Diane Collongues

Mérigot Sanzay

Weaver

©D.Collongues

Modern weaving and traditional looms

Diane's studio is named in homage of her grandmothers
She uses weaving and knitting in her works
All her products are 100% French-made

Diane Collongues is a high-warp tapestry weaver specialising in weaving on the vertical loom. She founded her textile studio in 2021 where she showcases her creations made for comforting interiors. Diane credits her grandmothers for instilling in her this fascination for handmade textiles, and it is her feminist commitment that led her to highlight their maiden names as the name of her studio. Her work is inspired by melancholic feelings. "I feel comforted by materials and colours. Textiles are a medium of emotions, reassuring and enveloping," explains Diane. She describes her pieces as cathartic. Her smallest piece, Indécise et Reposée, took the longest to complete, with over 600 hours of weaving and 45 colours.

Interview

©D.Collongues

©D.Collongues

Did you learn your craft from a master artisan?: I trained at the Manufacture des Gobelins for four years to learn the high-warp tapestry technique. My instructor had been working there for over 40 years, so yes, I learned from a master artisan.
Are tapestries fashionable again?: I think textiles in general are fashionable again. In France, there has also been an amazing spotlight on crafts in recent years. By combining all of this, tapestry-making has once again become a sought-after and highly appreciated skill.
How is your craft connected to the environment you inhabit?: One of the important values of my workshop is to promote "Made in France" by using local raw materials, to encourage short supply chains, and to support French industries. Therefore, the wools used in my tapestries are French, spun and dyed either in the central or southern regions of France.
What would your grandmothers think of your achievements?: Everyone in my family is very supportive and inherently linked to all my projects: in the subjects I address, in the photographs I take which I then transform into textiles. I have a very solid foundation that encourages me in everything I undertake. I am very fortunate.

Diane Collongues is a rising star she began her career in 2021