Berets, Anyone?

[Fern]

Visiting Boinas La Encartada

One of two museums dedicated to the beret is the La Encartada Museoa in Balmaseda in Bizkaia, Spain. The factory was established by Marcos Arena Bermejillo in 1892 and continued production until it's closure a century later, in 1992.
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In 2007 the factory re-opened as a museum, displaying a range of machines for processing wool originating in many parts of Europe.
Visiting La Encartada on a Friday morning, I found the door closed and, with little hope started calling and banging on the door. To cut a long story short, I was giving a personal tour by one of the workers at the place and thoroughly enjoyed seeing what I saw!
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La Encartada displays a traditional Basque factory, but it also shows how entrepreneurs were able to integrate machines from many European countries into a single manufacturing process.
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Nearby are several workers’ houses, some built at the same time as the factory and some from the early twentieth century, showing how community and factory were closely related; there was even a school on the factory grounds for the workers' children.
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Some of the most enjoyable displays were the beautifully kept vehicles that were used to transport the boxes with berets to the railway station in Balmaseda for further distribution in Spain and abroad.

Ah…the sweet and innocent days of 2017!

Here’s the post from the trip @Daan took to La Encartada factory after it closed and was reborn as a museum.

 

[Fern]

It's been a while since I last visited. Though, I do wear hats and berets daily—berets more often than not. This Aotearoa Txapeldun (thank you Daan) has been getting a good bit of wear time as one of my foul weather berets. From the looks of me, I still haven't woken-up from my hour and a half bus ride.

Dang, sorry to hear about Elosegui. I sure hope they recover. The Año 1858 is one of my favorites. If I'm dressed up, that beret gets the call.

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Hey @foamy — hope all is well! Enjoyed many of your early posts. Do you still live in DC?

Hear you about the 1858 — the thick, stiff felt is very shapeable. The one I have with the leather headband is my largest vuelo at 13”. I feel great in it and also save it for special days — it has a lot of presence.

 

[Fern]

Hello my fellow béret lovers. While living here in Bordeaux, France I had the chance to visit the Manufacture De Bérets atelier (workshop) which also shares a very nice retail section in the front of the store. This visit was on Saturday October 19th and Sara Goupy was hosting her 1 year anniversary celebration in her new Orthez location. This is some video and photos from the event.

Hope all is well @Humanfactor — all is well and you’ve fared well through the pandemic. Enjoyed your early posts on this thread and the good vibe you would post with. What are you up to these days? Still in Bordeaux?

 

[TWKundrat]

Here's one that was given to me by my French great grandmother that had belonged to my great grandfather. Not sure how old it is but supposedly it was his go-to headwear.

 

[Daan]

... I can appreciate from all the stuff Daan posted here. I hope he continues with sharing his research or news updates here, but I hope he doesn’t stay too busy on that Facebook instead of here

Funny you worry about me being too busy on Facebook! I worry about the same, having a strong dislike for the platform and spending as little time as possible on it! Alas, these days, running a small business, it is hard not to be there...
Something different; this morning I got introduced to British blacksmith artist Stephen Lunn and his beautiful work. No surprise that Stephen is a dedicated beret wearer!

This year, his blacksmiths business, J. S. Lunn and Sons, will celebrate its 100th year.
Jack Smith - Stephen's grandfather returned from the First World War where he had been a drafted farrier and bought the business from the Scott family in 1921, who had been shoeing horses on the same Red Row site for 200 years.

Stephen started in the business in 1975 and worked with the farmers doing farm repairs and shoeing horses. His "Eureka moment" came when he attended a meeting of the British Artists Blacksmiths Association (BABA) and saw other blacksmiths were designing their own work.

"It's so obvious now, but in those days up until that moment we'd never thought of designing our own work," he said.

Forty five years on Stephen and daughter Ashlee Donaldson - who retrained as a blacksmith following a degree in fashion marketing - are at the forefront of the revival of blacksmithing and its evolution into an art form.
Needless to state, the beret is the perfect headgear for a blacksmith, as shown by many fellow blacksmiths across the globe and history:

 

[Fern]

Funny you worry about me being too busy on Facebook! I worry about the same, having a strong dislike for the platform and spending as little time as possible on it! Alas, these days, running a small business, it is hard not to be there...
Something different; this morning I got introduced to British blacksmith artist Stephen Lunn and his beautiful work. No surprise that Stephen is a dedicated beret wearer!
View attachment 401258
This year, his blacksmiths business, J. S. Lunn and Sons, will celebrate its 100th year.
Jack Smith - Stephen's grandfather returned from the First World War where he had been a drafted farrier and bought the business from the Scott family in 1921, who had been shoeing horses on the same Red Row site for 200 years.
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Stephen started in the business in 1975 and worked with the farmers doing farm repairs and shoeing horses. His "Eureka moment" came when he attended a meeting of the British Artists Blacksmiths Association (BABA) and saw other blacksmiths were designing their own work.
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"It's so obvious now, but in those days up until that moment we'd never thought of designing our own work," he said.
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Forty five years on Stephen and daughter Ashlee Donaldson - who retrained as a blacksmith following a degree in fashion marketing - are at the forefront of the revival of blacksmithing and its evolution into an art form.
Needless to state, the beret is the perfect headgear for a blacksmith, as shown by many fellow blacksmiths across the globe and history:
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I love these posts, @Daan — you have a talent for posting about the new and the old, all tied to the beret/boina/txapela.

You reckon the guy with the hammer is French because of the gallo? (Rooster)

 

[Daan]

You reckon the guy with the hammer is French because of the gallo? (Rooster)

His name is Guy Bel and yes, he is French but now living and working in Quebec. See here.

 

[Fern]

His name is Guy Bel and yes, he is French but now living and working in Quebec. See here.
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I like the format of the text in your website, @Daan

 

[Mm25]

Mail call

 

[Fern]

Mail call
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Awesome! You’re ready for Pamplona with the red one, @Mm25

 

[Mm25]

Awesome! You’re ready for Pamplona with the red one, @Mm25

When I put it on, I told my wife, “I wish it was bigger.” She replied “I like it because it’s not.” Ha. What do I know.

 

[Fern]

When I put it on, I told my wife, “I wish it was bigger.” She replied “I like it because it’s not.” Ha. What do I know.

It’s a 12” vuelo, right?

Also, show her this video.

 

[Babbo Philipe]

Hope all is well @Humanfactor — all is well and you’ve fared well through the pandemic. Enjoyed your early posts on this thread and the good vibe you would post with. What are you up to these days? Still in Bordeaux?

this was great iwish i could have been there, i would love to pick out my own ones, its a great shop , i am pretty sure she build/remodeled it herself, it is a great shop for sure

 

[Mm25]

It’s a 12” vuelo, right?

Also, show her this video.

It’s an 11 inch.

 

[Mm25]

After handling Elosegui super lujo and ano 1858 side by side, I can not tell any real difference, which is exactly what I was told to expect.

I like the different liner and badging. I plan to keep the 1858 as a dress version and wear the super lujo as an everyday beret.

I am still waiting for mail to come from New Zealand so that I have something other than an Elosegui to compare with. But I knew it might take a while when I ordered.

 

[Fern]

After handling Elosegui super lujo and ano 1858 side by side, I can not tell any real difference, which is exactly what I was told to expect.

I like the different liner and badging. I plan to keep the 1858 as a dress version and wear the super lujo as an everyday beret.

I am still waiting for mail to come from New Zealand so that I have something other than an Elosegui to compare with. But I knew it might take a while when I ordered.

Hey @Mm25 - good to know about the SL and the 1858. They’re both black and same vuelo?

 

[Mm25]

Hey @Mm25 - good to know about the SL and the 1858. They’re both black and same vuelo?

Yes. if I hold one in each hand, liner down, I would only be guessing which was which.

 

[Mm25]

Red beret again. Threw a filter on the pic so it looks a bit more like film.

 

[Fern]

Red beret again. Threw a filter on the pic so it looks a bit more like film. View attachment 402172

Like the look with the denim! Try the shades/glasses with no metal. Go
For wayfarer styles.

See below ideas:

 

[Daan]

Chasseurs Alpins, Old & New

I am often astonished how much material there is to be found on the "old" Chasseurs Alpins, photos and film from early last century. Not many military units can match that and it says something about these illustrious hunters' place in society.
Another obvious difference with any other military unit, apart from the 'Tarte' of course, are the beards and the large variety in uniforms worn.

Yes, there is a certain romance around it, which is quite different from the present-day Chasseurs. Not many berets, or tartes, in this video but it gives a nice insight of how these mountain troops have evolved over the decades.