SUMMARY
Craft as a form of small series production is in a traditional point of view based on qualified manual work of a craftsman. The search for the role of crafts in contemporary context opens new possibilities in the product design process, enabling user’s participation, product personalization and downsizing general production footprint. The goal of this thesis is to (1) explore the analogy between hand-made & CAM, crafts & DIY, open-source & traditional sharing of know-how across generations and (2) to investigate a new educational model of design as a collective discipline. Ongoing experimental part of the project is led in the form of co-operation with The Centre For Folk Art Production in Bratislava – using this organization’s co-operation scheme titled “Open Studio“. A collaborative platform defined by the URL crafts.sk is shared by students from third to fifth year of product design study program, the task of which is to design utility everyday products, intended to be sold in the Centre’s galleries. Each of the products should find a way of updating or developing any part of Slovak crafts tradition.