The players are worthy of the scenery!
Cheese makers, builders, joiners,carpenters, potters, decorators,foresters, sculptors and artists: it’s the mountains that inspire them.
Their know-how is part of their heritage, feeds off it even, and they skilfully go about their work through the changing seasons.
In the markets and at the village fêtes, in the mountain pastures and in their workshops, before your very eyes our craftsmen and women express their knowledge of the mountains and their sense of belonging to this valley which provides them with a happiness they are keen to share.
La Poterie de l’Ermitage
In their workshop in the centre of Châtel, Jean Thomazeau and Sophie Colombet complement each other perfectly as one makes the Savoyarde pottery and the other carefully glazes it, in the finest traditions of mountain pottery. A large variety of their work is available at the workshop. Well worth a visit to
see them at work…
Carved Wooden Doves
Skill, time and patience are the three ingredients for sculpting a dove, along with an Opinel knife and spruce wood.
The incredible workmanship involved in chiselling and delicately caving the wood means a dove takes between 3 to 5 hours to complete.
The doves are decorative and maintain a tradition originating from farming communities all over the mountainous regions of Europe.
