Sellerie Courtois

A horse-lover, rider and occasional carriage driver, it was an old harness-maker who gave Pierre Courtois a "leg-up" in 1995.

Having trained as a blade sharpener, Pierre travelled around fairs and markets with his father selling tools and hardware. He often found himself setting up next to this old harness-maker and chatted about his passion for horses. And when the old man decided to retire, he handed over the reins of his business to Pierre.

He started out selling equipment, initially in small quantities but gradually more and more, and then found he needed to offer a repair and after-sales service.

For a while, Pierre worked with a few harness-makers in the region who taught him the tools of the trade, until eventually he started out on his own.

He hasn't had the time to do the local markets for years now! Pierre keeps himself busy producing harnesses and sharpening blades.

Pierre's wife Cécile also gave up her job as a care assistant to run the shop and office.

The Comtois horse is native to this region. That's why it was only natural for us to specialise in this magnificent breed of horse. We often enter competitions for this breed all over the Franche Comté region.

This has also enabled us to develop our products and market them across the whole of France and Europe.

But we have also gone one step further, developing an extensive range especially for cattle (bells, bell straps, clappers, halters, etc.).

Pierre himself handed over the reins to a former intern, Laura, in October 2019.

Armed with a vocational qualification in saddle and harness-making, and regional and county gold medal winner in the Best Apprentices in France competition, Laura also trained in saddle-making at the La Roche sur Yon Haras (national stud farm).

Having ridden horses from a very young age, Laura decided to move into saddlery and harness-making as a result of her lifelong love for horses.Chevaux.

She met Pierre and Cécile during her second year of training in 2014, when she carried out two work placements. This turned out to be a pivotal moment for Laura: "I found my second family, and I fell in love with the region and the stunningly beautiful Comtois horse."

I hoped I would one day have the opportunity to work with them!

I kept in touch with the Courtois family afterwards, and went back whenever I could to help out with competitions and fairs as well as in the workshop!

And then, my dream came true in 2019, 6 years after my first work placement.

Brimming with creativity, I absolutely love designing and creating unique items to suit the people who order them, always taking the time to establish their individual needs and tastes.

And since I love what I do, I am keen to share my work on this website."