In Brantes, visitors go from surprise to surprise. The perched village, facing the northern slope of Ventoux, is worth the detour in itself with its steep streets, cascading roofs and houses on the hillside. In this setting worthy of a Christmas nativity scene, Véronique Dornier's figurine workshop has found its setting. “ I discovered the village more than thirty years ago and I have never left it! », specifies the santonniere.
The town has also become famous for the blue figurines, created almost thirty years ago by Véronique Dornier. “ The santons and I are a love story, a real love at first sight “. While a student at the Beaux-Arts in Avignon, she began making clay figurines. It was then that the idea came to him: to paint them in shades of blue in homage to the famous Klein blue “. Véronique Dornier does not forget tradition and also offers a traditional multicolored collection and earthenware figurines. In total, a gallery of 90 figurines, characters and animals.
Orders from all over France
If, at first, the choice of color may have been surprising, the blue figurines now have their “aficionados”. “ Three generations come to buy my figurines », notes the craftswoman with satisfaction. And as the end-of-year holidays approach, the pace of production intensifies to satisfy the numerous orders. “ In addition to sales at the workshop and at various trade fairs, we also ship the figurines throughout France. ».
The quality of the finish is undeniable, the brush stroke is precise: attention to detail in the clothes but also in the expressions where a smile is required. In the workshop above the store, the different pieces are shaped by hand, modeled, then dried and sanded before firing overnight at 1,000°C. A know-how that Véronique Dornier passes on to Ilana Sellier, in CAP ceramics. The young woman, originally from Lyon, is training alongside the santonniere, waiting to take over in a few months. Suffice it to say that the little blue figurines still have a bright future ahead of them!
France
