Give your time and create your own piece of jewelry for Christmas, with the Sourire au Vent workshop in Maureilhan

During the 3-hour workshop, Olivia Soissons guides and assists participants in making their silver jewelry. Mathilde Jullien – Midi Libre

During the 3-hour workshop, Olivia Soissons guides and assists participants in making their silver jewelry. Mathilde Jullien – Midi Libre

What if you chose, for your loved ones, a Christmas gift off the beaten track, that has meaning, far from consumerism and hustle and bustle… A series, started on Friday, December 20, Plaisir d’offrir, is dedicated to these different gifts. It continues today in Olivia Soissons' jewelry creation workshop in Maureilhan…

What if, instead of offering an accessory for Christmas, you became its creator? Giving 3 hours of your time and motor skills to create a piece of jewelry and leaving with this handmade gift is what the workshop of Olivia Soissons, a jeweler based in Maureilhan, offers. This Béziers native, who grew up in Servian, caught the precious metal bug during a trip to Ecuador… “I originally have a master's degree in tourism management, but I've always been very hands-on. After my studies, I took a long trip to South America. I met a goldsmith in Ecuador, a country that works particularly with silver. We got on well, I designed my first piece of jewelry, I made it, and when I got back to France I was determined!”

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From tourism to jewelry

After training in Aix-en-Provence in the form of intensive courses at the Institute of Jewelry Arts, she launched out in 2018 and settled in Maureilhan, the town where she lives, in premises rented by the town hall: “There is a workshop, with the workbench where I can be seen working, and a boutique area where I present the different models”.

And it is in these premises that she welcomes four workshop participants, twice a month, to make earrings or pendants, in solid silver of French or European origin, certified ethical: “We start by imagining the jewel, drawing it, then cutting the silver from a plate or wire. Then, we file, texture, braze, solder… sometimes drill, mill… We use lots of different tools and techniques…”.

3-hour workshops to make a silver jewel

The qualities required: precision in motor skills and a lot of concentration, she explains: “I guide the participants, and I suggest existing models, which we can of course adapt. It’s always a good time, and so far, everyone has succeeded!”, she rejoices. For this workshop, priced at 80 euros, you need to allow three free hours in your schedule: “I take the time with each person, to show them the right moves, to correct, in order to avoid damaging the jewelry, it’s like a little course.” At the end, the participants leave with their handmade jewelry, which only needs to be wrapped in wrapping paper…

For those who doubt their talents, the workshops can also be offered as gift cards, to slip under the Christmas tree. And for those who just want a present to give, Olivia Soissons’ boutique hosts crafts from local designers, in addition to these jewels in gold, silver, fine and costume stones and watercolors, to buy on site or online.

Next workshop: December 27, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sourire au Vent, 2 av. Louis-Pasteur, in Maureilhan. Information: olivia.sourireauvent@gmail.com