Appenzeller Sennenhandwerk

Hampi Fässler is the seventh generation to work as a dairyman's saddler. He makes suspenders and shoe buckles for the Appenzell men's costume and decorates bell straps and leather collars for Appenzell mountain dogs. More and more often, however, Hampi Fässler also makes belts with individual motifs for tourists and homeowners in his workshop. In Appenzell, there are three other alpine saddlers in Appenzell besides Hampi Fässler, two of whom are related to him. The alpine saddlers design the fittings for the Appenzell men's costume, the collars of the Appenzell mountain dogs ("paleness") and the wide and richly decorated bell straps of the three lead cows, which are presented at alpine pastures and cattle shows. Hampi Fässler works with leather, tinplate, brass and silver. The jewellery motifs from the herdsman's life are always drawn on paper before the design is applied to the desired metal. This is followed by sawing, after which the subjects are chiselled with tools of different sizes and fineness in elaborate precision work. Chasing is an old form of decorating metallic surfaces. With a hammer and iron pins ("punches"), the saddler drives ornaments or figurative representations into the sheet metal, turning the surface into a relief. A masterpiece of the alpine saddlery is the suspender ("Pschläglig") in black leather with the "Chüelibroscht", a breast bridge with elaborately decorated fittings showing rosettes, cows and dairymen. Although the Chüeli belt with its motifs is based on the suspenders
it is not part of the men's costume, but is rather one of the oldest souvenirs for tourists and Heimwehappenzellers. Hampi Fässler's grandfather made the first belts of this kind in the 1930s. When it comes to the subjects, there are almost no limits to the imagination, and the demand is high. The elaborate handicraft has its price: a lavishly decorated belt with fittings made of real silver costs 1800 francs and more. Cheaper variants, with machine-made fittings, are available from Hampi Fässler from 100 francs.