INTERVIEW
computerised machining. However, these advantages come at significant cost in terms of both capital expenditure and job set-up time. When asked if he fears competition from this type of machine in his field of work, Sébastien replies: “In block making we don’t produce large series but prototypes and small batches. By the time a CNC workflow has been set up, I can have made and varnished a block and have it ready for the client.” Furthermore, for couture millinery, a block maker will often receive what is still called a ‘sparterie’ shape to work from (though nowadays it is usually made of buckram). With a modern method, one could imagine a machine scanning the outlines and volume of the sparterie shape and then reproducing it. Sébastien explains: “That wouldn’t work: a sparterie, or buckram, is not completely opaque, so the laser beam would pass through the holes and corrupt the programme. Also, a block maker has to be able to adapt the block according to
verbal instructions from the designer. They may prefer the brim somewhat rounder or less curved than the example. Or one side of the sparterie model may be better than the other. A machine cannot do this.” The block maker will also consider the technical constraints of millinery, such as whether it will be possible to remove the felt from the block once it has dried. “There is no sense in making an ‘unmouldable’ block. Equally important is the coiffant, the way the hat will fit round the head. It is the block maker’s job to advise the client.”
Know your wood
Where does he buy his wood? “I try to buy it locally as much as possible, in the area around Rennes and Nantes. But it becomes increasingly difficult to find. I mainly use linden wood, which isn’t widely grown. Linden has an even grain density which, when sanded, allows you to obtain a really smooth surface.” For toolmaking, Sébastien likes to use cherry wood. “With Tino Ré we used to make presentation heads for Hermès in cherry,” he recalls, “and he gave me a large box of offcuts.” He also uses oak for his tools, and hard walnut wood, when he can find it, for the sliding parts at the heart of a puzzle block. In the past, farmers planted hedgerows between
the fields containing a variety of wood for their own use. “The slower the growth, the harder the wood. Traditionally, tollikers for example, were
made of boxwood, which takes a very long time to grow.” Sébastien buys logs and has them cut into 8 cm slices. Once the wood is dry, he glues pieces together to form a block the correct size. A block made of several layers of wood will warp less than a block made of a single piece. During the period covered by the Allié Maillard catalogue (roughly 1890 to 1920), hat blocks were sometimes ‘ebonised’. “The wooden shape was put under pressure in a bath of natural resin, called ‘ebonite’ because of its black colour. The ebonite would penetrate the wood and stabilise it, making it less sensitive to steam and differences in temperature.”
The Maître d’art programme
Sébastien is fully aware of the importance of transmitting his skills. However, for a self-employed craftsman, that can be financially challenging. In 1994, the French Ministry of Culture set up the ‘Maître d’art’ (Master of Art) programme to support creative artisans. In July 1996, a law was enacted marking the beginning of the legal recognition of manual craft professions relating to
24 | the hat magazine #107
Tool for embossing text in leather headbands
Work in progress: hat blocks made of layered wood
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