The Maison Vaillant Journal

A few days ago, I had the pleasure of welcoming a journalist from Le Parisien to my workshop in Rambouillet for an interview about hairwork, and about my own practice working with both human and animal hair. As our conversation unfolded, I found myself struck by a realization that, although I had long been aware of it, suddenly felt far more tangible: the art of hairwork has almost entirely disappeared from our collective memory. Jennifer Vaillant, working on Maison Vaillan

This is a question I have asked myself for several years. Ever since I began collecting hairwork, in fact. Very little documentation exists on the subject, leading me on a quest for understanding as I tried to glean clues from archives and historical records. In the 19th century, the art of hairwork held a unique place. These pieces were created for a variety of occasions, such as celebrating a blossoming romance, a baptism, taking the religious habit, a wedding, or even comm

For a long time, I wondered why such a fascinating and meaningful craft as hairwork had almost entirely disappeared. In the 19th century, hair was transformed into flowers, landscapes, jewelry, and symbolic compositions. Each piece bore witness to exceptional technical mastery, but also to a profoundly human story. Palette work frame from the 19th century. Personal collection of Jennifer Vaillant Through my research in archives and patient experimentation, I learned to redisc