The origins of glassware in Vannes-le-Chatel
From Past to Present: Celebrating 30 Years of Cerfav’s Legacy and Unveiling the Origins of Vannes-le-Châtel Glassworks
In 2021, Cerfav celebrates its 30th anniversary. About 250 years ago, the so-called Vannes-le-Châtel glassworks was created, although it is located on the territory of the commune of Allamps, which was then part of the seigneury of Vannes. Indeed, in 1765, Madame de Reims (or de Rheims, according to the writings), born Marie-Anne Gabrielle Roze de Barbarat de Mazirot, wife of Antoine Bernard de Reims, lord of Vannes, built the first glass factory. Its goal: to use the products of its immense forests which it wanted to promote by manufacturing glasses and so-called gobletware objects, a booming market.
Transitions in Time: The Evolution of Vannes Seigneury and its Custodians
The Reims family received the seigneury of Vannes around 1724, certainly by purchase from the Ligniville family ( today we would write Lignéville). It then passed into the hands of Laurent Hocquet de Saint Léger before 1779.
Forging Legends: Navigating Selective Memory and Unity in Glassmaking’s Collective History
The collective memory is selective in shaping the legend. We retain the best, to hell with the rest! We call on the prowess of the past by glassmakers. The momentum and popular solidarity are then reinforced . Little by little, the hard work of those who get up early, who go from their workers’ housing estate to the “Grand’Place” with their flashlights, haversacks on their backs, husband and wife on duty, is forgotten. Subjugated life is organized around the factory.
Captivating Brilliance: Glass’s Enchanting Allure and Artistic Intricacies
Glass invites, outside the working conditions of another century, to dream, to perpetuated tradition, to beauty, to the nobility of luxury, of which we know nothing here, and it regales us with mysteries. From the creation of Cerfav, in contact with the first visual artists we met, we learn that it traps a number of artists. Believing to use it, they finally feel deprived of all merit as it imposes itself by the power of its aspects. The brilliance, the transparency, the radiance, the effects of materials amaze spontaneously. “The viewer makes the work”, instructed us Marcel Duchamp, but then where did the author go? The glass catches the light, risking relegating the artistic message to the rank of anecdote.
Intriguing Conundrums: Glass’s Unpredictable Nature Challenges Science and Inspires Discovery
Scientists also wonder a lot about the enigmas it poses. Indeed, his behavior often puts their knowledge to the test. We must not rely on the appearances it gives: glass shuffles the cards into tales, both counter truths and scientific assertions, however solid they may seem. While it is certainly the oldest synthetic material exploited by man, we are constantly discovering it and finding new applications for it in unexpected fields.
Shaping Eras and Innovations: Glass’s Timeless Journey from Stained Windows to Cutting-Edge Technology
Throughout history, it has allowed polychrome stained glass windows in cathedrals; it illustrates the apogee of Venice through excellence and finesse. The crystal, first discovered in England, later arrived in Lorraine, where the crystal works became a benchmark in the tableware, luxury, jewelery and lighting industries. Today, glass is ultra-contemporary, in the plastic arts of course, and we also note its use in electronics, optics, telecommunications, construction, health, aeronautics, nuclear, automotive, energy, medical. It could well, by the way, constitute a technical solution to automotive batteries!
Preserving Heritage, Forging Future: Cerfav’s Quest to Uncover Glass’s Hidden Treasures
The pioneers of Cerfav have understood that glass is a heritage bequeathed by previous generations. It still has to deliver unsuspected riches, in line with the needs of our time. This is what excites us and marks our attachment to glass, our raison d’être.
Beyond the Furnace: Nurturing Knowledge and Creativity in Vannes-le-Châtel’s Glass Artistry
In this sense, the collective alchemy in Vannes-le- Châtel does not only take place in the glass furnaces: by acquiring the means to glean knowledge, by experimenting, by researching, knowledge progresses and leads us to beyond the paths traced by the glass arts. Glass is the heritage capital that Vannes-le-Châtel likes to cultivate and develop through a creative and open dynamic.
Shaping the Story: 30 Years of Glass Evolution in Vannes-le-Châtel
It is a new state of a process which is no longer the story of a factory, but that of glass in Vannes-le-Châtel which has been written for 30 years.
Beyond skepticism, the momentum is launched.
More than the Cerfav, it is the concept of a glass platform that prevails on these bases. The dictionary tells us. Platform: Flat, horizontal surface, more or less safe raised […]. Location dedicated to receiving equipment, men […]. Open part, not equipped with seats. Figuratively, it is a set of ideas, on which we rely to present a common policy. We want to bring together students, visual artists and designers, master glassmakers, engineers and technology consultants, chemists, historians, kids from primary school, to approach glass without prejudice or condition . On the nerve of course!
Fulfilling Visions: Overcoming Skepticism and Championing Glassmaker Training at Cerfav
When the will to train glassmakers is affirmed when the factories lay off, it is necessary to demonstrate a great force of conviction. When you aim to train artists, you need a good dose of insolence or ignorance sometimes to be seriously listened to. When we explain to artisans that Cerfav will produce the professionals of tomorrow, we must be at least optimistic if not very pretentious . When we explain to the institutions concerned about rural employment that the future will go through microcarriers and craftsmen, we must, here too, believe in its approach. The dialectic is to manage contradictions, to dissolve skepticism with each move played and to federate. The first to have exceeded the time of skepticism is Michel Dinet. Very influential, visionary and player in local development, his sometimes utopian view became reality through the people he was able to choose to work like madmen to transform the dream into reality. They are developers , glassmakers of course, association activists, elected officials, educators, craftsmen and even administrators or managers . All of them “in the project”. With them, many actors and institutional partners commit their benevolence and support the refreshing and emerging professional dynamic.
A bet is placed
During a meeting of European partners at Cerfav in 1996, the Swede Gunnar Englund made an astonishing remark: “They say that Cerfav is European, but there are only French people. We see photos with lots of people, but it’s just us, the experts who have come two or three times in three years. It looks like groups of young people in the photos as if it were a campus American and, in fact, the students are about ten. Despite that, I feel that something essential is happening here, something humanly strong and for the glass. »
Forging Tomorrow’s Artisans: Navigating Uncharted Territories at Cerfav for a New Glass Art Era
The ingredients are gathered at Cerfav, skills, resources, networks, but it is fair to consider that everything remains to be done and learned. The technical means are to be invented, dimensioned and mastered. Glassmakers must learn to become trainers, pedagogy must be designed and applied. It is also necessary to better understand glass and all the processes, including those that have never been practiced in Vannes-le-Châtel, so that a new art of glass can emerge. You have to live up to the announced ambitions, you have to succeed.
Breaking Boundaries: Cerfav’s Vision to Liberate Glass Artistry from Traditional Constraints
The founding will of Cerfav was to organize knowledge of the material and the processes with the aim of freeing future professionals from all the constraints of implementation . If, on the contrary, only the celebration of old crafts had prevailed, new paths would never have been opened.
Revolutionizing Glass: The Genesis of 3D Printing with Glam Process in Vannes-le Châtel
The Glam process, a world first in 3D glass printing technologies, was born in Vannes-le Châtel. It is not a coincidence. Converge here the control of the compositions, the expertise of the melting conditions, process engineering and the power of intuition. Our chemists produce bioactive glass, compatible with the human body, to stimulate bone grafts, optimize mold coatings, undertake research in the fields of connectors, microfluidics, optics, functionalization of surfaces of glass.
Crafting Connections: Cerfav’s Dynamic Interplay Between Innovation, Restoration, and Collaboration
Fair return, the Cerfav revisits the crystal compositions of the Daum house (joint laboratory supported by the National Research Agency [ANR]) while carrying out the restoration of the lights of the Majorelle villa in Nancy, jewel of the Art Nouveau, concretizes projects by artists or designers who arrived in Vannes-le-Châtel as a last resort.
An Enduring Presence: Daum and Cerfav’s Joint Legacy in Vannes-le-Châtel’s Glassmaking Heritage
In 2021, Daum is still strongly present in Vannes le-Châtel, even if the number of employees is disproportionate to that of the 1960s; there are currently around sixty employees at the Vannes-le-Châtel plant. Daum and Cerfav, respectively to the east and west of Vannes-le Châtel, surround the village, bear witness to episodes from the past, but also carry the future of glassmaking in the town and the territory of Colombey-les-Belles. and South Toulouse. They both contribute, each in his or her role, to the influence of the art and know-how of glassmakers in Lorraine and France.
Residences and Roles: The Legacy of Louis Nicolas Griveau in Vannes
It was sold shortly afterwards, in 1788; Louis Nicolas Griveau, king’s adviser, notary, acquires the Vannes estate. He lived there during the Revolution, thus avoiding Paris. He became a member of the general council of the department of Meurthe, then deputy. He died on October 20, 1823 in Vannes.
Investors and Artisans: Evolution of Ownership and Expertise at the Vannes Glass Factory
All of these successive owners do not report any particular skills in the glass trades. We can think that they act more as investors and for the development of their territory, than as industrialists. However, from 1796, the management of the factory was entrusted to tradespeople, the Sieurs Schmid, renowned master glassmakers whose ancestors were present in a large number of glassworks in eastern France . Links will continue to be forged in the 20th century between the directing families of these great glassworks.
From Ignition to Innovation: Evolution of Production at the Vannes Glassworks Under the Schmid Family
The development really started after the Schmid family took ownership of the glassworks in 1827.The factory employs around a hundred craftsmen and laborers who are “slaves” to the glass melting furnace. Indeed, wood fusion is then an uncontrolled process. Staff must be available when the glass is ready to be “picked1″. A bell announces the start of work according to the vagaries of glass melting, at any time of day or night. This system works before a better mastery of fusion thanks to the heating of coal furnaces in 1870.
Transitioning into Industry: Evolution and Investments at the Vannes Glassworks
But before this innovation, several investments contributed to the development of glassmaking: the construction of a water cutting plant in 1846, then the installation of a first press and an acid etching workshop around 1880. If although the workforce of the glassworks reached more than 400 employees in 1884. As M. Arlet notes (see note 1), the glassworks passed at the turn of the 20th century from a craft business to an industrial business, a development that was certainly facilitated by the engineering training of the Central School of Arts and Manufactures of two executives of the factory: Camille Adrien Schmid, born in 1869, son of Jean-François Ernest Schmid, himself grandson of the first director Melchior III Schmid, and Albert Bourbonneux,born in 1866, who would become Ernest’s son-in-law, through his marriage to Camille’s sister.
Passing the Torch: A New Industrial Era at the Vannes Glassworks Under Albert Bourbonneux’s Leadership
The death of Ernest Schmid in 1908 marked the end of the “Schmid” dynasty. It was Albert Bourbonneux, his son-in-law, who became manager on behalf of the company Les enfants d’Ernest Schmid. This direction opens a new industrial era.
Navigating Wars and Alliances: Evolution of Vannes Glass Works in the Early 20th Century
From 1908 to 1945, the factory produced increasingly fine articles to fight against foreign competition. Between the two wars, through family ties, the glass works of Vannes were united for a time with the Société des verreries de Vierzon.
Generational Shifts and War’s Impact: Vannes Glass Factory’s Journey Through Turbulent Times
Albert died in 1937. Two of his sons, François-Joseph Marie and Marie-Joseph Michel Claude, took over from him . The Second World War arrives in 1939. The factory is closed for more than two years, for lack of coal and manpower. In 1945, the heating of the ovens was even better controlled thanks to the installation of fuel oil to replace coal. Gas will replace fuel oil at the end of the 1980s.
Shaping Brilliance: Evolution of Craftsmanship and Production at the Vannes Glassworks
In 1950, the glassworks perfected crystalline or semicrystal, which enabled it to produce better quality, further improved with the mastery of crystal in 1963 then experienced its heyday, with more than 700 employees from all the surrounding villages. Albert’s sons are the first two to bear the title of “director of the crystal factory” and no longer “of the glass factory”. This shows the evolution of the company’s production. The latter will also have been administrator of the Portieux glassworks. The last director of the family is Bernard-Albert Pierre Claude (1935-1997), the son of François-Joseph Marie. All will have been master glassmakers.
Changing Landscape: Mergers and Transformations in the Vannes Crystal Industry
But the times are for cost optimization, in particular through concentrations-mergers. In 1971, the Vannes-le-Châtel crystal factory, which had not yet joined Daum (Nancy), merged with the Compagnie française du cristal (CFC). The CFC is created by the merger of the companies of Vannes-le Châtel (54), Portieux (88), Fainsles-Sources (55), Vallerysthal (57) and Bayel (10). She bought the Cristal de Sèvres brand from the Cristalleries de Choisy-le-Roi. This will be manufactured in Vannes until it is sold to Atlantis (Portugal) in 2003.
Turbulent Times: Disruptions and Closures in the Glass and Crystal Industry
But the glass and crystal industry is entering a zone of turbulence. 1977 marked the shutdown of the Vallerysthal establishment and 1978 that of Fains-les-Sources.
Shifting Fortunes: Bankruptcies and Reshuffling in the Glass and Crystal Industry
The CFC filed for bankruptcy in 1981. Daum, which became a subsidiary of the CFC in 1976, filed for bankruptcy itself in 1982. Rue de la Garenne – working-class housing estates of Vannes-le-Châtel. The same year saw the separation of Portieux. In 1986, the CFC was taken over by Bear Bull Investments; Daum was then merged into the CFC, to finally be bought in 1996 by Sagem for a symbolic franc. The situation did not improve, and Daum filed for bankruptcy in 2004 with a continuation plan, to be taken over by Financière Saint-Germain in 2009.
A story unfolds gradually
From this period of crisis, what will be the epic of Cerfav is born. The manufacture suffered the consequences of successive oil shocks. Sluggish sales have led to social crises and augur a bleak future for the factory. But rural people are resilient. In a way, they adopt Émile Gallé’s motto: “My roots are deep in the woods…”, realizing that the keys to becoming are in local resources, those of the forest originally.The rest of the story, indeed, we really owe it to the glass! First of all, who isn’t systematically fascinated and attracted by the light it produces, captivated like a butterfly by a lantern? Who has never remained hypnotized in frontf the ovens and the glassmakers at work?
Glass as Enigmatic Master: A Journey into the Reverence and Craftsmanship of Glassmaking
Then, the glass claims its place and its recognition! The very words of the glassmakers bear witness to this. They evoke it with a form of respect, like that of a mysterious master , as if it were a person. Then their tricks do the rest of the magic to seduce us. “We have to respect it,” they say. The glass does not rush, it is he who decides, you have to remain humble with him. And especially the key phrase heard a thousand times: “We learn something every day with this material! And the glassmakers recount their experiences and the whims of which glass is capable, especially when its control escapes them. He doesn’t give up…
Forging Legends: Navigating Selective Memory and Unity in Glassmaking’s Collective History
The collective memory is selective in shaping the legend. We retain the best, to hell with the rest! We call on the prowess of the past by glassmakers. The momentum and popular solidarity are then reinforced . Little by little, the hard work of those who get up early, who go from their workers’ housing estate to the “Grand’Place” with their flashlights, haversacks on their backs, husband and wife on duty, is forgotten. Subjugated life is organized around the factory.
Captivating Brilliance: Glass’s Enchanting Allure and Artistic Intricacies
Glass invites, outside the working conditions of another century, to dream, to perpetuated tradition, to beauty, to the nobility of luxury, of which we know nothing here, and it regales us with mysteries. From the creation of Cerfav, in contact with the first visual artists we met, we learn that it traps a number of artists. Believing to use it, they finally feel deprived of all merit as it imposes itself by the power of its aspects. The brilliance, the transparency, the radiance, the effects of materials amaze spontaneously. “The viewer makes the work”, instructed us Marcel Duchamp, but then where did the author go? The glass catches the light, risking relegating the artistic message to the rank of anecdote.
Intriguing Conundrums: Glass’s Unpredictable Nature Challenges Science and Inspires Discovery
Scientists also wonder a lot about the enigmas it poses. Indeed, his behavior often puts their knowledge to the test. We must not rely on the appearances it gives: glass shuffles the cards into tales, both counter truths and scientific assertions, however solid they may seem. While it is certainly the oldest synthetic material exploited by man, we are constantly discovering it and finding new applications for it in unexpected fields.
Shaping Eras and Innovations: Glass’s Timeless Journey from Stained Windows to Cutting-Edge Technology
Throughout history, it has allowed polychrome stained glass windows in cathedrals; it illustrates the apogee of Venice through excellence and finesse. The crystal, first discovered in England, later arrived in Lorraine, where the crystal works became a benchmark in the tableware, luxury, jewelery and lighting industries. Today, glass is ultra-contemporary, in the plastic arts of course, and we also note its use in electronics, optics, telecommunications, construction, health, aeronautics, nuclear, automotive, energy, medical. It could well, by the way, constitute a technical solution to automotive batteries!
Preserving Heritage, Forging Future: Cerfav’s Quest to Uncover Glass’s Hidden Treasures
The pioneers of Cerfav have understood that glass is a heritage bequeathed by previous generations. It still has to deliver unsuspected riches, in line with the needs of our time. This is what excites us and marks our attachment to glass, our raison d’être.
Beyond the Furnace: Nurturing Knowledge and Creativity in Vannes-le-Châtel’s Glass Artistry
In this sense, the collective alchemy in Vannes-le- Châtel does not only take place in the glass furnaces: by acquiring the means to glean knowledge, by experimenting, by researching, knowledge progresses and leads us to beyond the paths traced by the glass arts. Glass is the heritage capital that Vannes-le-Châtel likes to cultivate and develop through a creative and open dynamic.
Shaping the Story: 30 Years of Glass Evolution in Vannes-le-Châtel
It is a new state of a process which is no longer the story of a factory, but that of glass in Vannes-le-Châtel which has been written for 30 years.
Beyond skepticism, the momentum is launched.
More than the Cerfav, it is the concept of a glass platform that prevails on these bases. The dictionary tells us. Platform: Flat, horizontal surface, more or less safe raised […]. Location dedicated to receiving equipment, men […]. Open part, not equipped with seats. Figuratively, it is a set of ideas, on which we rely to present a common policy. We want to bring together students, visual artists and designers, master glassmakers, engineers and technology consultants, chemists, historians, kids from primary school, to approach glass without prejudice or condition . On the nerve of course!
Fulfilling Visions: Overcoming Skepticism and Championing Glassmaker Training at Cerfav
When the will to train glassmakers is affirmed when the factories lay off, it is necessary to demonstrate a great force of conviction. When you aim to train artists, you need a good dose of insolence or ignorance sometimes to be seriously listened to. When we explain to artisans that Cerfav will produce the professionals of tomorrow, we must be at least optimistic if not very pretentious . When we explain to the institutions concerned about rural employment that the future will go through microcarriers and craftsmen, we must, here too, believe in its approach. The dialectic is to manage contradictions, to dissolve skepticism with each move played and to federate. The first to have exceeded the time of skepticism is Michel Dinet. Very influential, visionary and player in local development, his sometimes utopian view became reality through the people he was able to choose to work like madmen to transform the dream into reality. They are developers , glassmakers of course, association activists, elected officials, educators, craftsmen and even administrators or managers . All of them “in the project”. With them, many actors and institutional partners commit their benevolence and support the refreshing and emerging professional dynamic.
A bet is placed
During a meeting of European partners at Cerfav in 1996, the Swede Gunnar Englund made an astonishing remark: “They say that Cerfav is European, but there are only French people. We see photos with lots of people, but it’s just us, the experts who have come two or three times in three years. It looks like groups of young people in the photos as if it were a campus American and, in fact, the students are about ten. Despite that, I feel that something essential is happening here, something humanly strong and for the glass. »
Forging Tomorrow’s Artisans: Navigating Uncharted Territories at Cerfav for a New Glass Art Era
The ingredients are gathered at Cerfav, skills, resources, networks, but it is fair to consider that everything remains to be done and learned. The technical means are to be invented, dimensioned and mastered. Glassmakers must learn to become trainers, pedagogy must be designed and applied. It is also necessary to better understand glass and all the processes, including those that have never been practiced in Vannes-le-Châtel, so that a new art of glass can emerge. You have to live up to the announced ambitions, you have to succeed.
Breaking Boundaries: Cerfav’s Vision to Liberate Glass Artistry from Traditional Constraints
The founding will of Cerfav was to organize knowledge of the material and the processes with the aim of freeing future professionals from all the constraints of implementation . If, on the contrary, only the celebration of old crafts had prevailed, new paths would never have been opened.
Revolutionizing Glass: The Genesis of 3D Printing with Glam Process in Vannes-le Châtel
The Glam process, a world first in 3D glass printing technologies, was born in Vannes-le Châtel. It is not a coincidence. Converge here the control of the compositions, the expertise of the melting conditions, process engineering and the power of intuition. Our chemists produce bioactive glass, compatible with the human body, to stimulate bone grafts, optimize mold coatings, undertake research in the fields of connectors, microfluidics, optics, functionalization of surfaces of glass.
Crafting Connections: Cerfav’s Dynamic Interplay Between Innovation, Restoration, and Collaboration
Fair return, the Cerfav revisits the crystal compositions of the Daum house (joint laboratory supported by the National Research Agency [ANR]) while carrying out the restoration of the lights of the Majorelle villa in Nancy, jewel of the Art Nouveau, concretizes projects by artists or designers who arrived in Vannes-le-Châtel as a last resort.
An Enduring Presence: Daum and Cerfav’s Joint Legacy in Vannes-le-Châtel’s Glassmaking Heritage
In 2021, Daum is still strongly present in Vannes le-Châtel, even if the number of employees is disproportionate to that of the 1960s; there are currently around sixty employees at the Vannes-le-Châtel plant. Daum and Cerfav, respectively to the east and west of Vannes-le Châtel, surround the village, bear witness to episodes from the past, but also carry the future of glassmaking in the town and the territory of Colombey-les-Belles. and South Toulouse. They both contribute, each in his or her role, to the influence of the art and know-how of glassmakers in Lorraine and France.
