Karl Mazlo, artisan and designer specializing in jewelry, welcomes Virgile Bruniau as an apprentice, winner of the Savoir-faire en transmission 2024 prize, created by the Office of Fashion Design and Artistic Crafts. We met them in Karl's workshop, in the heart of the artisanal city of the 10th arrondissement, the Villa du Lavoir.
“For Virgil, I would say that it is more “improvement learning »because he already has experience »immediately states Karl Mazlo, who can be found working with the young craftsman. Both leaning over the workbench, they draw a sketch of a future ring imagined by Karl. “What’s interesting is the exchange we have. Karl listens very well and takes my point of view into account”Virgil rejoices.
Shake up the codes of jewelry
For Karl and Virgil, the story began with a meeting. It continued with an artistic connection which made them want to share know-how. “When I was traveling in Peru, where I was learning about different weaving techniques for my jewelry design project, I came across a friend of Karl's whose work I admired. He put us in touch and it was a good match straight away”says Virgil.
For his part, Karl was interested in Virgil's approach to opening up to other cultures and traditional know-how, things made by hand that cannot be reproduced with machines. “He is keen to perpetuate techniques that are being lost and this resonated with my own research. »
In 2016, then a laureate of the French Institute, Karl was in residence at Villa Kujoyama, in Kyoto (Japan). An experience which marked a turning point in his creations and pushed him to take a step back from his practice. Returning to Paris with the desire to shake up the codes of jewelry, he replaced precious stones with new and natural materials, such as brick or damask steel, and he developed new textures by borrowing techniques from different crafts. art, such as chasing and engraving.
“There is a real connection between us”
“When I met Virgile, I felt that it would be easy to work togethercontinues Karl. I had heard about the Savoir-faire en transmission prize from the Ateliers de Paris and I knew William Amor, a craftsman who had participated in it. So, we applied and the adventure began. »
Karl, used to creating alone, appreciates having someone who supports him and with whom he shares ideas. “It also teaches me to delegate or formalize my work, and to be less instinctive. » For his part, Virgile discovers Karl's different techniques, and also improves his skills on how a business works: how to communicate or participate in trade shows to make yourself known.
“To summarize, there is a real connection between us: sometimes I start a sentence and he finishes it for mes’amuse Karl. Or maybe he does something that inspires me to do something else. » “And we have this same desire to hybridize techniques and cultures”concludes Virgil.
The Transmission Know-How prizes: what if it was for you?
Connected and complementary, this is the winning cocktail to apply for the Savoir-faire en transmission prizes.
Awarded each year by the City of Paris, these prizes allow students, whether graduates or not, and adults undergoing retraining to complete their training in the artistic professions, by following an internship in the workshop of a craftsman. art, full time, for one year. They are awarded 10,000 euros per winner.
Each candidate must first come to an agreement with an art craftsman, recognized for their experience and whose workshop is located in Paris or the inner suburbs. He must be able to acquire knowledge of the profession for which he is destined, without forgetting the realities of life in a company.
