The Deputy Director of the Savonnerie in Lodève is also and above all an outstanding artistic technician in the field of designing and weaving carpets with his teams of runners from the Mobilier National.
“I weave my passion” repeats Benoît Jorba y Campo, civil service Art technician at Mobilier National and trainer in the Savonnerie carpet creation workshop, of which he has also been deputy director for several years, alongside Jean-Marc Sauvier then by Anne Gauthier today. “I arrived in 2009, alone, at the age of 25 and I never left” adds Benoît, originally from the Paris region who founded his family and found happiness in the south of France, in Lodève.
“I have a passion for beauty, for well-made things and the responsibility to pass them on”
“I wanted to do something with my hands” tells the story of the man who, with his Model Designer's Certificate in hand, began to look for how he could pursue an artistic profession, while doing odd jobs. “By increasing the number of trade and craft fairs, I met my trainer at the time who asked me to come and visit the Mobilier National, in Paris where I discovered passionate people. I have always had a penchant for classical art and they were weaving a Louis XVI style carpet at that time. I was amazed by the colors, the patterns and I said to myself, this is it. That’s what I want to do.”
After joining the Parisian training in 2003, Benoît Jorba y Campo obtained his diploma before completing a year of internship in the capital then joining Hérault and the Lodévoise factory.
“My first rug was the Julien Gardair that left the workshop in 2012, the one that Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron chose to put in the state salon of the Elysée upon their arrival in 2017”. The following, taken from contemporary works by Nathalie Junod-Ponsard, one of which is also at the Elysée and the other currently visible in the Weaving the Imaginary exhibition at the Lodève Museum. Among the current projects, a large classic carpet commissioned by the Palace of the Legion of Honor. Here again, a long-term and particularly complex task for the person in charge. Because if he weaves, Benoît quickly stood out by being appointed by Marie-Hélène Bersani of Mobilier National as technical referent of the workshop thanks to his diplomas, his skills and his know-how. Following on from his predecessors, he is the one who carries out the work upstream.
A “Holy Angel” for the Palace of the Legion of Honor
Among the projects he follows, Benoit Jorba y Campo is the head of a classic and complex carpet, a “Holy Angel” created from a drawing from 1802, the date of the creation of the Legion of honor by Napoleon Bonaparte. It will furnish the palace which is the residence of the Grand Chancellor and the seat of the order since its creation. The work, measuring 5.16 m by 4.30 m, includes 36 different colors. “The departure took place on January 1, 2018. It then took a year and a half of preparation to draw and then paint the cardboard by hand, before the start of weaving and the first knotted stitch in September 2019”. Two, then three whippersnappers have been working there since, with a planned end date in 2028. “What is curious in this type of case is that it is not necessarily the person who places the order who receives it.”
“For the Holy Angel for example, the order materializes in a small watercolor, around fifteen square centimeters, which we will see in Paris”. Before translating it into a format of 5 meters by 4 from a multitude of preparatory drawings, visual and mathematical tests. “I draw the entire model because it requires a single gesture, a single interpretation. There are two of us then for the painting tables, the choice of colors, the sampling”. Finally, it is necessary to set up the organization of team work with the prioritization of the different technical stages before starting.
Alain Mendez.
“Like an orchestra conductor, the head of the piece has everything in his head. He is responsible for all stages of manufacturing, from ordering to delivery”. Like a watchmaker, the hauncher also carries out precision work. “There are so many knotted stitches per cm² that everything takes us more time”. In the Savonnerie workshops, time is indeed suspended, but at the end of the profession, the result is remarkable and the wool rugs leave for a lifespan of several hundred years to reach the high places of the Republic.
“We learn and train every day”.
“As with companionship, we learn and train every day in this profession which is both technical and human”. Where patience but above all communication are essential. “Because we work side by side with other colleagues for years on the same project, doing an artistic job where we are very whole in what we do.”
“I have a passion for beauty, for well-made things” summarizes Benoît Jorba y Campo also driven by the responsibility of transmitting know-how. “There are no books, everything is transmitted through practice and word of mouth. Everything I have learned comes from the elders, who got it from the elders… I am aware of having a treasure in my hands, that I have been given a gift and if I do not pass it on in turn, it will be lost.”
A.M.
Training: A textile art CAP in Lodève
Driven by the desire to transmit, Benoît Jorba y Campo is also a trainer. And it was natural that he got involved in the new CAP School of Textile Art Weaving created in Lodève last September. It lasts two years and leads to three additional years of training, this time in Paris to obtain the Brevet des Métiers d'Art (BMA) with the possibility of integrating the Mobilier National and the civil service. The drawing lessons are held at the Vallot high school and the practical part in a space set up at the back of the Savonnerie workshop. “This CAP welcomes the first four apprentices, motivated and bringing great energy. And who will be joined by four others next year”. To work on the basics and classics around drawing. “And all that gives a complete toolkit to then follow the BMA to acquire the details and interpretation.” Recruitment for the 2nd Promo, 2025-2026, should begin at the start of the year.
