THE FACTORY OF CHAUVIGNY
from earthenware to porcelain

In 1829, Jean Bozier, a ‘fayence manufacturer living in Le Marais’, moved to the centre of Chauvigny and the adventure of the porcelain factory began. On 15 August 1908, most of the factory, newly fitted out by Fernand Deshoulières, a graduate of the École Supérieure de Céramique de Sèvres, was destroyed by fire. The reconstruction provided an opportunity to build new kilns and launch new products, such as Perfecta and flamed stoneware. From 1950 onwards, the qualities of Chauvinois porcelain were recognised all over the world. In 2002, Deshoulières was taken over by the Imperial Manufactory of Saint-Petersburg-Lomonossov.

Louis Deshoulières (1830-1881)
Jean Bozier (1805-1881), a "fayencier" (earthenware maker) in "Le Maras", acquired a house and garden in Chauvigny around 1829, near a small reservoir of the "Montauban" stream. He continued to enlarge this property by purchasing pieces of land in the surrounding area and began to convert the garden into a production area in 1838 with a tile kiln. A few years later, the first earthenware kiln was installed there, around 1842. It was around that time that the workshop began to be used. In total, four kilnss were built (1838-1840 and 1892), each with a chimney that extended one metre above the neighbouring roofs. About twenty workers were employed in the manufacture of tin-glazed earthenware (a white, opaque tin-based glaze that masks the red colour of the paste) and pottery. In 1856, Jean Bozier's daughter, Estelle (1830-1891), married her first cousin, Louis Deshoulières (1830-1881), who later joined his father-in-law.
Fernand Deshoulières (1883-1973), on the right
Fernand Deshoulières, a graduate of the Superior School of Ceramics in Sèvres, took over the factory after his father, Gaston (1859-1918). Gradually, he decided to discontinue the culinary and horticultural pottery, and the tin-glazed earthenware. In 1906, he created a very different type of cookware based on a very fine stoneware, a vitrified product halfway between earthenware and porcelain, which made the reputation of a dozen factories located in Saint-Vallier-sur-Rhône and Saint-Uze, in the Drôme.
The Perfecta
The fire of 15 August 1908 destroyed most of Fernand Deshoulières' work. A subscription of 25,000 francs (about €4,000) came to the assistance of those who had become unemployed as a result of the fire. Furthermore, a number of workers were hired in other potteries for the duration of the reconstruction, Mr. Marque's, on Avenue de Bordeaux in Poitiers. The fire had spared the paste preparation workshop; as for the damaged buildings, they were replaced.
In 1909, a second kiln was put into service and the need to employ qualified workers obliged Fernand Deshoulières to recruit from regions as diverse as Berry, Limousin, Belgium and Switzerland. The company name became "Gaston et Fernand Deshoulières" and the brand "Perfecta", porcelain cookware, was successfully launched!
This video follows the process of making porcelain, from the extraction of the clay to its packaging for sale.
Ceramic isolators
The effects of the First World War were strongly noticeable in Chauvigny. Assigned to the auxiliary service of the 49^th Artillery Regiment because of his poor eyesight, Fernand Deshoulières secures the services of Mr. François Devallois, an engineer from Sèvres, and starts manufacturing porcelain products for the low voltage electrotechnical industry.
The post-war period saw a further expansion of the factory. A third furnace of 75 m³ was built in 1919 and the last pottery furnace was modified into one with fireboxes for the firing of Poitou flamed stoneware. Horticultural pottery was gradually discontinued in favour of the techniques used in Limoges and Berry for hard porcelain fired at 1,400°
The brand APILCO
The economic crisis of the years 30-35 was hard felt in Chauvigny. During the same period, many factories in Limoges and Berry closed down permanently. In Foëcy, near Vierzon, the company A. Pillivuyt and Sons, founded in 1799 and with an excellent reputation abroad, ceased all activity in 1936 and sold its models and moulds to Fernand Deshoulières, who took over the sale of the collection in England, under the brand name APILCO (A. PILLIVUYT et Co). A brand name that still exists today.
The tunnel-furnace
In 1947/48, a tunnel-furnace with permanent firing, supplied with gas by two Sauvageot gas generators, was installed in "Le Paradis"*. The gas generators, fuelled by coal from Merlebach and steam, produced a gas suitable for firing porcelain. This major development allowed a significant increase in production.

*The original name of a part of the factory in the city centre, on Rue Vassalour.
Brick chimney of the old furnace
In 1964, Louis Deshoulières brought his son Yves, an engineer who had graduated from the Arts and Crafts school in Lille, into the management of the factory, which then employed over 330 people. The lack of space and the ageing installation were the reasons for considering an enlargement and for leaving the city centre for the first time. A family-owned property at the "Planty" on the southern outskirts of Chauvigny, expanded by the acquisition of a parcel belonging to the Hospice, was perfectly suited to the needed expansion. This relocation was all the more welcome as the Lacq gas pipeline, newly installed in Chauvigny in 1962, ran nearby.
Nowadays, the factory in the town centre no longer exists, only the Planty buildings remain. However, the brick chimney is still visible on the former factory site.