The earthenware factory at Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
In Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, it's hard to miss out on the world of earthenware. The Lallier workshop is one of the workshops that carry on the village tradition. While the shop is right in the heart of the old village, the workshop is just outside the village on the way to Riez.
Aux alentours
Visit the Lallier workshop in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
The workshop can be visited by appointment. Find out where and how the famous Moustiers earthenware is made.
The Moustiers-Sainte-Marie family has been making Moustiers earthenware for three generations. On this particular day, Christine Lallier welcomes us for a tour of the factory.
The tour begins in the basement. This is where the earthenware paste is worked, and this raw material is the workshop's best-kept secret. The ingredients are mixed and kneaded until a homogeneous paste with a characteristic colour is obtained.
Upstairs, we enter the Holy of Holies, the modelling workshop. The workshop houses all the moulds and dies needed to produce their collection of over 800 models. Shapes, moulds and dies are created here.
The tour continues in the shaping workshop. Here the master craftsmen fill the moulds, take the pieces out of the mould, work on the perforations and assemblies, then trim the objects before firing.
The first firing takes place in a kiln heated to 1020°. The clay is now ready for glazing. This is done by dipping. The pieces are then decorated by hand, the longest stage in the workshop.
Finally, the enamelled pieces are put back into the kiln at 980° to fix the colours.
For the more curious, the tour ends with a small family museum.
Visit the faience factory and shop online.
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