If you are a ceramist or an enlightened pottery lover, La Borne will surely mean something to you. Indeed, this village is a mecca for ceramic creation in France and internationally.
La Borne being close to a large sandstone deposit, there are traces of this activity since the 12th century and it has continued to develop over time. In the 15th century, potters acquired mastery of cooking local clay. In the 17th century, the creation of the town of Henrichemont increased demand and concentrated the workshops in the hamlet, halfway between the quarries and the town. Then in the 19th century, at its peak, 21 workshops operated there.
Unlike many pottery villages, La Borne has been able to resist the new materials of the 20th century with the revival of pottery in the form of art.
Today, nearly 80 craftsmen and artists of twelve different nationalities work in the surrounding area and there are two museums in the village.
In the former Saint-Jean-Baptiste chapel, the Pottery Museum was created with a rather traditional and historical approach and in which we find works by renowned potters such as the Talbot family, Vassil Ivanoff and Jean Linard.
Then you will find the La Borne Contemporary Ceramic Center which has occupied the village's former girls' school since 1971 as well as a glass gallery more than 600 meters long inaugurated in 2010.
Every year around October you can participate in the Grands Feux, an event allowing you to discover how the hamlet's wood-fired ovens work.