The know-how

Catalan weaving

Weaving is a Catalan craft renowned worldwide. Whether in linen or cotton, the fabrics produced are used to make high-quality household linens, as well as espadrilles and Vigatanes (traditional Catalan sandals).

In 1993, Henri and Françoise Quinta took over the historic Sans et Garcerie factory , founded in 1897. The Les Toiles du Soleil factory in Saint-Laurent-de-Cerdans became one of the last remaining in operation. It has been awarded the "Living Heritage Company" label and has sales outlets and boutiques on every continent.

Warping workshop

Warping is an operation that consists of winding the threads to form the warp under the same tension, parallel to each other and in a certain order to give life to the design.

Weaving workshop

Weaving is the art of interlacing two series of threads to produce fabrics, these two series of threads being perpendicular.

Clothing workshop

The fabrics are cut and sold by the meter or made up to be offered in the form of tablecloths, napkins, placemats, table runners, aprons, cushion covers, curtains, bags, deckchairs...

Espadrilles and Vigatanes

Espadrilles and vigatanes are shoes made of canvas with hemp rope soles. Espadrilles are closed , while vigatanes are open and fastened at the ankle with laces. The latter are worn by sardana dancers.

ironwork

The iron of the Canigó is tamed by the fire of the Dragon! These ancestral gestures perpetuated from generation to generation since antiquity shape this black gold with a silver heart offered to men by the Canigó.

Every two years, in October, a blacksmithing gathering takes place at the symbolic site of the mine in Arles-sur-Tech. Blacksmiths from all over the world come to create a collective sculpture and offer it to a village in the region.

cutlery

Artistic cutlery is one of Catalonia's essential crafts. Catalan knives are distinguished by their typical shape, featuring a sage leaf-shaped blade. Angled in the center, they end in a conical bolster. The most ornate knives sometimes feature the famous Catalan Garnet.

The Catalan Garnet

It is credited with many virtues; it is said to develop self-confidence, perseverance, and to protect against evil and hidden dangers.

This expertise is characterized by three manufacturing "secrets": the closed setting* ¹ , the garnet cut without a culet, and the paillon* ^2. This technique consists of perfectly illuminating the stone to reveal its brilliance. The cut of the garnets set by the jewelers of the department is the "Perpignan cut," which is a registered geographical indication ( GI ) and also called the rose cut . Its distinctive feature is that it presents facets only on the top of the stone; the setting itself is made with 18-karat gold.

*¹Closed kitten: it is the frame, receptacle of the stone made entirely by hand and adapted to each stone, in the bottom of which is positioned a paillon.
*² Mat : it is a metallic sheet of red color which slips at the bottom of the bezel