Terafeu Terafour

There’s almost nothing going on in the little southwestern town of Tilh.

“Tilh, c’est nous!” states Christine Lasalle, “nous” being Terafeu Terafour, her family’s century-old pottery business.

From her workshop window, Lasalle peers at the Pyrenees. The Spanish border lies just 200 kilometers away. Tilh’s 700 inhabitants think of themselves as Basque.

One adjective to describe them?

“Stubborn,” says Lasalle. She knows she is. As are her eight employees who hand-turn each piece on the potter’s wheel. Apply the glaze. Fire the kilns to 1200 degrees centigrade.

Stubbornly old-fashioned.

The clay found around Tilh is pretty special, too. Possesses refractory properties yet contains no lead. No cadmium either.

“Unbreakable in the oven,” Madame Lasalle assures.

I believe her.