QEST Alumni Take Centre Stage at Homo Faber 2026
3rd September 2026
This September, nine talented makers from the QEST Alumni community will join hundreds of exceptional craft artists from around the world at Homo Faber 2026 in Venice.
This year’s Homo Faber Biennial is curated and staged by Artistic Director Es Devlin, whose vision takes inspiration from the archipelago of the Venetian lagoon. The fourth edition of the Homo Faber Biennial invites visitors to explore the fundamental relationship between light, materials and the human hand, bringing together 15 immersive installations and hundreds of handcrafted objects at the historic Fondazione Giorgio Cini on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore.
Among the hundreds of makers featured at Homo Faber 2026 are nine QEST Alumni, working across sculpture, wood, jewellery, metalwork, glass, sailmaking and paper:
Tom Palmer, a 2022 QEST Scholar, is a sculptor and designer who combines ancient and contemporary materials and techniques, exploring the possibilities that emerge when traditional approaches meet new ideas.
Eleanor Lakelin, a 2018 QEST Turners’ Company Scholar, creates sculptural objects from British timbers, combining traditional woodturning with modern techniques. Her work celebrates the character and natural qualities of the wood she works with.
Epona Smith, a 2020 QEST Pewterers’ Company Scholar, is a jeweller and hand-engraver specialising in traditional Italian hand-push engraving. She transforms traditional heirlooms into contemporary jewellery, using ancient skills to create modern classics.
Willow Bloomfield, a 2024 QEST Dalgleish Trust Emerging Maker, specialises in metalwork, vessel raising and sculpture. Using hammer forming and repoussé techniques, she creates organically forged sculptures, vessels and lighting inspired by close observation of the natural world.
Cathryn Shilling, a 2025 QEST Winch Design Scholar, is a London-based glass artist known for her distinctive sculptural work and innovative use of kiln-formed and blown glass.
Barnaby Ash of Ash + Plumb, a 2022 QEST Turners’ Company Scholar, works with his partner Dru Plumb across functional and sculptural woodturning. Their practice explores ancient aesthetic archetypes, playfully reinterpreting them for a contemporary audience.
Matt Robinson of Ratsey & Lapthorn Classic Sailmakers, a 2020 QEST 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust Apprentice, brings the specialist skills of traditional sailmaking to the international craft community represented at Homo Faber.
Lisa Lloyd, a 2025 QEST Scholar, creates intricate and dynamic paper sculptures inspired by the energy and movement of birds, fish and insects, as well as the emotional complexities of the human condition.
Oliver Chalk, a 2023 QEST Axminster Tools Scholar, creates functional vessels and sculptures that celebrate the natural grain and character of wood. Working with fallen trees and timber from trees felled due to disease near his workshop, he hand-carves each piece in response to its individual texture, hardness, hue and patterns.
The presence of QEST Alumni at Homo Faber reflects the international reach and ambition of contemporary British craft. Across very different materials and disciplines, these makers demonstrate how specialist skills can be developed, adapted and reimagined. Their practices draw on generations of knowledge while embracing experimentation, innovation and new ways of thinking about materials.
This balance between tradition and contemporary practice is central to QEST’s work. By supporting makers through Scholarships, Emerging Maker Grants and Apprenticeships, QEST helps talented craftspeople develop the specialist skills and knowledge needed to build sustainable careers and contribute to the future of the UK’s craft sector.
Homo Faber Biennial | Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice | 1 – 30 September
