Handicraft is important in French culture and last week was the Journées Européennes des Métiers d’Art. This event celebrate handicraft and craftspeople. If you don’t know, I live in Grenoble. This city is famous for many things : ski, local cuisine and… gloves. Let’s take this opportunity to learn with style while I tell you more about glove making in Grenoble.
🇫🇷 PS. At the end of this article you can find vocabulary related to handicraft (or artisanat as we say in French).
Discover French handicrafts
In French, métier d’art refers to creative crafts that use traditional savoir-faire and often require a very high level of technical skill. There are several types:
Les vitraillistes
Les horlogers et horlogères
Les souffleurs et souffleuses de verre
In my circle of friends, I know des artisans who are passionate about traditional skills. And in this article, I’ve decided to tell you about a something that is emblematic of Grenoble : les gantiers (= people who make gloves 🧤).
If you come to Grenoble, take a good look at the buildings. Above many of the doors you’ll see “Ganterie”. These are old stores that used to make and sell gloves. I say “old” because, yes, there are no longer any glove factories in Grenoble today…
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Discover Grenoble's treasure
The last glove factory closed 2 months ago. The craftsman who worked there was the last glove maker in Grenoble for over 20 years… And very importantly, he was a MOF. In other words, he had been awarded the title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France in his field (gloves dah…). This distinction is proof of great expertise and mastery.
I was lucky enough to visit his store before it closed and buy my first pair of handmade gloves (and surely the last 🥹😭).
Learn French through art
Here is an exercise to discover French handicrafts. You have to associate each craft to the right image. If you want to have a better look at the images, just click on them.
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Vocabulaire
- un(e) artisan = a self-employed person with a manual job
- un horloger / une horlogère = a person who repairs watches
- un(e) vitrailliste = a person who makes stained-glass windows (in churches, for example)
- un souffleur de verre / une souffleuse de verre = someone who works with glass to make objects
- un métier d'art
- un savoir-faire = a skill
Who am I?
Bonjour! I’m Audrey, a native French teacher helping French learners outside of 🇫🇷 gaining confidence thanks to art & culture. I use movies, music, literature and visual arts to immerse yourself in French language and culture.
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