In this new episode of Mosaïque, focus on three atypical routes in Saint-Pierre. Clio Victorri, Esther Dutin and Alex Lapaix have decided to continue their lives in mainland France or in Canada in three very specific and above all exciting craft sectors.
Leather goods, soap making and jewelry. Three distinct backgrounds but with one thing in common: passion for the profession. A passion that motivates Esther Dutin, Alex Lapaix and Clio Victorri on a daily basis. After specialized studies or professional retraining, everyone decided to launch into crafts.
At 23 years old, Esther has recently graduated with two CAPs and a BTS in leather goods and tapestry. Today she works in a luxury bag manufacturing factory in Fougères, Brittany.
In the workshop, you see the customers, you manufacture for them. In the factory you don’t have the same creativity and you don’t see the smiles of the customers.
Esther Dutin, leatherworker and upholsterer.
Her wish would be to work in a workshop where contact with customers is more personalized, just like the creation process for her bags. So… why not come back to the archipelago and work with someone she knows well: Erika Simon!
Also read: Young designer Esther Dutin and Chéri’K creations are collaborating this summer
Going into these professions can sometimes be scary. Craftsmanship is often little known and appears to be a precarious profession since it is not always easy to earn a salary, even less so by being self-employed.
Also read: The new life of Clio Victorri, now a soap creator in Cantal
However, Clio did not hesitate to change her life. From ministries in Paris, she moved to the countryside, to Cantal, and launched her natural cosmetics business for children: The Little Soap Makers.
My loved ones haven’t necessarily always understood this choice but it’s part of the process I think.
Clio Victorri, creator and manager of Petits Savonneurs.
A life journey that inspires Alex. Although he now works in a jewelry workshop in Montreal, his goal is to open his own business within a few years.
In the meantime, he climbs the ranks, training new apprentices as head polisher and improving day by day. At the same level as Esther and Clio, he doesn’t count his hours either. Creation above all.
You won’t necessarily have your weekends, your evenings or your vacations. If you count your hours you will become demotivated.
Alex Lapaix, jeweler polisher
Also read: In Montreal, Saint-Pierre native Alexandre Lapaix is carving out a path for himself in jewelry
Discover these three testimonies in this episode of Mosaïque:
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