As a result, the AME workshops continue their exploration of artisanal know-how and avenues of innovation around materials in Europe.
“Each country, each region of Europe is full of ancestral know-how, always more unique from each other,” said Antoine Merien, founder of Ateliers AME. “In a world where rapid consumption is only growing, we have to perpetuate our businesses and pass on the excellence of their know-how”
For centuries, Swiss craftsmanship meant sumptuous marriage between meticulousness and inventiveness, luxury and functionality. Over the years, Switzerland has become a world reference in craftsmanship. Today the whole world knows its small cantonal workshops, which have risen to the ranks of global establishments, making women’s and men’s dreams come true all over the world for their quality and distinction. However, these big brands are only the visible side of an even more unique and talented artisanal fabric, like silk in Zurich or stationery in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
On the other side of the Swiss border, Italy offers unique know-how, a subtle blend of craftsmanship and industry. Italy stands up to competition from Eastern Europe and Asia, thanks to the quality of work and the traditional know-how of the artisan workshops. The city of Como, specializing in silk with nearly 15,000 artisans, produces 80% of European silk.
In Milan, the great luxury houses and master tailors preserve and transmit the excellence of leather production and artisanal leather goods. Their know-how results from multiple knowledge accumulated over a very long experience, beginning in childhood, in the workshops. They have a manual dexterity that borders on art. The gesture makes the difference, the way they work with leather. The Made in Italy, evoked by Anna Wintour, director of Vogue United States, is the pride of an entire country.
Europe is swarming with examples of local, unique, and invaluable craftsmanship. Portugal is a land of know-how, animated by a history and a rare culture. In the small country of the Iberian Peninsula, in the shadow of the Spanish brother, we live 100% “know-how” Widely recognized for its leather goods, shoes, and textiles. Symbol of Portuguese craftsmanship today of the most authentic identity, porcelain is a deeply rooted tradition. England is still the cradle of the history of pewter production since the Middle Ages and Scotland the cradle of weaving, to name but a few examples.
Europe is full of local know-how, unique in its kind, which it is our mission to preserve, perpetuate and disseminate to as many people as possible to give even more meaning to the products we make.
