From the Earth to the Object
Mrs. Heidi Caillard was born in 1932 in Basel, Switzerland.
At the age of 17, she entered the Beaux-Arts School of Art where she studied for 5 years. Upon her graduation, Heidi continued her studies at the ceramic school of Lausanne (Switzerland).
In 1968, she moved to France, to Blauzac, a village near Uzès in the Gard where she opened a small pottery workshop in the heart of this village. It is here Heidi met Daniel Caillard, a soldier from Garons (Nîmes) who would become her husband. In 1971 the couple would welcome their first child Adrien. That same year, they bought a ruined Mas in Lussan (this Mas had belonged for a time to the ancestors of the writer André Gide) and began the loving renovations of creating a home and studio.
In 1974, the workshop and the store officially opened in Lussan.
The very first ceramic guinea fowl, imagined by Heidi during her studies at the Arts et Métiers in Basel, was born at this time. Inspired by the real poultry in her garden, the creation of the work required many long days of preliminary sketches, construction and deconstruction to obtain the perfect shape.
“Having been fascinated for more than 30 years by the originality and the elegance of the Guinea hens that run free in my garden, it finally came to me that by immortalizing them in a harmonious and timeless object, I could convey my love of the Guineas to others.”
The voluptuous bodies and slender necks of the guinea fowl contribute to this very special elegance. These stylized sculptures are hand-painted using a special technique that creates warm and unique colors. More than just decorative objects, each one is unique work of art that are now considered collector’s items around the globe.
Through the leadership of their son Adrien Caillard, the little atelier has grown, now exporting hens around the world. Optimizations in packing and manufacturing processes has allowed this little team to expand production while keeping intact all the manual gestures directly linked to each object.
Over time, the presence at the Maison & Objet International Decoration Exhibition in Paris as well as the numerous articles published in the press have made the small ceramic workshop world famous.
In 2000, an additional workshop was built with the same architecture as the Mas. A magnificent framework by Daniel Sechet (atbc.fr) made available 200 m² without any posts.
Our ceramics are visible in many countries of the world and are exposed 4 times a year in the United States during decoration shows (New York, Atlanta and Las Vegas).
Today, a whole team is present to inform you and perpetuate the activity. There are 50 colors of guinea fowl, 3 collections (matte speckled, shiny and plain). You will also find other creations on our website but also exclusive pieces in our workshop in Lussan.
