Faïencerie Georges, rousing sleeping beauty

In 2009, when Carole Dumont-Georges’ parents announced they were planning to retire, both she, as their only child, and her husband Jean-François Dumont, couldn’t help but feel a faint tinge of regret. After all, Jean-Pierre and Catherine Georges were preparing to give up a pottery that had been in the family for four generations, having initially been founded in 1898 prior to coming into the family’s hands. Nevers, Burgundy’s third largest city, had been reputed for its pottery since back in the XVIth century when Louis de Gonzague, Duke of Nevers, imported the technique from Italy. In the XVIIIth century during the golden age of the Nevers potteries, 12 factories employed as many as 500 workers. But XXIst century Nevers seemed to have little interest in breathing new life into the secular art of hand-painting designs onto unfired enamel.

Getting involved in the family business had never even crossed Carole’s mind, and her parents honestly believed the business had no real future. The thirty-something was living and working in Paris as a graphic artist, whilst her husband was a liaison officer working for the French government, and the two young parents were taking full advantage of all the cultural and social opportunities the capital offered. It looked like it was time to bid the business farewell. Farewell to the legacy of Emile and Marguerite, Carole’s great-grandparents, who were the first to take over their boss’s business back in 1926, acquiring the firm from Félicien Cottard who was himself the Marest brothers’ successor.  A multitude of moulds had been inherited from the pottery’s heyday, used to manufacture not only dishes, plates and vases but collectable objets d’art, too: miniature ceramic shoes embellished with flowers, tiny children’s slippers destined to be Christening gifts, and large jugs with dragon-shaped handles known as ewers. Marguerite had come up with the idea of painting lampshades with designs that matched the ceramic bases on which they sat. The end result was somewhat busy, but perfectly in tune with its time. Two generations later, Jean-Pierre Georges took on the time-consuming task of cataloguing the hundreds of moulds his parents, André and Mireille, had abandoned back in the 1970s. His idea was to start using the old moulds to reproduce wares embellished with the traditional decor. Whenever they had something big to celebrate, local customers flocked to the one and only store run by Carole’s parents to purchase their very own piece of tradition. The firm had its own signature, too: two green knots for “de Nevers” (meaning “from Nevers”, but sounding identical to “deux noeux verts”, or “two green knots”, in French).

So, had the time really come to bid the business farewell? In the end, the answer was no. It would be such a shame to see all that family history fall by the wayside. Carole and her husband decided to turn a page on their life in Paris and take on the family business. But giving it their own unique spin. It was decided that certain traditions and expertise would be perpetuated, with skilled artisans continuing to hand fashion each piece from clay in the workshop and hand paint the décor themselves. The motifs, however, were to receive a radical makeover. Graphic artist Carole was aware that Nevers had always drawn inspiration from the work of contemporary artists,  so why stay so firmly rooted in the past? In 2010, the pieces were crying out for clean-lined modernity. Carole took everything back to basics, deftly sketching out her own poetic blue take on a whole host of subjects in a few quick sweeps of her brush, including the rooftops of Paris, skiers, planes and parachutes. No theme was considered off-limits, not even telegraph poles. “I was already at ease with the techniques, as I grew up in the workshop,” she explains. “But what really helped us was the time we had spent in Paris, surrounded by exhibitions and modernity. I suppose we basically gave everything a new injection of style.”

“The locals have a strong emotional attachment to our activity. It’s really touching.”

The first few pieces caused outrage amongst local purists. The same couldn’t be said of the jury at the Ateliers d’Art de France, however, whose recognition gave them the opportunity to exhibit in the Craft zone at the Maison&Objet trade fair in September 2013. “The award helped us expand our horizons and we received some very useful training, which helped us tailor our range to the market.” Now officially a member of the Ateliers d’Art de France, since 2013 Faïencerie Georges has also held the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (living heritage) label in recognition of their traditional expertise. Being showcased at the Maison&Objet trade fair in each editions turned a global spotlight on the firm’s range. Recently, the pottery has started working for the catering trade. Plates emblazoned with chimeras sitting against a cobalt blue background now adorn the tables of Alain Ducasse’s restaurant, Esterre, at the Palace Hotel Tokyo. “Since everything is handmade, we’re able to create bespoke pieces, even in very small quantities,” explains Carole. It was also at the trade fair that the pair first connected with their new Sales Director.

Today, only two potteries are still going strong in Nevers - one producing traditional wares and the other with a far more modern style, Faïencerie Georges. “The support we’ve received is outstanding,” says Carole with a smile. “People have really got behind us. The locals have a strong emotional attachment to our activity. It’s really touching. Today, we no longer live in Paris but two hours away alongside the River Loire. And we’re free.”

Faïencerie Georges

By Caroline Tossan

Illustration © Sarah Bouillaud