When algorithms and screens seem to dominate our every waking minute, who would’ve guessed that ancient trades – you know, like actually making things with your hands – would become the ultimate comeback story? Meet the young rebels who swapped code for craft, proving their worst detractors wrong and finding meaning where most saw nothing but dust and glue.
Forging New Paths: The Unexpected Renaissance of Ancient Trades
Who says you have to be a tech wizard to become an influencer these days? Take Arnault, a 26-year-old glowing example with over 122,000 Instagram followers, who has carved a niche for himself in custom contemporary stained glass. The son of a designer mother and an artist father, he always saw working with his hands as self-evident. While studying applied arts in Moulins, he was captivated by the magic of glass. “It’s incredibly complete work,” he says energetically. “There’s drawing, client contact, design, fabrication, and the sweet satisfaction of seeing your creation installed. You never get bored.”
Anaëlle, 23, chose metal engraving. “I’ve drawn since I was little,” she explains, “but I didn’t want the job to make me sick of it.” After high school, she moved into the metal section of ENSAAMA, then trained in weapon engraving in Belgium. “Engraving is just another way of drawing. I like transcribing a drawing into material, bringing an object to life from a gesture.”
These two stories are part of a resurgence: young people returning to old trades. Sociologist Marc Loriol from the CNRS notes the phenomenon is still minor, mostly benefiting professions with creative dimensions and a minimum of economic viability. CMA France, the national body coordinating local chambers of trades and crafts, notes that this is more than a blip on the radar. Cooperage (barrel-making), all but extinct, went from zero to over 30 apprentices in two years. Shoemaking, with zero candidates in 2020-2021, reached almost 30 four years later. Farriers multiplied by seven between 2020 and 2025 across France. Not bad in an age ruled by artificial intelligence and digital revolutions!
When Spark Beats School: Rediscovering Craft Through Passion
- For most, the draw isn’t just a career plan – it’s a sensory or emotional lightning bolt.
- Alban Donzaud, once an amateur rider, was only 12 when he watched his first hot shoeing in the stables. “There was smoke, the iron on the hoof… I just knew: I want to do that,” recalls the now 21-year-old. The blend of horses and metalwork just clicked. Watching matter transform sparked young intrigue.
- Laurie, 36, found her destiny in bookbinding and marbling, crafting patterns and prints – often on paper. After attending an open house at the Estienne school for book trades, the smells and sights of the workshop hooked her completely. From the age of 15, it was arts applied – and never looking back.
For some, crafts were a passport out of stuffy academic tracks. “I was happy in arts, loved writing and history, but wasn’t very academic,” Laurie admits. Sociologist Marc Loriol sees learning a trade after school difficulties as symbolic revenge – discovering new talents, thinking, creating, and making something real: self-confidence and dignity restored. Margaux, an aspiring shoemaker battling dyslexia and spelling difficulties, remembers a teacher’s harsh words in primary school: “She called me dumb and said I’d never be anything.” Later, supportive teachers helped her turn things around. Once she found her craft, her grades soared.
But high-achievers end up here too. Souane, 23, had top marks and a science diploma with honors, but felt lost after school. She loved science, but was just as attracted to manual professions – already a hobby. One internship was all it took: upholstery became her calling. “I felt useful, surrounded by beautiful materials and objects.”
The Irony of Progress: Why Old Skills Matter Now
The wild ride of the labor market fuels this return to material. “Since the 1980s, there’s been a steady precarization of jobs,” says Loriol. Rule changes, reform after reform – you have to retrain constantly, become a jack-of-all-trades, sometimes even work below your skill level, and risk losing all sense of purpose. And let’s not sugarcoat it: AI is only speeding up this turbulence. Marc Blanchard, from the Compagnons du Devoir, notes that young people know full well their intellectual jobs will be transformed by AI. In contrast, creating, repairing, or making things feels more solid and future-proof.
- Concrete know-how equals security and autonomy – a shield from the pressures of efficiency and profit.
- “A laser can engrave,” says Anaëlle, “but it’ll never have the hand, the artistic touch, the human spark.”
No one’s living in the past. Farriery, Alban reminds us, is evolving — now, horse hooves can be scanned using an app, and shoes made of plastic or aluminum on-site. Young artisans even reinvent old crafts with a modern conscience. Blanchard shares how a young leatherworker built her masterwork using only reclaimed leather scraps, no glue or chemicals.
No Easy Path, Just Real Payoff
But creative freedom has its challenges: limited job openings, low salaries. Margaux points out many shoemaking skills were outsourced – meaning salaried jobs are scarce, forcing many into self-employment. Laurie knew she couldn’t make a living right away. For five years, she juggled odd jobs on the side before a big break: a Paris department store invited her for a three-month exhibition, catapulting her craft to new heights.
“It took a lot of patience and sacrifice,” Laurie says, “but being able to live from what you love is real satisfaction.” Predictable careers are out. For this new wave, passion always trumps economic security – and judging by their skill, grit, and Instagram followings, who’s calling them failures now?
