the Villacampa workshop in Pau manufactures wooden skis

The Villacampa company in Pau (south-west of France) handcrafts wooden slats, which claim to be high-end. Reporting.

Eloi ROUYER / photo

In the Villacampa workshop located in the suburbs of Pau (southwest of France), Jack Fauvel embarked on a “slightly crazy” project:

Four tons per square centimeter, the ski press ends up imposing its power on a new pair in production.

“What we hear is the fibers snapping: making a ski is about the mechanics of materials and chemistry,” explains the boss, watching – and listening – as the press loosens its grip.

The sole manufacturer in the Pyrenees

In 2015, when this Norman based in Béarn embarked on the adventure, he was a civil servant in the Aquitaine region, responsible for local development and dreamed of creating his own business. At 45, he has already had several professional lives: after studying cinema, he worked in the audiovisual sector then designed software, before joining the administration.

He learned that skis were made “at one time” in the Pyrenees.

These Pyrenean skis are Villecampe, a brand created at the beginning of the 20th century, which in the 1970s competed with Rossignol but has since closed. In homage, Jack Fauvel chose the name Villacampa, the original surname of the creator of the missing skis, originally from Spain, while the workshop was named “Manufacture à Félix”, his first name.

“We are the only ones to ski in the Pyrenees,” says Eric Antier, 44, workshop and development manager, an originality dear to this native of Pale.

“No one knows much about this profession, either you are a carpenter, or you work in composites, there is no real training,” says the craftsman.

“We started from scratch, we designed our skis, defined our processes, it takes time,” adds his boss.

Ten years have passed since the creation of the company and Villacampa now produces forty to fifty pairs per year“a lot for a craftsman but not enough for a company,” notes Jack Fauvel.

To sustain the activity, he seeks to innovate: he has launched “master classes” where the customer comes to the workshop to create their own skis, drawing inspiration from what is practiced in the surfing world.

Sébastien Goninet, 55, boss of a transport company, was offered this gift by his wife after having fallen in love with the pair of Villacampa shoes from one of his friends from the Pyrenean resort of La Mongie.

The «Hermes you sport»

For the veneer of his pair, he chose a rare wood, a white ebony from Laos. “It looks a bit like a work of art so I’m a little nervous about using them,” says the future owner.

The list price of Villacampa oscillates between 900 and 1,500 euros per pair: “We are mainly aimed at enthusiasts (…), people who are not into the idea of ​​changing equipment every four mornings and who will have a certain requirement”, underlines the founder, who speaks of “sustainable, heritage skiing”.

In total, according to Jack Fauvel, there are around ten artisanal ski producers in France in a high-end ski market that is itself very competitive.

In addition to innovation, the founding president of Villacampa had to diversify to maintain the activity, particularly during the Covid years, by also creating custom furniture and wooden sporting goods.

“Jack (Fauvel) developed a lot of skills and technicality around wood, he initiated an opening and the ability to develop other products to have a market that is expanding,” notes Erika Solans, who accompanied him at its beginnings in a Crédit agricole structure dedicated to local support for innovative entrepreneurs.

Ultimately, the creator of Villacampa dreams of making his company a “Hermès of sport”. “You buy responsibly, you know that there is a story and real know-how behind it.”