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Empreintes

Marais

https://www.empreintes-paris.com/

sector: Art, Design, Home

Experience Specialist

district: Marais

5 Rue de Picardie, 75003 PARIS

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In a nutshell

EMPREINTES—Paris’s leading artisan craft concept store. It is a destination concept store in the heart of the Haut Marais, devoted exclusively to showcasing French arts and crafts through more than 1,000 unique, hand-made pieces—ranging from jewellery and tableware to furniture, lighting, and décor. It stands out for its commitment to authenticity, craftsmanship, and sustainability, serving as both a retail showcase and a cultural hub for makers across France.

In their words

"On the ground floor and first floor, the EMPREINTES concept store offers for sale nearly 1,000 unique objects, one-off pieces or small series, made in the workshops of designers based in France, from a variety of worlds: decoration, tableware, lighting, jewelry and furniture... for all budgets.
Located among the creations, the Bookstore presents magazines and books dedicated to the crafts of the Ateliers de France publishing house."

Brand Background

Founded in 2016 by Ateliers d’Art de France—the professional union for French fine crafts—EMPREINTES occupies a former family-run costume jewellery studio, redesigned as a four-storey loft-like gallery and store. Its mission is to elevate the profile of artisans, foster transmission of traditional savoir-faire, and offer an alternative to mass consumption with objects crafted for longevity and emotional resonance.

The store spans both commerce and artistis representation, and is part of a movement to create a valuable and sustained market for high quality, high skill, high art manufacture in France. The exhibited products range from humble productions of crockery and utilitarian goods through to one-off works of art.

The store operates a rotating series of events and popups, operating as a commercial gallery and cultural space. The programming ties in with other Paris-wide activities (eg Paris Design Week).

Unlike a museum, the items are for sale and customers are encouraged to handle and interact with the works (as appropriate).

Visit Field notes

Over three visitor floors the store gives an overview of the range of output of the artisans in the association. The ground floor 'art de la table' area is arranged around communal dining tables and vaisseliers, with additional spaces for exhibitions, a bookstore on crafts, jewelry, lighting, and furniture. The upper floors house pieces from the collection (a rotating group of artisans, with an extensive group showing of their work).

Note that extensive artist biographies and extended information are available via QR code. This reflects the store's role to educate as well as to sell.

Changing exhibitions showcase both newness and seasonality, demonstrating its role as a commercial gallery as well as a style-setter.

Checkout

The detailed notes on artists and the works.

Note the educational and representational materials.

Note the emphasis upon REGIONAL variations (local crafts and heritage) and upon materials and processes (for example during a visit in 2025 there was a focus upon stone work and enamelling).

The approach to makers, their craft and heritage has parallels in France's protection of its cultural heritage in food, wine and engineering.

LAST VISITED

14/09/2025

Added

2025

Gallery

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