cera.LAB is a design Studio at the intersection of digital experimentation and material craft. Founded in 2023 in Innsbruck, Austria, investigating how technology can echo the intimacy of handmade work—without sacrificing identity, sustainability, or form.

The studio specializes in ceramics, developing custom 3D-printing tools that act less like machines and more like digital extensions of the hand. Each tool is designed in-house, allowing us to craft with nuance, variation, and intent—just as a traditional artisan might. The result is a body of work where no two pieces are alike, yet all speak the same language.

Jan Contala is a architectural designer and researcher working at the forefront of digital ceramics. With a background in architecture, he brings spatial thinking and material sensitivity to the creation of experimental ceramic forms. Based in Innsbruck, Austria, he founded cera.LAB to explore the evolving dialogue between craft and machine. His work merges computational design with custom fabrication techniques, reimagining clay as a medium shaped by code, precision, and process. Through ongoing material research and hands-on experimentation, Jan Contala challenges conventional boundaries—positioning ceramics as a contemporary language of digital expression.

“I am driven by process. By slowness. By curiosity. Our forms emerge from an ongoing dialogue between clay and code, algorithm and accident. Through small-batch production, we explore what digital craft can become—rooted in material, yet shaped by the unknown.” - Jan Contala