Le Manach Tiger and Leopard Velvet

Le Manach Tiger and Leopard Velvet
Maintaining the know-how inherited from the 19th century is a matter of course for Maison Pierre Frey. Weaving a fabric such as silk velvet using one of the last hand looms in France is not only a technical feat but also a human adventure, as the weaver is so physically and morally involved. Like an immobile walker, he constantly presses the loom's pedals so that the warp threads rise, then, with his arm, launches the shuttle. From this repetition, which requires both strength and delicacy, exigency and patience, is gradually born a fabric with a thousand shimmering reflections. These Tiger and Leopard velvets, made of iron-cut silk hair, are woven on a jacquard hand loom at a rate of one metre per day and seventy centimetres wide. They are composed of 6 colours and have 174 threads per square centimetre (150 threads/cm in the warp and 24 threads/cm in the weft). Beyond the fabric, the watermark shows the intimate relationship between the craftsman and his work and this is what makes it unique.