EventsMartre Meets Again, and the Competition is FierceSign painters collaborate on a series of shopfronts for the second Martre gathering in France.Better LettersDec 12, 2024 6 min readWinning work-in-progress at Martre 2024.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 AdelineLe 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.The concept for Martre 2024 was a street of shops decorated with signage from different eras.The briefs included the shop typebakery, pharmacy, cheesemonger, etcand the era in which it was to be styled. In addition to the faade, 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.Ready, Set, Go!The energy levels were high as the teams collaborated to get to the finish line with the best possible final output.Adding a shade to the bakery's fascia sign.Action stations on Rue de la Martre.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 BarTo 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.Rue de la Martre in all its finished glory.Top of the ShopsOn 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 Cme, Bruno Durand, and Lucas Teyssier with their fin de sicle (turn-of-the-century) pharmacy.Art Nouveau is the remedy.In good health: winners Bruno Durand, Morgane Cme, 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 WinnerHere 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 incrediblethere 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 Gant des Beaux-Arts; Le Laboureur; Pinceaux Lonard; Pinstriping France Kustom; La Trinitaine.This blade sign suggests that Martre is here for good.More MartreMore Letterheads