WORKSHOP UNIFORMS @ FONDATION D'ENTREPRISE MARTELL
FONDATION D’ENTREPRISE MARTELL’S RESIDENCY
Back in September, ABOUT A WORKER moved to Cognac town in Charentes Region for two weeks, to start an Artist Residency at Fondation d’Entreprise Martell, a cultural foundation curated and directed by Nathalie Viot since 2017.
Viot’s vision is to re-animate regional crafts and stories by giving artists and designers the chance to create sight specific projects with local actors and tools.
MEET MAISON MARTELL WORKERS
Martell is one of the most important Cognac house in the World. Situated in the Charentes region the family business has been producing Cognac for 300 years. During our residency time, we had the chance to open the doors of their factory. Check the images below.
For our collaboration we worked creatively with workers from the bottling process factory: Catherine Bordas, Julien Dumas, Sophie Molle & Bruno Ratinaud and members from the local couture association “La griff’ du chas” created by Bernadette Benaiteau, ex worker from Martell. Benaiteau invited members from her association to join the project: Marie-Neige Audebeau, Yvelise Chaumette,Jacqueline Faure to help her out to produce Martell workers creation.
THE INITIATION
The aim of the initiation was to re-imagine the uniforms by deconstructing old ones and letting workers express their vision of their working sight. All of them were proud to be working for Maison Martell as they are all amateurs of Cognac! The workers wanted to showcase the five senses of the House drink through their creation; while taking care of the utilitarian aspect of the uniform. Please find below the steps behind their creative journey.
1) TRAVEL TO THE OLD VINEYARDS:
We asked the workers to depict the senses of the Cognac House behind each room by expressing them through their own words and pictures. What does the vineyard smell remind them of ? What about its visual and interactive sensations? How about the sounds of each room?
2) INTUITIVE DRAWINGS:
After an introduction to abstract art and Kandinsky’s paintings and vision, workers were asked to remember each sensations from each room and represent them intuitively by closing their eyes! It was the first time they were asked to play with their instinct during their working hours! After accomplishing this first step workers drew collectively by getting inspired by their first experiment. The aim of this second step was to find their collective artistic touch
3) FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION :
On the third day, workers were asked to transform old uniforms from Maison Martell in order to make them practical for their daily activities. They were given an uniform log book and collaborated with the couture team to evaluate what sewing solutions were possible to realise in couple of days. At the end of the week, they designed a common utilitarian uniform with touches of their own creativity.
4) FORM FOLLOWS EXPRESSION :
For the last step of the initiation, each worker was asked to create their own uniform reflecting their sensorial vision of their working sight. Their dream uniforms could not have become reality without the help of “La griff’ du chas” association couturemakers! At the end of the week the whole team have customised 9 uniforms by upcycling old ones from the 80s! The creations are not meant to be worn but are the first inspirations to maybe one day create new ones designed by workers, for workers.
