ARTAMIN - LE MOULIN DE LA FLEURISTERIE

ARTamin' is the last French centre for the manufacture of artificial flower accessories and is also the European leader in this market. For over a hundred years, this company has been using traditional techniques to create pistils, petals, leaves and fruits. In 2008, it obtained the label Entreprises du patrimoine vivant.

History. It was in 1903 that the industrial flower industry settled at the mill in the small village of Orges, in Haute-Marne. This became the Moulin de la Fleuristerie, the production site of ARTamin'. Pistils, flower hearts, stamens, stems, pearls and fruits are still made in the traditional way, on machines dating from the 19th century, driven by a paddle wheel. This provides the energy necessary for the production of glove looms, stamen machines or chain drives. As at the beginning of the 20th century, the raw materials have remained traditional: no plastic materials are used, only natural materials, with the exception of mother-of-pearl pigments, gilding and sequins. At ARTamin', the basic technique is the rod technique. The more than 2,500 references in the company's catalogue are manufactured on a cotton-covered wire rod or a rod made from primed cotton. Each stem is dipped in a paste to give birth to the head of the pistil or stamp. More than twenty manipulations are necessary to develop shapes, colours and materials.

The products. ARTamin' products are now used to create haute couture and decoration.

Employment. More than 40 women workers were working on the site at the beginning of the century. Today, the know-how is perpetuated by ^Mrs. and Mr. Geoffroy.