Creative artists take us behind the scenes

Creative artists take us behind the scenes

Specialising in stone, wood or metal, these artisans create pieces that are unique, beautiful and made to measure, to the immense delight of their clients.

Marble masonry and old buildings restoration

Nicolas Boxho is passionate about sculpting from stone and marble. He first discovered this art when he was studying agronomy.

His training began with Jean Bersoux, a renowned mason in the Centre region, before going onto the Collégiale de Huy and Les Compagnons du devoir, in France.

Today, after 5 years of experience in a quarry, this marble craftsman has set up his own workshop and cuts stone for all types of buildings. What he is particularly passionate about is restoring old buildings such as farmhouses, churches and chapels. “I restored a complete chapel just next to Thuillies. I really love this restoration work,” he adds.

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The marble craftsman restores the stones of old buildings such as churches and chapels.

Cabinet-maker and artist

André Fevry is a wood turner in Nismes. With the help of his wood lathe and other tools, he transforms the raw material and turns it into genuine works of art. “One of the pieces I’m most proud of is in the town hall of Viroinval. It’s called ‘le Funamboule’. It really is a piece of craftmanship.”

Whilst André Févry particularly appreciates the aesthetic and artistic elements of his work, he also makes more functional pieces such as wheel axles or banisters.

Steel specialists from father to son

Émilien Thomas and his father, Jean-Marc,are blacksmiths and work with their raw materials depending on what their clients are looking for. They mainly produce relatively traditional pieces such as gates or staircases and are finding their clients becoming more imaginative all the time. “The orders are getting ever more creative. We always adapt to make sure that the piece is the best possible fit for the place where it is going,” explains Émilien.

Based in Sivry-Rance, this father and son duo is known in the region for their ability to adapt to all sorts of orders. For Émilien, the most challenging part is imagining how to transform the material according to the assembly and final installation. “We think about its transformation all the way through to the moment it is going to be placed in the chosen room in the house.”

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The craftsman regularly alters his work to satisfy his clients’ needs to the very best of his ability.

A team of carpenters

Active in the region since 1976 under the name  Fays-Rousseaux, this team of craftsmen have developed a wide range of products made from wood: frames, doors, exterior carpentry, cupboards… The products are made to measure right here in the workshop.

Here too, the artisans work around the sometimes very original demands of their clients. “The staircases we make have been becoming increasingly original in the past few years. They can be multi-level or for very particular locations.”

Over the years, the founder of the company has surrounded himself with a whole team to whom he can pass on his experience.

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Many clients call upon the services of craft woodworkers for interior furnishings, such as staircases.

Stonemason

Alain Charlet-Goire, from Beaumont, works mainly with blue stone. He uses a blend of digital and manual procedures to meet his clients’ demands as well as he possibly can. “I adapt my work according to my clients’ wishes,” he says.

He creates sinks, showers, wall finishings, and 60 to 70% of his clients’ orders are for blue stone.

Along with the usual requests, he is often challenged with creating something unique such as restoring an old, rounded staircase, 2.70 m2 in diameter in blue stone, in an old farmhouse.

atelier
These artisans are fully equipped with machines and tools for transforming their raw materials.