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.