Catalan Creations
Catalan creations drawn and made in Saint-Genis-des-Fontaines
I work just a stone’s throw from Canigou, at the foot of the Albera Massif. On a clear day, when the tramontane wind has swept the sky clean, you can see it from the studio, snow-covered until April and standing like a landmark on the horizon. This is the landscape that inspires Foliove’s illustrations: the sacred mountain of the Catalans, the colourful Catalan fishing boats flying the colours of the Catalan flag pulled up on the sand in Collioure, the Yellow Train, the red cliffs of Paulilles, and the streets of Argeles beneath the July sun.
The tramontane, the wind that shapes Catalan Country
Here, we do not talk about the wind quite the way people do elsewhere. The tramontane can clear the sky in just a few hours, shape the umbrella pines along the coast and make those vast blue-sky days feel almost unreal. It is this crisp, contrasting light after the tramontane that I try to capture in my illustrations, from the Albera Massif to the Cote Vermeille.
The Catalan flag, the Senyera, in every piece
The red and yellow of the Catalan flag appear throughout this collection: on the hulls of traditional Catalan boats in Collioure and Gruissan, in the linings of the pouches sewn by Clémentine, and in the trim of certain tote bags. These are not flag-themed products, but scenes from everyday Catalan life in which the Senyera naturally appears on a fishing boat, at a window or during a local event.
This collection brings together pieces featuring the symbols and landscapes of Catalan Country. The tote bags and pouches are hand-sewn by Clémentine in the same studio, in small batches, with linings selected colour by colour. The postcards are printed on 350 gsm matte coated paper, and the posters on 170 gsm premium paper, by our Imprim'Vert partner in Elne. No mass production, no international middlemen... just two pairs of hands, paper, fabric and the same care from the first drawing to dispatch.
For a gift for someone from the 66, a souvenir of a stay on the Cote Vermeille, or simply a way to enjoy the colours of Catalan Country every day.
Marie
