Francois Vieillard

What they make

According to their website, Création-Tissages is the workshop of François Vieillard, an independent hand-weaver in Vétheuil, France, active since 1973. The workshop produces handwoven shawls, scarves and stoles in animal fibers such as wool, cashmere, baby camel, yak, alpaca and silk, and plant fibers including linen, cotton, ramie and hemp. Weaving is done on a 2,500 kg loom built in 1956 by the East German manufacturer Textima, with a separate warping stage handling roughly 1,800 to 3,500 threads through beam preparation and heddle/reed threading. Fabrics and yarn skeins are dyed on site with plant-based and chemical dyes, including a reserve-dyeing method where woven-in cotton threads are pulled to create pleated patterns before dyeing. The workshop also collaborates with designer Chantal Tichit on the ViTi collection and takes part in the Oksébô project, pairing two artists or artisans on themed one-off pieces. The site cites a lapsed 1976-1987 craft-chamber affiliation, membership in Atelier d'Art de France since 2010, and excellence medals in 2009 and 2017. Output sells through its own boutique, an online marketplace, and a few fairs yearly.

• Handwoven textiles produced on a traditional loom, including shawls, scarves, and stoles for direct retail sale
• Works with animal fibers (wool, cashmere, baby camel, yak, alpaca, silk) and plant fibers (linen, cotton, ramie, hemp)
• Applies a shibori-style reserve-dyeing technique, weaving in thick cotton threads that are later pulled to create pleats and patterns before dyeing
• In-house dyeing of fabrics and yarn skeins using both plant-based and chemical dyes
• Own warping (ourdissage) process handling roughly 1,800 to 3,500 threads per warp, covering beam preparation, heddle and reed threading
• Weaves on a 2,500 kg loom built in 1956 by the East German maker Textima
• Collaborates with fashion designer Chantal Tichit on the ViTi collection, and takes part in the Oksébô project pairing two artists/artisans on themed one-off pieces shown at Château de la Roche-Guyon
• Sells finished pieces from its own boutique in Vétheuil, through an online crafts marketplace, and at a few exhibitions/fairs per year

Summary written by byeurope.eu based on the company’s own website; independently cross-checked against the same source. Not reviewed by the company.