Stonemasonry workshop
Dražen Jakšić

History

Among the numerous families dealing with the stone-dressing trade in Donji Humac, outstands the Jakšić family. This family's roots are as old as their family crest, and the first written records of their workshop are dated in 1903 - the trade licence granted to the grandfather of the present-day workshop owner, Dražen Jakšić.

The family tradition was continued and developed by the Dražen's father, Lovro Jakšić. As a self-trained sculptor, he built many houses, churches, stone fences, and countless tombstones and monuments all over Dalmatia. As early as then he was government licensed to train stone dressers, so that hundreds of stone dressers of Brač owe their skills in handling stone to him.

Thanks to the inherited talent, but also to the knowledge gained at the Arts School and the Teaching Academy in Split, Dražen immediately started modernisation and widening of the workshop activities. The combination of tradition and education ideally matched in the present workshop that is technologically among the best equipped ones in the country, whereas by its staff it certainly holds the first place.

Dražen's wife, Ida Stipčić-Jakšić, by her arrival into the family 25 years ago, brought to this stone-dressing family some fashion trends that not even our greatest show-biz stars could have resisted. In her hands, stone becomes soft, pliable; she play with stone. Stone lamps, ear-rings, pendants, dresses and blooming daisies are products of imagination and love felt for Brač and stone. To everyone who takes them in their hands, they talk about the beauty of stone and the love of the Brač man for stone.

The business has been recently joined by the Dražen's son, Lovre, an academy-trained sculptor, his daughter-in-law, Miona, an academy-trained stone restorer, and his daughter, Dina, an academy-trained painter.

The workshop

Having taken his father's workshop over in 1982, Dražen Jakšić made a radical step forward. From this small workshop, he moved quickly on. Thanks to his excellent knowledge of stone and the nearby deposits of the best quality stone of Brač, very soon he captivated good stone connoisseurs and demanding customers.

The good acceptance in the market motivated Dražen to further modernise and man his business. The newly built workshop is equipped with state of the art, computer programmed machines, but also with the staff who know mallets, hammers and chisel, and all other stone-dressing tools - the men of the trade.

Many reputed Croatian sculptors, such as Kuzma Kovačić, Matko Mijić…, have found a true partner in Dražen, jointly implementing numerous successful projects. The creative collaboration with the architects Jerko Rošin, Slaven Rožić, Vjeko Ivanišević and many more, has resulted in designing and implementation of many significant projects, both in the country and abroad.