John (of Janet and-) was good enough to send this over and it will be of interest to anyone who hasn't done the tour yet... so thats a date for the 23rd.
(The tours are also conducted in French, 10.30 to 12.00, every Sunday and Monday, through to 22nd August)
La Chapellerie de Montazels, situated between Couiza-Montazels train station and the Pont Vieux, was one of the last working hat factories in France, when it finally closed down in 2018.
Since then it has been a co-operative, dedicated to the production of high-quality felt hats using the original machinery, whilst reviving and developing the rare skills of traditional, end-to-end, felt hat making.
The tour takes in:
- brief histories of hat making in the Aude, and of the site itself (including episodes in the Spanish Civil War and WWll)
- an insight into the end-to-end process from raw wool to finished hat (23 stages, including demonstrations of some working machinery);
- viewing of the 1500 hat moulds, each unique to the corporation, fashion house, celebrity etc that commissioned it;
- the stories of the workers, from the 600 working there at its peak, to the 6 salaried employees now dedicated to growing the business and resurrecting their almost-lost art
To take part in the English language tour, just turn up 10.15-10.20 on Tuesday 23rd August, at the main entrance of Montcapel, Avenue de la Gare, Montazels.
Sorry about the background colour thing, guess it doesn't matter and anyway, don't know how to alter it...
Excitement here was having lunch with Dougie, Regina and Marlon and in the heat of the moment , hoho, I forgot photos. Instead, here is one of Esperazas weirder houses.
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