In Montpellier, the Atelier Ceramain enhances earthenware tiles

Ghyzlène Hadjiat, with her company specializing in artisanal ceramics, Atelier Ceramain, will represent Hérault at the Occitanie pavilion at the Maison & Objet Show in Paris, from September 5 to 9.

Arabesques, floral compositions, geometric lines… Her hand glides over the paper meticulously, drawing all the shapes according to her inspiration with meticulous attention to detail, before adding the colors. Once the composition is complete, she chooses one of the three techniques that only experienced craftsmen can use to create hand-glazed ceramic tiles: that of the Manufacture des émaux de Longwy, stamping or Sgraffito. Not to mention her personal recipes that she keeps secret.

From drawing to final product. Midi Libre – GIACOMO ITALIANO

Art objects and artistic cubes made of glazed ceramic tiles enameled ceramics. Midi Libre – GIACOMO ITALIANO

Listening to her explain the different techniques and observing her workshop, we perceive all the patience that this art requires and the passion that drives this young mother, as elegant and refined as her art objects. “What fascinates me about ceramics is its demands, its whims and its results. There is never any monotony in artisanal ceramics. That's what makes it so fascinating, even if I always dread the final result every time I open the kiln“, she confides.

An inspiration at the source of her origins

This passion for artisanal ceramics was passed on to her from a very young age by her father, an architect and ceramist in Algeria. “My father has always been fascinated by ceramics. He made all his models in this material and when we went for a walk, he would look for new clays to test. That's how this profession started to come in“, remembers Ghyzlène. His other source of inspiration is the sun-drenched Mediterranean basin, with its bright and warm colors, as well as Portuguese, Spanish and Moroccan earthenware.

To perfect her training, after studying at the Beaux-Arts in Algeria, then at the Atelier de Sèvres in Paris, she returned to Algeria for a while to work with her father on facade cladding in earthenware tiles, before returning to France. But it was only five years ago, when she settled with her husband and children in Montpellier, that she reconnected with her passion, by creating her workshop in the garage of their house.

Custom-made creations

Her art and decorative objects – hand-glazed ceramic tiles, coasters and pot holders, flowerpots, sgraffito cubes with dizzying reliefs, wall key rings, frescoes, spheres – are aimed at both individuals and professionals.

Colorful cube in glazed ceramic tiles. Midi Libre – GIACOMO ITALIANO

For the latter, “my glazed ceramic tiles can be custom-designed to fit into any architectural space. I also offer splashbacks, frescoes and artistic wall decorations“, explains Ghyzlène.

A know-how to share

After participating in November 2023 in the Salon Id d’Art in Lyon, and having been honored at the El Andalus International Festival in Montpellier last April, she was selected by the Ad’Occ Economic Development Agency, along with seven other artisans from Occitanie, to present her creations at the major design and decoration event, the Salon Maison & Objet, which brings together the players in the world of Maison twice a year in Paris.

"There are plenty of ceramists, but those specializing in earthenware and facade cladding using these ancestral techniques, you can't find any. That's why I want to pass on this craft by running workshops", she shares. A project currently under discussion with the Chamber of Trades and Crafts of Hérault.

Find out more: www.atelierceramain.fr