Handcrafted two-masted sailing ship model with ivory sails, brass fittings and a blue and red hull, resting on a wooden table in a workshop

Handcrafted Maritime Art

Built by hand.
One vessel at a time.

Unique ship models shaped, assembled and finished piece by piece in the ARLABA workshop.

Full portrait of a handmade schooner model with rigging lines running from deck to masts

01 — Manifesto

Not models.
Works of maritime art.

Every ARLABA vessel is assembled through a slow, manual process in which the hull, masts, rigging, sails and fittings are treated as parts of a single composition.

The value is not only in the finished ship, but in the time, precision and judgment required to bring hundreds of small elements together.

The artisan's hands placing a miniature brass fitting on the deck of a ship model with fine tweezers

02 — The artisan

Made by hand.
Defined by patience.

ARLABA grew from a fascination with the architecture of sailing vessels and the discipline of making by hand.

In the workshop, every component is positioned, adjusted and finished individually. The process is intentionally slow: precision comes before speed, and each completed vessel carries the character of the hands that made it.

03 — The craft

Hundreds of details.
One finished vessel.

Hand-drawn ship construction plans with a brass compass resting on the paper in warm workshop light

Cut by hand.

Work begins on paper. Every part is measured against the drawing before it is shaped.

Worn hand tools, files and small brass components laid out on a dark wooden workbench
Two hands holding a miniature rigged component of a ship model while adjusting it with a fine tool

Assembled by hand.

Each component is positioned, tested and adjusted before it is fixed in place.

Rigged by hand.

Every line is run and tensioned individually, from deck fittings to the highest mast.

Finished by hand.

The vessel is completed only when every surface, joint and detail holds together as one composition.

04 — Details

The details are the work.

From the rigging to the smallest fittings, every component is treated as part of the composition.

Close view of deck rails, brass rings and rigging lines on the hull of a handmade ship model
Rigging
Miniature rigged element held between the artisan's fingers, showing individual ladder rungs and lines
Deckwork
Brass fittings and small metal parts arranged among the tools used to shape them
Fittings

05 — One of one

No two are exactly alike.

Completed handmade sailing ship model shown in full, with ivory sails set and a deep blue hull

Every ARLABA ship carries the subtle variations of work done by hand.

Those differences are not defects; they are the signature of an object made individually rather than produced in series.

06 — Commissions

Commission a piece.

For private collectors, distinctive interiors and meaningful spaces.

Conversations begin directly with the artisan. Contact details will be published here once confirmed.

Contact ARLABA