Charlois X École Boulle partnership

Every year, the École Boulle organizes a week-long workshop, called Ateler XXL, for students in their 2nd year of the “Diplôme Nationale des Métiers d’Art et du Design” (DNMADE).” The idea behind Atelier XXL is to challenge students to work with recycled materials to create objects and/or furniture of superior quality (upcycling). The aim is to further extend the virtuous cycle of materials.

A project that reflects Charlois’ activities and philosophy. The adventure began with a meeting of minds through the NFB. Charlois and École Boulle, who share many of the same values, then naturally initiated and built Atelier XXL 2024.

Workshop XXL

For Workshop XXL, École Boulle divides 2nd year DNMADE students into small working groups (6 to 8 students). The 18 teams are made up of students from different DNMADE disciplines, to mix know-how and create a collective emulation and an abundance of ideas and concepts: Jewelry Art, Metal Application Design, Chiseling, Decoration & Surface Treatment, Cabinetmaking, Model Engraving, Ornamental Engraving, Marquetry, Chair Carpentry, Furniture Restoration, Wood Carving, Tapestry / Decoration, Art Turning.

A very tight schedule…

Week 10: The students still don’t know the partner, raw material or workshop theme. Various conferences follow one another during the week. On Wednesday, oenologist Louis Mangani(Tonnellerie Berthomieu/Ermitage) introduced the students to the subtleties of tasting wines aged in oak barrels. On Friday, Claude Jouot led a conference to introduce Charlois, its different houses and its ancestral know-how. Then, to conclude, the theme of Workshop XXL 2024 was revealed to the students. Dany and David from Manufacture tonnelière La Grange gave a cooperage demonstration in the courtyard of the École Boulle. The demonstration was well received by the students and their teachers, who then discovered the raw materials on hand…

Week 11: Once they had been informed of the partner’s identity and the theme defined, the students now had 5 days to appropriate the topic and adapt it to their creativity, desires, knowledge, skills and values.

Terms and conditions

The partnership covers oak raw materials from the workshops of Manufacture tonnelière La Grange (broken or repair staves, stave or bottom piece offcuts, shavings, etc.), as well as hoop offcuts and rivets. The oak offcuts are normally used to feed the braziers for barrel bending and aromatic toasting.

Based on these different elements, the students will create objects and furniture in line with a theme previously defined between Charlois and the Ecole Boulle. For this 2024 edition, the theme chosen is hospitality, broken down into 5 areas: conviviality, discovery, sharing, generosity and tasting.

The students will also have to integrate the group’s values into their various projects: awareness, efficiency, authenticity, aesthetics and innovation.

Restitution

A first restitution in form of an exhibition of the winning projects will be organized at the Académie du Climat in Paris for the International Day of Forests (from 20 to 24 march 2024). Following this event, the projects will be exhibited in Murlin at the Fonds Charlois pour l’Art et la Forêt exhibition space.

Keep following us on Charlois networks to discover the various creations of the 2nd-year DNMADE students at the École Boulle!