Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, a region of excellence
This sixth issue of Influences magazine offers a new walk through some of the excellent skills of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, from watchmaking to eyewear, from the hotel and restaurant industry to leather goods, from wines and spirits to violin making. So many patiently acquired gestures which form the alpha and omega of this French excellence so coveted in the world to the point of forming a sector, that of luxury and art crafts, which is strongly exported.
The challenge of the moment? Passing on to the new generation what we ourselves have received from our forefathers, enriched by the innovations brought about by technology. We don’t make jewellery the same way we did 50 or 100 years ago. Nor do we cook in the same way. We need to stop looking at this sector as if we were looking at old, yellowed family photos with nostalgia, and instead put on the telescope to see to what extent, everywhere, in all companies, innovation is there to propel them towards tomorrow. Sustainable development is one of the reasons why research and development departments are so imaginative. There is not a single company that does not think about how to reduce its carbon footprint by designing products, their packaging or their transport differently.
The transmission of know-how
The transmission of know-how has entered a form of urgency. It is now that we must ensure the succession of our craftsmen born in the 1960s because soon they will have retired. It is now that we must give visibility to all these manual trades because they give meaning to a professional life. It is now that we must bring about a decisive encounter between young people and the many art and luxury object manufacturing trades throughout France. It is now that we must convey this message of modernity: French luxury is indeed the oldest sector of the future.