Made in France plates since 1898

Our workshop in Nevers, France

Located at 7 quai de Mantoue, next to our shop, it is the place where all our pieces are manufactured: plates, but also platters, vases, mugs and cups. As earthenware makers in Nevers for 4 generations, we master all the stages of manufacturing tableware and decoration:

- making of plaster moulds,

- earthenware: gauging and casting,

- enamelling,

- the decor: hand-painting and transfer printing (chromo),

- firings.

Each of these steps requires very precise manual gestures, which have been passed down from generation to generation since 1898. Four generations of earthenware makers have succeeded one another in respecting traditional manufacturing methods, while constantly seeking to improve their techniques and the quality of their pieces.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the symbol of the two green knots signs each of our pieces and guarantees that they have been made in our workshop in Nevers. This signature certifies that they have been made according to the rules of the art of French earthenware.

Gauging

It is the process used to make plates and platters. It is set on a potter’s wheel where a plaster mould is fixed. A bat of clay is set on a revolving disc. The lower surface is formed by a profile suitably shaped with a sharp blade and thus giving its shape to the piece.

Casts can be either bumpy (dinner plate) or hollow (deep plate).

Just after gauging, a very important manual finishing operation is carried out: turning. This step aims to give a perfect finish to the edge of the plates. After placing the piece on the lathe, the excess soil is removed with a tool called a "tournassin" and the rough edges are smoothed to obtain a piece with an excellent surface finish.

Casting

This is the method used to make vases, mugs and cups.

Barbotine (liquid slip) is piped into a plaster mould. The plaster mould absorbs a good deal of moisture from semi-liquid clay. When it is dry enough the extra material is emptied, and the piece lifted from the plaster mould.

This will dry slowly; the drying time depends a lot on the humidity level and the outside temperature, so it varies according to the season! Then several manual finishing and sanding operations are carried out, in order to obtain a smooth piece, without asperities, ready for the first firing.

First firing

The first biscuit firing lasts 9 hours, during which the heat of the kiln will gradually go up to 1O5O°C. The pieces are stacked in the oven according to a very precise organization, in order to put as much as possible, while ensuring a good wedging and without them touching! Thus the loading and unloading of the oven can be a long and delicate process...

At the end of the first firing, the resulting piece is more solid than the raw piece, but it is still porous, ready to receive the glaze. This is the biscuit.

Enamelling

The biscuit piece is hand-dipped in liquid glaze material. Oxide is added to the liquid to bring the color out. At Faïencerie Georges, we use several colors: white (tin), “Bleu de Nevers” (cobalt blue), yellow & black. The biscuit being porous, it will immediately absorb the water contained in the enamel: only a thin layer of raw, powdery enamel remains on the piece.

Then the glazed piece goes through several hand-made processes to clean off enamel marks and blemishes from the tools before a new firing.

Second firing

The pieces to be hand-decorated go to the ornamenting workshop, as we decorate on raw enamel. After being decorated they will be fired at 1000° C.

The pieces that will be decorated by applying a chromo first undergo their second firing, which will vitrify the glaze and give it its strength and brilliance. This firing at 1150° C, a higher temperature than that traditionally used in Nevers earthenware, enables the pieces to be sturdy and last more.

Hand-painted ornamenting

All our hand-made decors are made on raw enamel, i.e. before the second firing. This traditional Nevers process, inherited from four generations of decorators, is a mark of the quality and refinement of our decors.

The colours, composed of metallic oxides, are free-hand set with a brush.

The preparatory stage of the "poncif" consists in drawing the decor on a tracing paper with small holes in it, and then transferring the main lines on the piece, before painting each detail.

An ancestral technique that distinguishes your made in France plates and makes them unique.

Chromography

Chromography is a transfer printing process of a drawing serigraphied with oxide. Our chromos are made by a specialized printer of Limoges.

The chromo must be dipped in water and then free-hand set on an enamelled piece that has already been through its second firing: a delicate operation depending on the shape of the piece and the connection of the decoration to be respected. Transfer printed pieces must then receive a third firing at a temperature of 900° C. This firing enables the printing to melt with the enamel and make it stable. This makes chromo plates and pieces dishwasher safe and more suitable for everyday use than hand-painted pieces.

What makes our know-how special

For four generations, we have been making plates made in France, manufactured and decorated in our workshop.

Here are the key elements that distinguish us and make our know-how special:

• Mastery of the production line, from the earthenware to the decor.

• Hand-made ornamenting on raw enamel: a rare and demanding skill, transmitted for 4 generations, that requires a great pictural talent.

• The importance of the hand-based gesture at each step of the making, from moulding to ornamenting. It means hours and hours of work, about 30 different steps, all of them handmade.

• Firing at high temperatures for transfer-printed pieces, and a constant research to improve the solidity of our pieces.

In recognition of this know-how and our 100% French production, Faïencerie Georges has been awarded the "Living Heritage Company" label (EPV) and is a member of "Ateliers d'Art de France".

NB: This manual know-how implies slight differences between our pieces which make them more charming. Consequently, a slight difference in shape, decor and color between our pieces is normal and does not mean a defect.

Our know-how in video

From the calibration of plates to their decoration by hand, this video explains each stage in the production of the great crane composition, specially produced for the Ceramics Museum in Nevers.