Claudia Woerndle

was born in 1981 and grew up in the wine region of Rheinhessen in Sprendlingen (Germany). From 2001 to 2004 she was trained as a sculptor for theaters in Krefeld (Germany). This experience awakened her interest in exploring the relation between form and it's influence on human perception. From 2004 to 2010 she studied at the University of Art and Design Burg Giebichenstein in Halle/Saale (Germany) in the department of Industrial Design with specialization in Design of Playing and Learning. This study opened her mind sharpened her observation gave her the tools of being creative and the knowledge to make use of it in her admired profession of being a designer. During that time as an exchange student to the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad (India) she also got introduced to the Indian life and culture. She was fascinated by the wide range and variety of traditional Indian handicraft and their unique look. She saw the vast potential for the current "modern" design to incorporate the uniqueness and the imperfection of the Indian handicraft in opposite to the usual mass-produced design products. On the other side she recognized the advantages for the traditional handicraft to survive through a sensitive collaboration with trained designers. With her diploma work "Opposites attract" she combined Indian handicraft and German design sense in a unique way. The result of her diploma is an intense working together with Indian handicraft people as well as a deep study of the Indian life style and culture in the state of Gujarat. (http://www.burg-halle.de/design/spiel-und-lerndesign/studienarbeiten-und-projekte/details/a/opposites-attract-verknuepfung-von-indischem-handwerk-und-deutschem-design.html)