Meeting with Maeva Abrial, the cobbler

I studied History and Anthropology at university, but I could see that it wasn’t really going to work out. I’ve always loved the visual arts, combining the manual and the creative.

I started with a discovery internship. I went to Italy to do a European voluntary service with a bootmaker, Giovanni Battista Bertollo.
When I got back, I wanted to train. But in France, there aren’t really any schools that teach you how to make shoes from A to Z, apart from the Compagnons du devoir, a course that teaches you how to make made-to-measure shoes using traditional techniques, but which remains in the luxury sector.

So first I took a CAP in shoe repair, then a year’s training with a craftsman to learn leather techniques, and finally a year at a fashion design school.

I discovered the world of fashion, design and style research. I did my end-of-year internship with a bootmaker at the Strasbourg Opera, which enabled me to acquire more precise manufacturing techniques.
After that, I worked for 4 years at the Lyon Opera.

I was intermittent. I was on assignment.
So I had time, no stress, tothink about setting up my own workshop.
“I wanted to make my own sauce!

With these mixtures of techniques and worlds, I was able to launch my own brand.
The inactive family sawmill was also an opportunity to launch my business. In 2020, when everything was shut down…, I had the materials and I built my workshop!