The story behind Audouin
At the head of the small company in Montigné sur Moine, Joël AUDOUIN is the fourth generation of a family entirely devoted to the manufacture of clogs
Producing hundreds of pairs per day, the workshop is the only one in France specialising in their manufacture.
As one collection has followed another in this village in the Mauges, tradition has blended with modernity and creativity and has given a new lease of life to the ancestral brand « BOSABO ».
A little history
The activities of the Audouin family in Montigné sur Moine go back to 1890. At this time, Joël’s great-grandfather, Emile Audouin, was carving his first clogs. With his bundle of belongings on his shoulder and his tools, he went from farm to farm, expertly carving clogs which were almost tailor made.
He transferred his passion to his son, who carried on manufacturing traditional clogs, setting up his workshop in St Remy en Mauges with a few other craftsmen. But the twenties had sounded a new era in the history of clogs. With the arrival of the first machines, lathes to facilitate shaping and hollowing-out, clog makers could now turn their precious wood in their workshops.
Then, in 1959, Joseph Audouin took up the torch and, far from abandoning traditional production, brought it up to date by falling in step with fashion: clogs with leather uppers and wooden soles. New techniques and better materials appeared, making manufacture easier.
In 1988, he passed control of the business to his son, Joël. Trained at the AFPIC (an institute for the professional training of shoemakers and the study of foot anatomy) he kept the traditional manufacturing processes whilst modernising the business. Production revolved around three concepts: fashion, work and the garden.
The business enjoyed a new boom. For more than 15 years now, it has been exporting throughout the world, notably to Europe, Asia, USA and the Middle East. Today, one in three pairs of clogs is exported.
