57 COMPANY PROFILE Every brushstroke tells a story Mark Booth, Managing Director UK of Pébéo UK Ltd chats to Craft Focus about the company’s artistic offerings Tell us a little bit about the company. Where are you based? When did the company start? The story of Pébéo began in 1919 in beautiful Provence. Established in SaintMarcel, east of Marseille, the factory was powered by the Canal du Béal, the driving force behind this young company of around 20 employees. The French chemical company was then known as ‘La Pébéo’, after the molecule used in the production of paint, lead protoxide, which was more commonly known as ‘Pbo’. At that time, ready-made paints didn’t yet exist: pigments existed only in their powder form, and were only intended for use by professionals. In 1989, with the demand for exports increasing, Pébéo’s laboratories became more and more cramped. The success of Pébéo’s products around the world, and the resulting rate of production, forced the company to rethink its location. While Pébéo’s legacy began in Saint-Marcel, their future would be in Gémenos. Who founded the company and why? The year 1922 marked a turning point for Pébéo with the arrival of Claudius Chaveau. Originally from Lyon, where he studied chemistry, Claudius Chaveau had cut his teeth in the family silk industry, before moving on to the laboratories of the Lumière brothers. A young visionary engineer, he was contacted by the administrator of La Pébéo (Dubost) and would become general manager within a few short years. Driven by invention and a desire to surpass himself in the service of creation, Claudius Chaveau breathed life into the young company and inspired the founding values which have since been passed down from generation to generation. How has the company evolved? For centuries, artists and craftsmen prepared their own colours using the pigments developed by the few paint houses. Long and onerous, this process consisted of impasting the colours, leaving them to infuse then, once diluted, passing them through a sieve. Between the dosage, the binder and the need for precision, this process was time-consuming and the final products couldn’t be preserved effectively. In 1934, Pébéo developed the first ‘ready-to-use’ colours, creating a revolution in the world of art! Originally intended for exterior painting, these tubes of oil paint allowed the businesses of the time to proudly show their colours while Pébéo continued to forge its reputation. Offered in 15 exclusive colours, these ‘ready-to-use’ tubes quickly won over artists. Thus, Pébéo entered the world of art. What do you specialise in? The year 1935 also heralded the beginning of this family adventure, when the young Robert Chaveau discovered the workings of the profession by following in the footsteps of his father Claudius. Claudius Chaveau met Célestin Freinet who was a teacher and the founder of the Freinet Modern School Movement. The movement’s pedagogy is based on the children’s own discovery and curiosity. Freinet had previously made various attempts to manipulate powdered colours by adding Arabic gum, trying to plasticise them and even trying to dilute them with washing-up liquid! When none of his ideas came to fruition, he finally visited the Pébéo factory to meet the manager. Together, they conceived a new type of gouache: liquid gouache. In 1952, a new connection confirmed Pébéo’s destiny in the world of art. Renowned painter and gallery
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