Behind the workshop ‘Les Grands Pins’ is Amélie, a great lover of the outdoors, mountains, forests and seaside (and wild plant infusions and whisky, too).

Passionate about the outdoors, she spent much of her youth outside, on horseback, mountain biking or hiking, exploring the hills of Provence and the Alps. She then set sail for the Irish coast and valleys, in search of misty landscapes, traditional music sessions in ancient pubs, and the incomparable warmth of the Irish people. After a few detours in Scotland, she finally crossed the Atlantic (like so many Europeans before her, but with a little more comfort and fewer storms) and settled in the Gaspé Peninsula and Maritime Canada, surrounded by snow, cold seas and tranquil peaks.

Always a creative and handy person, she loves working with wood, leather, plants and anything that smells of nature and ancestral know-how. She enjoys designing and creating practical objects from A to Z. Always curious to learn, she can go from making furniture to picking edible plants (with varying degrees of success, sometimes).

A geographer by training (and at heart), she is deeply interested in territories and places, and how humans inhabit, live in and name them. Celtic and Norse mythology also inspire her, for their unique way of viewing humans in nature and in their condition, and also for their goddesses and gods, whose characters are as tenacious as their environment and climate.

This is what lies behind the inspiration for the workshop: mountains, the sea, peat, a touch of mythology, lots of wood and leather, and certain taste for simple things, well made and rooted in their territory.

Welcome, and enjoy your journey! 🌲