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La manufacture

Once upon a time, there was a fascinating story.La Faïencerie de Charolles: a journey through time, in the deep and mysterious forests of southern Burgundy, but above all in the hearts of men and women with linked destinies.It all began in 1844, when Hippolyte Prost, a native of the country, took over his father's pottery workshop, thus laying the first stone of a company that would mark time and history. The Faïencerie de Charolles goes through the ages, but will never cease to carry high the know-how of ceramics, thanks to a handful of passionate craftsmen who will never give up. It will gradually become THE REFERENCE in art earthenware, in France and throughout the world.For nearly 20 years, the Manufacture has established itself
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in the decoration and know-how of ceramics. The world is changing, and for a few years Earthenware, an original art craft, struggles to find its place. In 2019, Cyrille Frappé, convinced of the creative potential of earthenware, takes over the Manufacture and breathes new life into it. 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 calls on Aurélie Richard, Artistic Director and designer. The Manufacture definitely takes the turn of modernity and forges collaborations with independent designers to create a real choice of Art ceramics. Still, the manual and artisanal production of these ceramics is ensured in the workshops of Charolles, thanks to the expert hands of eight artisans from the region who know their trade perfectly. 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 cult. The transmission of know-how will continue to bring to life models that have survived the ages, as well as collections of a resolutely contemporary genre. Today, two worlds come together, giving life to new objects that create emotions.

Un savoir-faire

More than a know-how, ceramics 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. What is this ancestral know-how, which has come back to the fore? Enter La Faïencerie de Charolles, push the doors of the workshop and let yourself be transported by 176 years of history. Years have passed, yet the actions remain the same. 8 artisans painstakingly perpetuate each of the movements of their elders, mastering the ancestral art of the Manufacture to perfection. A historical know-how, exclusively manual, from working with clay to coloring. It all starts with the making of plaster molds, based on the designs of the designers. Creation
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is cast within, unmolded, it is stored in the open air in the aisles of the workshop. The clay will acquire an ideal texture, perfectly resistant to the first firing at 1030 ° C in a gas oven, from which the "biscuit", terracotta and porous, will come out, which will then be glazed with a spray gun, with carefully colored colors. selected. A second firing at 980 ° C will fix the enamel and the decoration. This process makes the manufacturing very random and sometimes, when opening the oven, the disappointments are great. This is the whole "game" of this craft which does not meet any precise rule. The centuries pass, the know-how remains intact. The Manufacture perpetuates the cultural heritage of artisanal ceramic production. FdC, certified Living HeritageCompany.

Living Heritage Company

In 2016 La Faïencerie de Charolles received the “Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant” (EPV) label. State recognition which makes it possible to distinguish manufacturing excellence, rare know-how and underline the high added value of manufacturing "made in France". Located in the heart of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, the Faïencerie de Charolles has been carrying ceramic know-how high since 1844. Today, nothing has changed. Manual and artisanal production is still carried out in the workshops of Charolles, by eight craftsmen who have a high mastery of this craft. The modeler himself makes the models and all the necessary material up to the manufacturing molds. Vases, tables, lights, decorative objects. The colors used are "house"
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mixtures developed in the manufacture. The artisans seek to build a bridge between yesterday and today, by offering works that enunciate the rising values of durability, authenticity and simplicity currently emerging in the discourse of art and design. An art profession that shows how ceramics have a particular capacity to convey the expression of the passing of time, to transmit values of comfort and humility. A praise of slowness and contemplation. The Faïencerie de Charolles, our common cultural heritage, a major player in French craftsmanship, “Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant” (EPV).

8 artisans shape our objects

Every day, the Manufacture presents new “hand-made” creations, shaped by eight passionate craftsmen: Nathalie, Aurélie, Gloria, Béatrice, Joao, Yannick, Jean-Pierre and Cyril. Works produced using gestures of infinite precision, the same as those of Hippolyte, a native of the country, creator of Earthenware, in 1844. Eight men and women who have ancestral know-how, but above all a deep love of their profession. Our 8 artisans respond to a real consumer desire for unique and exceptional pieces and for a job well done. As if there was a weariness vis-à-vis standardized, mass-produced products, of unknown origin. It is not for nothing that the Faïencerie de Charolles is labeled "Entreprise Patrimoine Vivant" (EPV). It seeks to revive, through
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the use of its passionate craftsmen, a form of sharing, transmission, exchange, from human to human. A revaluation of this art craft of earthenware, but also of the history of this magnificent land of Burgundy. Tables, vases, lights, so many everyday objects, useful or decorative objects, which have passed into expert, passionate hands, which you can find at home, as a witness to the history of your region, a moment in the life of these craftsmen who took the time to shape them by hand, detail after detail, in their workshop. The Manufacture's creations are much more than furnishings or decorative objects, they are the stories of men and women, of an art, of a region, of a country. It is the history of French craftsmanship through the centuries, which today sublimates your interior decoration.

Pichet BROCCA
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