hope you do, keep your eyes open for the following artisans, and let me know if you find a particular favorite whose work you fall for:

• Muriel Sutter of Oulahop! for her stunning, colourful handbags and wallets. Make sure you open these beauties up to see the complementary fabric lining. Lovely craftsmanship. This lady is passionate about what she does and it shows.
• Ursula Waldburger of Waldburger Stickerei Manufaktur for her brilliantly designed and beautifully executed embroidered designs on clothes, tablecloths, tableware and bed linens in dreamy colors on the finest linen and cotton fabrics available. Artistry and refinement.
• Isabelle Tapie, a former art restorer, for applying her traditional skills to the creation of unique sculptures made from salvaged driftwood painted with gold leaf and embedded with semi-precious stones. Unique and captivating.
• Valérie Lux, of Atelier de la Luxiole, for her playful lampshades with a ‘double meaning’: what you see in daytime has hidden depths when the lights go on at night.
• Marianne Lindh for her intricate, woven leather bracelets that are perfect year-round but especially tempting for summer — I wanted one in each color.

While the artisans clearly hope to sell their creations, they also appreciate a hello and a compliment, so don’t hesitate to engage (for fear of having to buy something) because you’ll end up learning a great deal about how the articles are made and will very often find the creator’s passion for their work contagious.

Main photo caption: Painter Catherine Cornec interprets this year’s theme “aim for the moon”; (right) a handbag by Jessica Lengelée.