We are committed
to the future of craft.

POD Feed

Open Call

We’d love you to be our next POD.*

*POD: a team of artisan, business developer and a creative coming together to create a collection. We support each POD with the financial resources for a first collection, a digital product development tool, global marketing and sales expertise and access to the co/rizom distribution network.

We invest in traditional crafts to empower the communities who make them.

Nermina Aliç, coppersmith from Bosnia Herzegovina

Every day, outstanding artisans
make products steeped in tradition
intended to last lifetimes.
But their creators struggle to survive.

Most artisans live in poor rural communities, with no access to finance, business or marketing expertise. They are unable to turn their skills into livelihoods.

Consumer demand for fair and authentic goods is growing. With that demand comes opportunity. That’s why we empower artisans to show the world what they are made of.

We connect artisans with creatives and business professionals to develop collections for a global audience. We call these teams PODs. PODs follow the co/rizom roadmap to produce unique products. We present them to the world.

We create teams of equals

Every POD member has an equal share of responsibility and ownership of the success. We empower each POD with the financial resources to develop a
first collection. Join a pod.

The co/rizom roadmap

PODs follow the co/rizom roadmap,
a unique seven-step product development process that gets artisans ready for the global market in 30 weeks.

We bring visibility

We use public relations, curated shows and exhibitions to boost global visibility and international sales. Our worldwide network of galleries, fairs, retailers and publications propel PODs and their collections to a global audience.

Three worlds colliding. Three people with their own skills and experience. One thing in common. The passion to create a fairer world. This is why we founded co/rizom.

We started in 2018 as a spin-off
from an ERSTE Foundation social development program
that transformed the Romanian social enterprise
Mesteshukar Butiq into a global player, supplying IKEA
with four handmade limited-edition collections.

In our first four years we engaged

47 artisans
from 11 communities
across eight countries,

delivering a digital roadmap to develop successful collections. We currently work with artisans in Albania, Austria, Bosnia Herzegovina, Georgia, Hungary, Nigeria, Romania and Uzbekistan.

Nadja Zerunian
creative dynamo

“I’m mostly a hustler, convincing people to work with us, I’m also developing the co/rizom roadmap and the collections for three Pods. I have a passion for craft, and collaborated with many artisans early in my career. When I returned to the craft world I realized the stress of survival that so many artisans face. I recognized I could make a difference with my learnings from the corporate world.

Interaction with makers and seeing an object ‘materialize’ galvanizes my commitment to our work. And the fact I can have an impact and enable artisans to get recognition for their craft @ the most important design events, from Homo Faber to Design Miami/Basel or 5vie in Milan. They will finally be where they belong. Even a couple of years ago, this seemed an impossible mission. I love when what we do suddenly makes sense.”

Andrei Georgescu
enterprise development

”I focus on business development for Pods working with wood, textiles and silver, as well as developing the co/rizom process and translating it into an easy-to-use digital platform. I also lead on distributing collections to market.

I’ve been in the shoes of our Pod members, trying to develop products with artisans, and I know how little support there is and how frustrating it can be for artisans to work with no structure. Co/rizom was created to cover the gap between artisans and modern retail. I’ve seen first-hand how this can change a community, and I’m determined to recreate that on a global scale.”

Alina Șerban
community engagement

“My 8-years experience in philanthropy and community development supporting social enterprises in Roma communities connected me to the world of crafts and was the motivation behind setting up co/rizom.

Working with artisans and supporting them to make a living inspires me every day. With our commitment we bring craft to another level, making tools accessible for artisans who want to develop their skills. My focus within co/rizom lies on contributing to structuring our process, engaging with partners on the implementation of the co/rizom roadmap as well as managing the incubation programme and institutional funding.”

We have pioneering collaborations with non-profit organizations, foundations, design shows, curators, online retailers, and publications around the world.

ERSTE Foundation
Powered by People
Vienna Design Week
Vienna Business Agency
Ground Truth Solutions
Romanian Design Week
Romanian Cultural Institute
Passa ao Futuro

Advisory Board
Lady Malloch-Brown, Lilli Hollein, Nicole Traxler, Marianne Schloegl,
Andre Wilkens, Franz Prueller

Artisans
Achenyo Idachaba-Obaro & Mitimeth, Ana Florea & the Zestrea team, Angelică Papaleț, Eva & Victor Clopotar, Nebije Qotai, Martin & Wolfgang Hufnagl, Nermina Alic, Terézia Eperjesi & the AMC team, Vasilica Isăcescu, Zaza Gatenashvili

Creatives
Aldo Bakker, Bram Vanderbeke, Chiara van Praag, Katharina Mischer & Thomas Traxler, Maddalena Casadei, Marta Giardini, Wendy Andreu, Wiener Times

Business Development
Gabor Nagy, Gilles Massé, Konstantin Schmoelzer, Poonam Golani, Wilfried Amanshauser

Photography
Alex Levac, Mark Glassner, Matei Plesa Nafez Rerhuf, Nick St. Oeger, Pauline Thurn und Taxis

Story-telling
Alexei Korolyov, Ana Berlin, Anne-France Berthelon, Francois Nunez, Giovanna Dunmall, Jasmin Jouhar, Karin Pollack, Kimberley Bradley, Marta Galli, Nissrin Zaptia, Susanna Koeberle

Curators & Advisors
Alice Stori Liechtenstein, Gabriel Roland, Gilles Masse, Francois Leblanc, Nick van Praag & GTS

Local support Goana Leka, Erjon Kacerja, Tamar Kiknadze, Maka Dvalishvili, Ana Maxaradze, Jamshid Fayzuallev & Jack Turner

Story

Romanian coppersmith Victor Clopotar launches his brand VCR at Homo Faber in Venice, the major exhibition dedicated to the very best in European craftsmanship.

We are committed to the future of craft.

POD Feed

Open Call

We invest in traditional crafts to empower the communities who make them.

Story

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We are committed
to the future of craft.