# The workshop, where our angels are born

URL : https://boutiquedesanges.fr/en/workshop/

Not everything in the shop comes from elsewhere. Some of our angels are born here, in the workshop: figurines cast and painted by hand, cameo jewellery assembled by hand, guardian-angel bracelets. Here is how.

![Hands painting a choir angel with a brush in the workshop.](https://boutiquedesanges.fr/wp-content/uploads/peinture-a-la-main.avif)

## The figurines, from mould to gilding

![The stages of a choir angel, from white plaster to the painted figurine.](https://boutiquedesanges.fr/wp-content/uploads/etapes-choriste.avif)

### Moulding

Everything starts with a mould. Ours come from England and Northern Europe. Each figurine is cast in one, here, in the shop. We let it set, we take it out of the mould: the angel appears, ready to be painted. Our figurines are made of synthetic plaster.

### Painting

Then comes the brush. Faces, wings, drapery: everything is painted by hand. That is why no two angels are ever quite alike.

### Patina and polish

The patina gives each angel an air of times gone by. The polish makes it gleam softly. Two more steps, also done by hand.

### Gilding

Some angels finally receive their gilding, applied by hand.

![Orange silicone moulds, standing in plastic cups, filled with fresh plaster.](https://boutiquedesanges.fr/wp-content/uploads/moulage-choristes.avif)

_Moulding: the plaster is poured into the silicone moulds._

![A row of white plaster choir angels, out of their moulds, drying on a radiator.](https://boutiquedesanges.fr/wp-content/uploads/sechage-choristes.avif)

_Drying: the choir angels out of their moulds, all white, before painting._

Our customers say it in their own words: angels “painted by hand”. That is indeed how they are born. Giving a figurine from the workshop means giving an angel with a story: that of the hands that made it.

[The figurines in the catalogue (in French)](https://shop.boutiquedesanges.fr/fr/5-figurines-statuettes-statues-anges)

![The eight colours of cherub cameos, laid out in a ring: pink, aniseed green, olive green, rust, violet, midnight blue, pearl grey and black.](https://boutiquedesanges.fr/wp-content/uploads/camees-huit-couleurs.avif)

## Cameos, assembled here and nowhere else

Cameo jewellery is assembled by hand in the shop, and you will not find it anywhere else. The cameo, made of resin, is set on a mount with a genuine metal patina. They come in eight colours and are worn as a brooch, earrings, a ring or a necklace. The guardian-angel bracelets are born here too.

[Cameo jewellery in the catalogue (in French)](https://shop.boutiquedesanges.fr/fr/19-collection-bijoux-camees-anges)

[All the jewellery (in French)](https://shop.boutiquedesanges.fr/fr/18-bijouterie-ange)

![A 1:12 scale miniature of the shop, with its angels and furniture in tiny form.](https://boutiquedesanges.fr/wp-content/uploads/miniature.avif)

## The shop in miniature

The shop also exists in miniature. 1:12 scale miniatures reproduce it: the “Salon des Puttis”, the “Salon des Séraphins”, the “Salon des Chérubins”. A music box in its image completes the family. Look closely: it really is the shop, in miniature.

## Other hands

Not everything is made in the workshop. The shop also welcomes the work of other houses and other craftspeople, such as the anges quêteurs (collection-box angels) of the Bacci house in Tours.

[The anges quêteurs in the catalogue (in French)](https://shop.boutiquedesanges.fr/fr/74-anges-queteurs)

![Brigitte de Cuyper behind the counter of the shop, in front of the wall of cameos.](https://boutiquedesanges.fr/wp-content/uploads/brigitte-comptoir-2026.avif)

## Brigitte and the team at work

Brigitte de Cuyper opened the shop in 1996. She still runs it, with her team. Between customers, someone paints a figurine or assembles a bracelet, at the counter, right where you are welcomed. If you come at the right moment, you may see a cherub taking on its colours.

## Where to find them

The workshop’s pieces are waiting for you in the shop, open every day. Some are also in the online catalogue.

[Visit the shop](https://boutiquedesanges.fr/en/visit/)

[Browse the catalogue (in French)](https://shop.boutiquedesanges.fr/fr/)