N'anima Cuir

Self-taught and good with my hands from a very young age, I took quite a varied path to find my choice of career that needed to combine creativity with dexterity, working with materials and a deep love for animals (including our equine friends, as I had caught the "horsey bug" very early on!) I coasted along into the world of taxidermy (attracted by the age-old knowledge demonstrated by these artisans who love living things and strive to preserve and restore their true beauty as faithfully as possible). I sat a vocational qualification and passed it. At the same time, I spent a few years studying at the school of Fine Arts, where I learned a lot and broadened my horizons. But I still felt something was missing... and I found it purely by chance through the school's partnership with the Besançon Haras (national stud farm). It was like a revelation to me! I needed to be a craftsman saddle and harness maker – the only horse-related occupation I had never considered. And so I embarked on an internship with a saddler and harness-maker. Despite winning a place at the Haras (national stud farm) in Le Pin, I chose to train instead at the Cluny campus in the Saône-et-Loire region. This helped me gain the independence I was seeking. After graduating with my vocational qualification in 2018, I started my own micro-enterprise concentrating on saddle and harness-making, striving to work exclusively with traditional techniques. My pieces are craftsman-made from start to finish, from the initial design sketches/patterns right through to putting together the finished product. Everything is hand-made (no machines!), with individual saddle-stitching by hand in line with traditional expertise taught by the Haras Nationaux (national stud farms). During the same year, I gained experience of working with leather (and leather goods in particular) with a different perspective: the luxury sector, where I spent a few years working on the assembly process and machine stitching.

Working with age-old methods is therefore something I was determined to do, in line with traditional expertise. My aim is to provide you and your horse with pieces that are made-to-measure (in every sense of the word), as well as being comfortable and stylish.