Pascale Grumet: Keeping an Ancestral Craft Alive Some career changes are born from a deep passion. This is the case for Pascale Grumet, a craftswoman who has chosen to dedicate her life to preserving and passing on traditional skills: caning, rush seating, and straw marquetry. A Career Change Driven by Passion Pascale Grumet has always been passionate about crafts and antiques. Drawn to antique objects and working with materials, she nurtured the desire to breathe new life into vintage furniture. At 45, she decided to turn this passion into a profession and returned to school. She enrolled in the furniture caning and rush seating program at the René Pellet School in Villeurbanne. Her commitment and determination enabled her to obtain her vocational certificate (CAP) in 2009.
The Birth of a Workshop With this new qualification, Pascale Grumet established her workshop in October 2010. There, she restores chairs, breathes new life into antique furniture, and meticulously works with natural materials. In 2012, she discovered a traditional technique that further enriched her artistic world: straw marquetry. This practice, which involves using rye straw to create luminous and graphic decorative patterns, opened up new creative possibilities. Her work was officially recognized in April 2013 when she was awarded the title of Artisan d’Art (Master Craftswoman).
A Craftswoman Committed to the Arts and Crafts Over the years, Pascale Grumet has become deeply involved in promoting her craft. In November 2015, she participated in her first Arts and Crafts Fair in Bourg-en-Bresse, an important experience that allowed her to share her work with the public. That same year, she discovered the Atelier des Savoir-Faire in Ravilloles, in the Jura region, a place dedicated to the transmission and promotion of arts and crafts. In 2016, she also joined the Ain Arts and Crafts Association, further strengthening her commitment to the network of artisans and creators.
Keeping an Ancient Craft Alive Beyond furniture restoration, Pascale Grumet pursues a clear objective: to perpetuate an ancestral craft. Caning and rush seating are ancient techniques, sometimes overlooked or underestimated, but possessing a rich heritage. Through her work, she demonstrates that these skills can continue to evolve. By combining them with contemporary creations or modern decorative projects, she proves that they have a vital place in our time. Between tradition and creativity, Pascale Grumet embodies a new generation of artisans: those who preserve heritage while giving it a contemporary feel.
I am Christophe, passionate about and manager of the cannage.fr site. In 2026, I decided to create this website with a simple and effective name, cannage.fr, a site specializing in canework, chair restoration, rattan cane, tools and of course advice. As a columnist, creator and enthusiast, my mission is to deliver content that is as fresh as it is relevant, covering areas as diverse as interior decoration, arts and crafts, restoration, handmade and even the environment. I strive to approach each theme with rigor and neutrality.
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