Since 1844, the manufacture has never ceased its activity and we keep
the cultural heritage of artisanal ceramic making. Listed in the “HERITAGE
ALIVE “thanks to the obtaining of the EPV label, the Faïencerie de Charolles is a testimony of French know-how and traditions that stand the test of time. Each object is shaped in our workshops in Charolles, by the hands of 8 committed artisans.
La Faïencerie de Charolles: a journey through time, in the wooded, deep and mysterious forests of Southern Burgundy, but above all in the hearts of men and women with linked destinies.
It all started in 1844, when Hippolyte Prost, a native of the country, took over his father’s pottery workshop, thus laying the foundation stone for a company and a know-how that would mark time and history. Hippolyte died in 1892, the Molin Family took over. Demanding, ambitious, the buyers make their own colors, infusing the creations with all the nuances and emotions of the lands of Burgundy. The Faïencerie de Charolles goes through eras and wars, but will never cease to carry ceramics know-how high, thanks to a handful of passionate craftsmen who will never give up. Faïencerie will gradually become THE REFERENCE in artistic earthenware, in France and throughout the world.
In 1995, the beautiful story continues, the Terrier family takes over the earthenware factory. Attached to tradition, they base their success on the heritage of Earthenware. Perfect symbiosis between first-choice materials and ancestral know-how, the collections are resolutely turned towards the manufacture of high-end ceramic decorative objects. For nearly 20 years, the Manufacture has established itself in the decoration and know-how of ceramics. The world is changing, evolving, modernizing and for a few years Earthenware, an original art profession, struggles to find its place. It was then that in 2019, Cyrille Frappé, a visionary entrepreneur, convinced of the creative potential of earthenware, took over the Manufacture and gave it new life. Passionate about the beautiful, the authentic, the true, he ensures the selection of the raw material, a French land and opens the doors to design and modernity. Its ambition: to perpetuate this historical know-how and restore their letters of nobility to decorative objects and small furniture that bear meaning and borrow from history. To support his vision, he called on Aurélie Richard to lead the Artistic Direction of the manufacture and the creation of the new collections of the Earthenware. The Manufacture definitely takes the turn of modernity and forges collaborations with independent designers to create a real choice of Art ceramics.
At Even today, the manual and artisanal production of these decorative ceramics is ensured in the workshops of Charolles, in France, in the magnificent region Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It’s thanks to expert handseight artisans from the region who know their trade perfectly that the manufacture comes back to life and perpetuates this French cultural heritage. Finally, the Manufacture is labeled Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant, EPV. The Faïencerie de Charolles, a place steeped in history, which has seen the birth of collections that have become flagship. The transmission of know-how will continue to bring to life the models that have survived the ages, as well as the collections of a resolutely contemporary genre. Today, two worlds come together, giving life to new objects that create emotions. More than a know-how, it is an art, of which there are beautiful vestiges… but also bright days to come. Ceramics are dusted off, become modern, exhibited and decorate our most trendy interiors. Ceramics are as popular with art lovers as they are with craftspeople. When Hippolyte put his hands in the earth, literally, taking over his father’s pottery workshop, could he have imagined that nearly 200 years later his creations and those of his successors would become the key elements of a contemporary, chic and trendy decoration? This is all the magic of this southern Burgundy art craft. It connects the past, the present, and certainly the future, thanks to timeless creations, which have become true ambassadors of French savoir-vivre. In the Heritage or Iconography collections, the Glouglou fish no longer needs to be presented, nor the Goutte vase, and so many other ceramic pieces that have become part of French heritage. The beauty of this know-how, the magic of this transmission, the highlighting of a French region, Southern Burgundy. Why Hippolyte chose the earth 200 years ago? Certainly because it is one of the only materials that allows the craftsman to have direct contact with it. A dialogue between living matter and work of memory. Why are our artisans still working it today? Most certainly for the same reasons, but more in response to the issues of our time: putting material back into this dematerialized world. Discover, rediscover the many models of tables, vases, lights, shaped and perfected with passion, by hand, over the years, in the workshops of the Faïencerie de Charolles, Enterprise of Living Heritage, guarantor of products of excellence made in France.
