A trip to the very heart of skilled craftsmanship and France itself is literally what you experience when you visit the Pinton factory. Located in Felletin, a small town close to Aubusson in France's Nouvell-Aquitaine region, this leading name in carpet and rug making is the perfect embodiment of the heritage and prestige of the profession. The building itself, a veritable architectural jewel, combines large windowed surfaces with majestic mahogany-toned wood-covered walls and verdant gardens, offering an exceptional setting in which superb craftsmanship has prospered since the end of the 18th century. The Pinton name goes back much further however: this family of master carpet makers can be traced right back to the beginning of the 16th century. Since then, this ancient know-how has been passed on from generation to generation, thus preserving the meticulous and finely honed techniques on which the company's reputation is built.

The Pinton factory has worked with some of the greatest names in modern art, such as Sonia Delaunay, Le Corbusier, Fernand Léger, Picasso and Miró, and this same spirit of innovation is still to be found today in The Socialite Family's own creations. Scala, the latest model in our L'Arte della Gioia rug collection, for example, stands out for its unique, playful lines. Because it is conceived as a floor ornament, and due to its crenellated edges, the Scala rug takes up to four times longer to make in terms of the work required. It is the perfect testimony to this kind of close collaboration between art and craftsmanship, in which the high-quality raw material reigns supreme.

In order to admire the entire process, it's off to another dedicated building a few kilometres away next, reached after first crossing a stone bridge worthy of the most beautiful bucolic aspirations. Once inside, it's a whole other world that greets us. The whistling of pressurised air, the clickety-clack of the machines, and the floor strewn with tufts of wool plunge us immediately into the flurry and excitement of manufacturing. Tufting at the front, winding behind, it all takes place in a meticulous choreography for which the immense wooden frames, ready to reveal the next rug, serve as the stage. On the right, the contours of Scala, freshly designed, are bit by bit being adorned with tiny mounds of wool.  At the far end, our spools of 100% New Zealand wool, specially dyed by The Socialite Family, are gradually emptying as the rug takes shape. Neither too much nor too little: every spool is meticulously chosen based on the particular format ordered. Out of this precision come unique, customisable pieces, which only a few master craftsmen have the skill to make. Once the tufting is complete comes the stage of glueing the back to attach it all together, followed by levelling using a razor and shears: a meticulously skilled process requiring several days of careful focus and unique, if not to say magical, work by the hand of man.