Marine Gaillard, winner of the Pilgrim Prize for Heritage Apprentice

Entirely in marble, the piece surprises with its finesse of execution. In a white onyx sky, three geese with stylized silhouettes, made in Sienna yellow, stand out. The migratory bird is the symbol of the Companions of Duty. It took Marine Gaillard two hundred hours of work to create this marquetry. An investment doubly rewarded: the young woman joined the Tour de France and was awarded the Aurhalpins 2022 prize.

Here she is now winner of the Pilgrim Prize for Heritage Apprentice. A wonderful journey which began within the Brocatelle company near Lyon (Rhône). “I discovered the diversity of marbles there, I did not imagine such a variety of colors, it amazed me,” she recalls. After two CAPs, one in stone cutting, the other in marble work, Marine Gaillard embarked on a professional certificate in the stone trades, first within the Bordeaux company Compagnons de Saint Jacques, then today at the Fondation de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame which is restoring the cathedral of Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin).

A detour through the sandstone to better return to your first loves. Because the young woman would like, in the future, to devote herself to working with solid marble. A rare skill that is more sought after in the creative world. Another way to perpetuate this artisanal know-how, which is also a heritage.