It is impossible to write about Maison Jean Rousseau without mentioning its Manufacture. It is a unique place that is very dear to me. The Manufacture is not only our headquarters but also a place of creation and transmission. In other words, it is the epicenter of our daily work.

Located in the middle of nature, in the heart of a region in the East of France that once was the capital of clock making, the Manufacture offers an outstanding working environment. We feel almost out of time, which is ideal to create and launch our collections. Being close to Switzerland also allows us to maintain privileged relationships with our Swiss watchmaker clients.

All of our work begins within the Manufacture. Every collection is imagined and fabricated behind its white and blue walls and its discreet architecture. This is where our innovations are studied and prototyped, where our craftsmen’s know-how is developed and transmitted, and where you will find our marketing, purchase, business, and dispatch departments. There also are different workshops to test, prototype and produce our creations. Of course, our skin treatment workshop is key: not only does it illustrate the uniqueness of our work, but it is also where our finest leathers are stored and worked. Last but not least, the mechanic workshop fabricates the necessary tools to make our creations. In the end, the Manufacture welcomes 200 people every day, coming to work in an atmosphere that reflects our brand’s spirit: warm, dynamic, respectful.

Of course I can’t ignore the family dimension prevailing within the Manufacture. I travel there every two weeks to attend meetings, get an update on ongoing projects and assist executive committees. I’ve known the Manufacture since I was a child. I saw it grow, evolve and being modernized to answer our ambitions and meet our clients’ expectations. Besides, we will inaugurate an extension by Spring 2019. Soon, the building will occupy nearly 5,000 m2 on a five-hectare plot. This is incredible!

Today, I work with people whom I met 20 years ago! Others retired but I maintain a very strong relationship and bond with them. Our former colleagues are always invited to our internal events: a picnic lunch in July, our annual Christmas party, etc.

My strongest memory dates back to when I was 15 and could test colors on alligator paws for the first time. Mixing pigments, finding the right colors… I keep in mind the great exaltation I felt at that very moment. I was aIso 15 when I worked as an intern at the Manufacture. I understood how it functioned and what my father was doing there… this is probably then that it became obvious to me that I would work by his side as soon as possible.