The launch of the Orphan Crafts Grant

The Fondation Rémy Cointreau supports public interest initiatives with the intention to uplift projects which enable the transmission of exceptional savoir-faire of arts and crafts. We are pleased to welcome, as part of the initiative that we support, The Craft Project Association, co-founded by Raphaëlle le Baud and Pierre Salagnac, which aims to promote, gather and support craft professionals.

The Craft Project Association mobilizes a large community of craft professionals, especially on social media. Raphaëlle le Baud explains: “Born from the podcast of the same name, The Craft Project Association is anchored in the digital culture. This allows us to promote art crafts in a new territory”. The Fondation is happy to assist the Association with the conservation of certain art crafts which transmission has stopped and which perpetuation is in danger thanks to the creation of the Orphan Crafts Grant.

“The Fondation Rémy Cointreau promotes the values ​​of transmission that it shares with The Craft Project. The creation of the Orphan Crafts Grant allows the preservation of forgotten savoir-faire, such as the case of gilding on edges, which is nevertheless highly prized by art bookbinders. It is therefore essential to shed light and provide real support for arts and crafts that are an integral part of our intangible cultural heritage”. Caroline Martin-Rilhac, General Delegate of The Fondation Rémy Cointreau

The first grant, for which The Fondation Rémy Cointreau is the main sponsor, is awarded to Guillaume Catay, a bookbinding graduate from the Ecole Estienne. The Orphan Crafts Grant will allow him to finance his training with Jean-Luc Bongrain, the last French edge gilder, who retired in 2018.

“Handmade gilding on edges is not only incomparable to its mechanic variation in terms of shine and material but it also allows the decoration to cross the centuries while protecting the work”. Jean-Luc Bongrain, edge gilder

To find out more about the Orphan Crafts Grant, discover the video :