Silk Industry in Lyon

Out of the two sites we visited in Lyon, my favorite was the silk factory. I was fascinated by the technique, detail, and patience these workers put into each piece of tapestry they would make. Watching the tour guide actually stitch several centimeters was my favorite part of the tour. If you didnt memorize the color pattern correctly or you put the wrong color through it took extra time to fix your mistakes.

Silk Industry

I really enjoyed the silk industry museum and workshop.  I knew that silk was expensive, but I never realized that there was so much work and effort put into making the silk fabric and designs.  It was interesting and crazy that it takes 8 hours to make a 35cm piece of designed fabric, and 3 days to make that fabric 1 meter.  This is a lot of work and effort, but thanks to the technology behind the loom, it made it simpler for weavers to accomplish their work.

The Wonderful World of Film

In Lyon, we went to the Lumière Institute. The institute showed almost all of the films that the brothers had shown. This films were captivating to watch. It was a shock to see what people thought was entertaining in that day and age. This pictures are so much different than what we watch today. There is no action, no drama, no sound. These videos were just people going about their everyday life.

Lumiere museum

Much of the tour of the Lumiere museum covered what we had already learned in the assigned reading, but it was exciting to see the original projectors and other instruments. I really loved the blue plate photographs because of how their colors blended in with one another to give an almost paint-like quality. Today we have to use filters to achieve that effect, but I don't think any filter I've seen compares to the original blue plate quality.

Silk Factory

On our day trip to Lyon, we visited an old silk factory. Despite the fact it was as many degrees in Celsius, as I would have liked it to have been in Fahrenheit, I really enjoyed the visit. The guide first brought us to the production room with the loom. I was excited to see them in person since I had read about them for my paper. They were larger and more intricate than I thought! I was very impressed by the amount of skill and focus it takes to so even a strand of a silk product.

I wonder who built the original loom, why they decided to use that model, and how much it costs. It does not seem as though the average joe could afford to be in this business. Overall, very neat process!

Silk Factory

On our day trip to Lyon we toured a silk factory. Our tour guide shared some interesting facts about how silk is made. The fact that intrigued me the mist was it takes 8 hours to make only 35cm of silk. For one meter of this silk it would cost $2000. The part of the silk tour that I enjoyed the most though was when our tour guide demonstrated the technique of making silk. From watching this demonstration I learned how much precise you have to be to make sure that the colors match the template.

Lumiere

The Lumiere museum was a good example of how the crowning achievement of some individuals overshadow their other accomplishments. The Lumiere brothers had many more inventions and patents then just their cinematographe that cross multiple fields of use. The invention of the blue photo plate allowed for instant photography and helped bring back their family business from the brink of bankruptcy. Other inventions included a non-stick bandage (tulle gras), a prosthetic arm, and a paper diaphragm for record players. The achievements of the brothers also included the invention of the chromagraph, the first form of color photographic plates.

Silk

During the trip to Lyon we toured the silk district.  What was interesting to learn was what silk came from.  I always knew that the silk was produced by the silk work in the past but I had no idea that it is still what is used to produce silk.  I learned about how their were factories in Asia and Brazil that have mechanicalized the process of getting the silk from the worm.  Another thing that I found interesting was that it takes four cacoons worth if silk to get one thread of silk when woven together.

The Discovery of Silk

I thought that both sites we visited in Lyon, France were very interesting.  I did particularly like learning how silk was discovered.  Before going to the Madison des Canuts, I never would have guessed that a princess discovered how to make a strand of silk fiber, after a silk worm cocoon fell into her tea cup. This was a fun story to listen to and even more exciting to learn that the process of making silk fibers was kept secret, until spies were sent in to steal the secret.  What made the story so entertaining was that the spies were monks.  Overall, the silk workshop was very interesting and one of my favorite stops on the trip.

Beginning of film

At the Lumiere house, I was really excited to see the way film started and it what ways was it filmed. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they had interactive screens there that allowed me to watch some of the early movies. Getting the chance to see the films up close, gave me a better understanding of what made the audiences so excited to see these short movies. As I watched them, I found myself mesmerized by the blocking and stories to them. I can't even begin to imagine what it would've been like for someone like me during that time. Film was new and different which is why everyone packed into theatres to see them. It was a great expierence for me to see how film first began.

"Acting" Unaware

At the Lumiere Brothers Museum, I learned that in some of their first films, the brothers didn't hire professional actors to play roles. Instead, they asked local factory workers to be in the movie. They were told to ignore the camera for their "role." This example shows how having hands-on experience with a topic can help ensure trust in experts. If the listener has a bit of knowledge about a topic previously, the expert's findings, reports, and opinions can more easily be trusted.

Silk factory

We visited the silk factory and it was a neat experience. I knew that silk was made out of silk worm, but I did not know what they looked like. The bug is very creepy. I thought it was very interesting that they got the silk from the caccoons of the bug and that they killed the bugs while they were in the caccoons before they can take the silk from the caccoon. I also really liked watching here do the hand threading on making the fabric and how they work the machines. Lastly, I think it is neat they could improve the machine to an electric loom so they can make items for ships and computers. The technology has really improved, but even though the workers had long hours I think it would still be neat to say that would made something by hand.

Silk Production

Today we traveled to Lyon and we toured Tour of Maison des Canuts which produces silk and the part of the tour that intrigued me the most was how long it took to make and how expensive silk actually is. It takes about 8 hours to make only a 35cm square and about 3 days to produce a meter. The price of the meter long product was around $2000. The price can also depend on the color and if it was made with felt or not. In addition to the felt, when they made it, they made tiny loops with the material and then had to cut each loop with a blade. Weaving is very time consuming and I can now understand why it is incredibly expensive.