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Flax in Normandy

The ‘Le Printemps du Lin’ festival, organised by Seine-Maritime Attractivité, returns this year with activities in our area led by Muriel Vinet – ‘Graines de fée au pays du Lin’ in Ry on 2, 17 and 30 May. A master craftswoman in embroidery, she will be running workshops on making linen hot water bottles and guided tours of the village of Ry in the afternoons.

Video of the village of Ry promoting the ‘Favourite Village of the French’ for 2024. (Normandie Caux Vexin Tourist Office and Videaste.net).

Did you know that Caux Vexin in Normandy is home to the largest flax scutching mill? Indeed, the Depestèle mill is based in Le Bocasse and helps to promote Normandy’s production worldwide. Normandy flax is used in the textile industry, but also in cutting-edge engineering, oil production and mulch.

Normandy is the world’s leading producer of flax. The manufacture of fabrics and clothing from this extraordinary fibre is still largely carried out in Asian countries. These fabrics can be found in the form of shawls, bags, dresses, clutches, shirts and household linen in the cooperative’s shop, Le Vert Galant, in Saint-André-sous-Cailly.

Linen continues to inspire craftspeople. In Buchy, at the Art Loc'Halles shop, various objects showcase the beauty of flax, its fibre and its delicate flower. Ceramic artist Barbara Pfeiffer (Rakou Mikou) combines earth and clay—transformed into earthenware, essential for the plant’s growth—with the fibre to create delicate and poetic pieces.