La Manufacture Cogolin: A Century of Rug Making in the Gulf of Saint Tropez

The first book on the Cogolin Manufacture, a producer of hand-made rugs, a tribute to an age-old expertise passed down since 1924 by generations of women.

La Manufacture Cogolin, a weaver of hand-made rugs established in 1924 in a village near Saint-Tropez, is rich with a traditional craftsmanship particularly sought out by a clientele looking for authenticity and quality. Acquired by the visionary textile engineer Jean Lauer in 1928, La Manufacture Cogolin has grown remarkably from the 1930s onward, thanks to early collaborations with well-known designers such as Jules Leleu, Christian Bérard, Jean-Michel Frank, Sir David Hicks and artists such as Jean Cocteau.

This fully illustrated art book dives into what has made the Cogolin house special for a century. Mixing unpublished archives (letters, photographs, watercolors), lively texts suited to a wide audience, and testimonies from women working in the historical workshop, from contemporaries, and from illustrious customers.

Following a chronological approach, this book describes the manufacture’s economic history, shedding light on its rebirth in the 21st century, while placing it in the history of the Decorative Arts of the 19th and 20th centuries, and describes the key elements of this recognized French craftsmanship.

Serge Gleizes is a journalist and a consultant in decoration. Former deputy editor-in-chief for the magazine AD, he contributes to the decoration, architecture, and design pages for the monthly magazine M (Le Monde) and for Ideat. He is also the author of various books: The Arson Villa in Nice (Ed. du Patrimoine, 2011), Bruno Moinard: the strolling architect (La Martinière Style, 2010), The Art of living in Normandy (Flammarion, 2009), Ladurée: sweets maker (Minerva, 2006), etc.