The weaving workshop
The equipment
The equipment of the workshop is itself exceptional! There are
3 looms… Two of them date back to the 50s, and the third one dates
back to the 19th century. In France and especially in Lyon, we
call that loom a “bistanclac”.
These three looms have been manufactured in Lyon or nearby, they
are fitted with mechanisms from the Croix Rousse hill (Jacquard or
Verdol).
-the « bistanclac », our handloom, does a plain weave thanks to a
Jacquard mechanism called "104"
-the first mechanical loom has 11 200 warp threads and there are 1
200 arcade cords.
- the second mechanical loom does a large plain weave
There is also a weft-winding machine in the workshop...
This unique example has just been saved by the City of Lyon!
The activity stopped in 1980 when m. Fighiera died, it has been
run since the 19th century. Even if she stopped the activity, mrs
Fighiera was supported a lot and could keep the workshop in a
proper state. She lent the place to M. Walder, M. Delafosse and M.
Jacquet, who continued to produce fabrics in the workshop. Yet the
activity declined...
Soierie Vivante has run this workshop since 2001 (on a rent).
Soierie Vivante has had work done in the workshop, thanks to a
financial assistance from the Staubli Company. The trust was
looking for new funds to help it run the workshop, and has asked
the authorities to make a gesture. The City of Lyon has acquired
the workshop in February 2014, to save this part of Lyon's
heritage.
Indeed, the setting of the workshop is representative and unique
in the area, and probably in the world (except in Japan, in the
city of Kyoto).
You will then find here all the essential elements of the family
workshop as it used to be in the past centuries in the Croix
Rousse.
