Student trip to Lyon, France

3-6. April, 2025

From April 3 to 6 we – Susanne Lervad, Helene Lilja Jensen, Camilla Fraas Rasmussen, and Emma Grarup from CTR - traveled to Lyon, France for an inspirational study trip, with a focus on silk weaving. The aim of the trip was to explore the rich textile heritage of Lyon, particularly 19th-century silk weaving techniques and the lives of the silk weavers of that period.

Brochier Soieries - L'Atelier de Soierie

Our first visit was to L’Atelier de Soierie (https://www.brochiersoieries.com/atelier/), the last remaining silk workshop in Lyon where traditional screen printing, block printing and hand-painting techniques are still performed manually. Gabriel Hahn provided a demonstration of both the screen-printing and the block printing processes and gave us an insight in how the workshop is functioning.

Maison des Canuts

We then visited Maison des Canuts (https://maisondescanuts.fr), a museum and active workshop of Lyon’s silk-weaving history. The tour was very informative, focusing on the operation of a historic Jacquard loom in the workshop. The guide explained each component and function of the weaving process - from the colorful silk thread filled bobbins weaving the pattern to the mechanical bell that signals pattern changes. The sound and rhythm of the loom were loud and wonderful, and the guide made it come alive again. 

The main shop of Maison de Canuts showcases a wide selection of beautiful silk fabrics and designs. However, if you feel like letting out your inner crow out, a nearby outlet store, Philéone (https://phileone.fr/en), offers a wonderful selection and a bathtub with treasures of silk scraps, shelves and hangers with beautiful fabrics, old silks and fabric available by the meter. The staff was kind, and the space brings out the thrifter in you. 

Soierie Vivante - Croix-Rousse District

On the following day, we explored the historic Croix-Rousse area, formerly home to many of Lyon’s silk weavers. This can be seen in the architectural features of the area - the high ceilings in the apartments designed to fit the large looms and the traboules which in particular protected the silk during transportation through the city. Our visit to Soierie Vivante (https://www.soierie-vivante.asso.fr/en_GB)  included a guided tour of two preserved weavers’ workshops. Margaux Cougoulat introduced us to operational mechanical ribbon looms, explaining their function and showing us the looms in action.

The tour continued with a visit to a nearby weaver's home, maintained in its original 19th-century state. Here our guide, Marie Martins Pires, offered engaging insights into the daily life of a silk weaver with a good sense of storytelling. First, we walked around in the original living areas of the weaver’s home - a tight space which used to house a surprising amount of people. The story of the weavers, the city and the working/living life in the apartments was fascinating.

Afterwards, she demonstrated the hand-operated Jacquard loom which illustrated the complexity, and she explained how it felt to ‘know’ a loom. In contrast she started a 1950s automatic loom which showed the astounding difference between the two. This visit offered one of a kind look into the past, where you could both see, hear and feel the past right in front of you.