It was on the evening of December 24, 2018, that I discovered the first “mon bô sapin.” The fruit of the imagination and talent of my brother-in-law, Marcel Pradervand, this tree was a unique piece and was not intended for sale.

I found it beautiful, elegant, and original. The more I looked at it, the more I thought it should have little brothers and that an artisanal production should be launched.

Determined to carry out this project with Swiss companies, I began, in January 2019, a tour of woodworking shops in French-speaking Switzerland. Most of them admitted they would not be able to produce this tree at an attractive price and suggested it would be better to turn abroad…

One woodworking shop responded positively: Olbis les Ateliers (now Polyval) in Mont-sur-Lausanne. The head of the workshop, Mr. Jean-Luc Guignard, recognized the value of the project for his professional reintegration workshops. When the first prototype came out of the workshop, I knew I hadn’t been mistaken: this tree had potential!

Almost three years later, more than 400 trees have come out of Olbis-les-Ateliers — a small production that I hope will delight children, parents, and grandparents during the Christmas season.