Let's put history into our lives to preserve the history of tomorrow.
Man has always sought to dress himself.
The history of weaving dates back to the Neolithic period, improved during antiquity, progressed during the Gallo-Roman period and the Middle Ages, was perfected during the Renaissance and became technical and technological with contemporaries and modern times.
However, there is one thing that links each of these periods: the know-how of processing raw materials, dyes and weaving techniques.
I learned these techniques during historical reenactment performances, from masters in the field, by reading numerous archaeological accounts, and by practicing.
I have always had a strong interest in teaching, which is why I lead learning workshops, while putting the archaeological and historical context into each of my courses. Understanding where we come from means understanding our time and being an actor in our lives.
Our current world, “modern times”, our lifestyles, our modern thoughts dictate our consumption practices, but our awareness is accelerating, remaining attentive to our environment and adjusting our impact on it.
Through the courses, workshops and works, it is not a service or a piece of textile that is sold, it is an everyday object, it is history, technicality, it is the understanding of materials and their exploitation, the treatment necessary for their use and the impact that they have on our environment.
All the materials I use are French productions, from spinning mills in Creuse, Corrèze and Dordogne who themselves work with local producers and eco-responsible and ethical sectors.
I live with my time, I also create everyday creations of our time, belts, tableware, bags, clothing and other accessories.
Let's put history into our lives to preserve the history of tomorrow.
Charlotte MAGNIN:
Weaver Arts and Crafts
passionate about life
Always passionate about history with parents open to the world and curious about everything.
As far back as I can remember, I have always traveled through the corridors of time, strolling through medieval festivals, artisan markets with exceptional know-how, forgotten for some, theme parks, my years of theater which made me embody so many emblematic characters.
Today, my life as a craftswoman specializing in weaving from all eras allows me to transport you through the doors of time.
Let's put history into our lives to preserve the history of tomorrow.
By remembering the common practices and customs of our ancestors, even the most distant ones, it is the very DNA of the human being that we put back at the center of our lives.
Ecology, sustainable development, bio-sourced materials, all of these questions we face on a daily basis and very often the answers come from the past.
I like to tell you, through my creations, the History of every Man, the personality of each of the materials that I use, why this product and not another, the patterns of my weavings and their origins.
French and European raw materials
Merino wool: Creuse spinning mills "Felletin" and "Fonty", Dordogne in Belves
Cotton: Italy
Hemp: Italy
Braid weaving
Ancestral and thousand-year-old know-how
I practice several weaving techniques, with know-how that is thousands of years old, practiced before your eyes during my various events, and soon during weaving workshops.
I do :
- comb weaving, which gives repetitive patterns with alternating colors depending on the assembly.
- from weaving to cards/tablets with infinitely evolving patterns
- Baltic weaving with relief giving volume to the weaving.
The historical reenactment
Historical reenactment is a practice that consists of recreating certain aspects of a past event, a historical period or a specific way of life, based on material elements reproducing those of the period concerned (clothing, furniture, weaponry, etc.). This activity can resemble, for example, the reconstruction of a famous battle, the camp life of soldiers from various historical periods or the daily life of a past era. But also historical documents, which can be found in history books.
The practice that is constantly found is the production of objects made from historical documentation (costumes, functional or ceremonial objects), then their use (wearing the costume, using tools, handling weapons, etc.). Whatever the objective, a person or a group (association, etc.) claiming to be involved in historical reenactment will base their approach on the production or use of objects reconstructed from written (texts), iconographic , archaeological and museographic sources.
Although the process of producing and using objects is a constant, the term historical reconstruction is often used for many types of activities, which are nevertheless quite distinct, depending on the objectives sought:
Cultural mediation of History for a general public. This leisure activity can then take the form of historically themed events which allow the public to better understand certain periods or events of the past, such as the activities of “medieval festivals” and battle reenactments (for example: the Battle of Hastings )
Immersive reconstruction: The objective is then, for reenactors of the same period, to meet among themselves, on a rather private site, which may itself be historical, in the absence of an audience. Among them are the followers of living history or "living history", which brings together a large number of practitioners interested in a specific period, and for whom the essential goal is to reconstruct as much as possible the daily life of an era.
