Gien: Bringing a French Touch to an Ancient Tradition
For nearly two hundred years, the Faïencerie de Gien has been making French faïence pieces, inspired by the English savoir-faire brought by the company’s founder Thomas Hall. Faïence is a type of pottery covered with a white, shiny and opaque glaze, making it the ideal surface for bright and colorful designs. Initially located in Paris’s 3rd arrondissement, the company changed hands and names many times before settling in Gien, in the Loire Valley, ideally situated along the Loire River and with all the resources needed to create the faïence pieces.