The art of craftsmanship: handmade joy

Making things makes you happy. That’s the message of the “Handwerkskunst” series, produced by SWR, a public service broadcaster from south-western Germany. The show takes viewers into firms and workshops in Germany which practise the traditional crafts and trades – and sometimes even reinvent them. Each episode focuses on a different trade, as the camera follows a craftsperson at every stage from when they first touch the raw material through to the finished product, so viewers get to see the skill, patience and passion in every movement. 

The series covers a wide spectrum of careers, covering well-known trades such as carpentry, baking and shoemaking, but also lifting the lid on uncommon professions such as coopers, glass blowers, and wood turners. The show is not just about new objects, either: it also celebrates repairing and repurposing items. 

The series takes a deliberately broad interpretation of the skilled crafts and trades, and includes episodes on how to make sushi or how to be a professional makeup artist. Sometimes, human lives actually depend on reliable craftsmanship, such as the woman who sews parachutes. The series presents her alongside a surgeon, who describes how “captivating it is that my hands can save lives.”   

Watch all the episodes here with English subtitles.