Walking through La Croix-Rousse, I happened to pass a sign for the Atelier de Tissage Mattelon. A quick search on my phone, then an email to request a tour. Finding it early in my trip left time to arrange a visit, and the reply came quickly.
Back at my hotel, I read more and realized how special this atelier was. It is Lyon’s last family silk-weaving workshop. Georges Mattelon, a master weaver, worked here until 1996 and welcomed visitors until his death in 2004. In true canut tradition, the family lived in the same building as the looms. Today, his son, Jacques, carries it on.
On the morning of my appointment, I was unsure what to expect beyond what I had read. In fact, I knocked on Monsieur Mattelon’s door instead of the workshop’s. It must happen often, as a voice quickly directed me up another flight of stairs.
Climbing the stairway, I was struck by how close it all was. Home, then the workshop, one flight up.
Here, the looms of the past teach the makers of the future.
At the workshop door, a student greeted me warmly. No longer in production, the atelier is now a place where those who want to learn come to understand the silk process, the machines and the art. We began in French and soon switched to English. He shared why he was there: to learn the craft and the machines behind it.
The looms were grand, reaching nearly to the ceiling beneath tall windows. The buildings of La Croix-Rousse were built for them. On one loom, a blue and yellow fabric sat half-woven, its pattern taking shape beneath a multitude of threads. Beside it waited bobbins of thread in every color.
What I had only seen in museums, I was now seeing where it truly lived: a home, a workshop and a way of life under one roof. It felt real.
Seeing the next generation so keen to understand the past gave me hope the craft will be preserved, and that it will evolve. Here, the looms of the past teach the makers of the future.
— Aimée