{"id":20115,"date":"2025-07-02T15:37:32","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T13:37:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tourisme-en-champagne.com\/meeting-with-raymond-kneip-ornamentalist\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T09:54:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T08:54:46","slug":"meeting-with-raymond-kneip-ornamentalist","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tourisme-en-champagne.com\/en\/meeting-with-raymond-kneip-ornamentalist\/","title":{"rendered":"Meeting with Raymond Kneip, ornamentalist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Argonne, a breeding ground for know-how<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Starting with Mr. Raymond Kneip, a man with the air of a sailor-captain, facetious and adept at making guesses about the objects around him. What’s this for? What’s this for? In the kitchen, in the field, in the bedroom? In church or at the blacksmith’s? Here, a wedding gift from 1750. Here, something so rare that there are probably only five left in France. Bone mould. Choux tongs. Weaving loom. Compasses you can’t count. It’s sure to set you up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On this day, Raymond is wearing a blue T-shirt to match the sparkle in his eyes, the project of a lifetime. In the small village of Massiges, twenty minutes from Sainte-M\u00e9nehould, he has built the two buildings of his workshop-museum, known as “de la Main de Massiges”,<\/strong> but in no way related to the nearby trenches commemorating the First World War. His hand is that of the tool. Of work. Of accomplishment. A hand outstretched, a hand lent, in favor of knowledge. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

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Ornamentalists can be counted on the fingers of one hand<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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His studio-museum is a timeless place, built in 1998 from recycled materials. Bricks. Chalk. Tiles. Beams. And a lot of hard work. Inside, the craftsman, who could have been born in the 18th century, will precede you to show you all the details. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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“In life, we all have a clear path. You just have to follow it”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dotted with ponds and vast forests, the Argonne offers unspoilt flora and fauna in a bountiful natural setting ideal for green getaways!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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First a plumber by trade, then a roofer, then a goldsmith, then a “metal ornamentalist in roofing” (which earned him a Meilleur Ouvrier de France diploma), Raymond’s rigor is ingrained in his body. He loves symbols, hidden all over his property. His collections of all kinds and his regular arrangements evoke the passing of time, just as the weathervanes indicate the direction of the wind and the rooster on his bell tower the start of a new day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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