Martre Meets Again, and the Competition is Fierce

Sign painters collaborate on a series of shopfronts for the second Martre gathering in France.

By Better Letters • 12 Dec 2024

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View from behind a man painting a shadow onto a letter 'P' on a sign.

Winning work-in-progress at Martre 2024.

Before we get to the recent events in France, I'm delighted to share that the Letterheads meet in Almàssera, València, has been rescheduled to 1–4 May 2025 — a lovely time to visit that part of the world.

I'll be sharing further details of this, and the 50th anniversary meet in Cincinnati, 20–22 June, via the 'Worldwide Events Roundup' email list, but for now, mark the dates in your diary.

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For the second year of France's Martre gathering, it was a case of (paint) shop 'til you drop for the assembled sign painters. Hosts Tristan Gesret (@etsgesret) and Adeline Le Broc had erected a dozen blank shopfronts on 'Rue de la Martre', and the teams of three drew lots to see which they would be furnishing with signs.

Painted sign in white out of dark blue that reads "Rue de la Martre"

The concept for Martre 2024 was a street of shops decorated with signage from different eras.

The briefs included the shop type—bakery, pharmacy, cheesemonger, etc—and the era in which it was to be styled. In addition to the façade, other signage elements were required, including work on the glass panel in the door, and a blade sign or A-board to be displayed outside.

All of this had to be designed and produced on the second day of the event, and to add a little extra motivation, there were prizes up for grabs for the top three teams.

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Ready, Set, Go!

The energy levels were high as the teams collaborated to get to the finish line with the best possible final output.

View from behind a man painting a shopfront that says "Boulangerie"

Adding a shade to the bakery's fascia sign.

Action stations on Rue de la Martre.

View from behind two people on ladders painting shopfronts.

It's neck and neck in the race for prizes.

Gilded windows, A-boards, and more were created by the teams for their allocated shops.

The Paint Bar

To increase the efficiency of the work in hand, a new innovation for Martre 2024 was the introduction of a 'paint bar'. This allowed the sign painters to get their cups filled and topped up in the required colours by a professional pigmentista.

The paint bar was well stocked with colours from 1-Shot and Unikalo.

Job Done!

After two days of blood, sweat, and paint, the final set of shopfronts made for an impressive Rue de la Martre display.

Display of fake shopfronts lettered and decorated in a variety of era-appropriate styles.

Rue de la Martre in all its finished glory.

Top of the Shops

On the third and final day, the finished shops were judged, and prizes were awarded to the three winning teams.

Pharmacy (1901)

In first place it was Morgane Côme, Bruno Durand, and Lucas Teyssier with their fin de siècle (turn-of-the-century) pharmacy.

Art Nouveau is the remedy.

Three people posing for a photo with prizes they've won.

In good health: winners Bruno Durand, Morgane Côme, and Lucas Teyssier.

Wines & Liqueurs (1949)

The silver medal went to Antoine Paquier, Tania Rodier, and Pierre Raveleau for their 1949 wine merchants.

Faux panels, gilded embellishments, and a novel blade sign for the wine and liqueur shop.

Antoine Paquier, Pierre Raveleau, and Tania Rodier before heading off for a drink to celebrate.

Butcher-Delicatessen (1894)

Last but not least in the ranking shopfronts was the late nineteenth century butcher-delicatessen by Etienne Renard, Victor Bert, and Matthieu Verlaine.

More gilded goodness and a bovine prop to finish things off at Le Broc.

Victor Bert, Matthieu Verlaine, and Etienne Renard with their meaty haul.

Everyone's a Winner

Here are the other nine projects completed at Martre 2024. Can you guess the era for each one?

Completing the dozen Martre 2024 projects are these nine shops decked out over the first two days of the event.

Same Again?

With two years under their belt, Tristan and Adeline are already planning for the third Martre gathering in 2025, adding that this year:

"We were thrilled to bring all these people together, and the result was incredible—there was a truly impressive level of skill and talent on display. The discussions and exchanges led to the creation of a French sign painters' association, marking a significant gathering for the community in France. We witnessed some amazing work that will undoubtedly inspire exciting projects in the future."

Martre 2024 was made possible with support from the following organisations: A.S. Handover; Le Géant des Beaux-Arts; Le Laboureur; Pinceaux Léonard; Pinstriping France Kustom; La Trinitaine.