Transmission: the pillar of Fondation Rémy Cointreau

Geste/s magazine has dedicated its Fall 2022 issue to the power of transmission. This subject is central for fine crafts and needs to be fully addressed in order to ensure the preservation of traditional know-how while apprenticeships are becoming rarer.

Fine crafts, a sector to be protected

“In the absence of training for certain trades, we are going to lose part of our heritage in France,” explains Caroline Martin-Rilhac, General Delegate of the Fondation Rémy Cointreau, for the magazine Geste/s. In fact, there are less craftsmen in France. Annie Bocel is one of the last heiresses of the engraving of typographic punches. Within the framework of the Master of Art/Student program, she receives a complete and valuable apprenticeship from Nelly Gable, the first female letterpress punch engraver and Master of Art since 2013. Transmission is essential for Annie Bocel who keeps her craft alive within her workshop and through various actions (conferences, books, etc.).

Fondation Rémy Cointreau: anchored in transmission

In the same way that the Rémy Cointreau Group is committed to the transmission of know-how related to liqueurs and spirits, the eponymous Foundation’s main mission is the transmission of artistic crafts to ensure their continuity. “In our business, the richness of the know-how of the cellar master, the cooper and the distiller, are at the heart of our company and can only be passed on in the confidence and secrecy of the cellar. Supporting the transmission of fine crafts was therefore a natural extension, a form of anchoring the terroir,” Caroline Martin-Rilhac told the magazine. Also, the partnerships undertaken by the Foundation are truly dedicated to the support of trainings: Campus Versailles, Bureau du Design, de la Mode et des Métiers d’Art, Bourse des Métiers Orphelins…

Partnerships in this sense will continue and remain the keystone of the Foundation’s missions to keep this intangible heritage alive forever.