Behind everyAltesse Studio hairbrush lies the expertise of our brushmakers. Day after day, they perpetuate and perpetuate the ancestral techniques of French brushmaking . Today, let's meet Delphine.
Introduce yourself in a few words.
My name is Delphine, I'm 54 years old, I'm a machine pneumatic head fitter and I've been working at Altesse Studio for 17 years. Before coming here, I worked at another brushmaking company in the Thérain valley. It was my mom who got me into the old brushmaking business. She taught me everything there was to know about my job. When the company closed, I applied for a job at Altesse and started assembling hairbrush heads.
What's your first memory of the Altesse workshops?
Machine noise. The silence of finishing. The smell of wood in the joinery... A very sensory memory that will never leave me.
What traditional craft techniques make Altesse Studio hairbrushes unique?
There are many steps involved: making the heads, repairing, bolting, gluing and mounting on the handle. All these steps, based on traditional, hand-crafted techniques, make these brushes unique.
Making an Altesse Studio brush involves 22 steps and 7 hours of work. Where do you come in?
Head assembly is the stage before gluing (in other words, before gluing the heads to the handles). It's a machine operation that creates brushes with integrated bristles on a rubber base, like those in the Beauté Collection.
So, to make the heads, we need boot silks and rubber "soles". A piston implants the material into the rubber using the machine. Then we check the quality of the heads, one by one. This means checking that there are no hollow pins (in which case, we fill them in) or repairing (cutting off any hairs that stick out too far). Most of the work is quality control, which means adjusting the machines if necessary.
How did you learn these techniques?
Beyond my mother and my past experience, it was through working on these machines (and patience) that I learned these particular and ancestral techniques. I really learned on the job when it came to assembling the heads.
And then, at Altesse, it's always a family affair. It was I who trained my sister, Angélique, in editing. My other sister, Stéphanie, and I were already working together at the former brushmaking company, and now all 3 of us have joined Altesse.
Altesse Studio has been awarded the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (Living Heritage Company) label. Does this distinction make your day-to-day work any more special?
My work is my passion, so that makes me all the more conscientious about the finished product.
If you could pass on just one piece of advice to future craftsmen, what would it be?
Take the time to look carefully at what you're doing. Assembling the heads requires meticulous attention to detail, and careful control of your work to ensure that the brush heads are perfect.
What's your favorite hairbrush from the Altesse Studio collection?
The handmade brush from the Prestige collection.
If you had to give an Altesse brush as a gift, which one would you give and to whom?
A handmade brush for Marion Cotillard or Jennifer Lopez.
How does it feel to have your brushes exported to New York?
It's a great source of pride. We've never come this far since the beginnings ofAltesse. It's great to see a head that's been in my hands go so far.
