Le Pastel (The woad)
This pastel blue, this “perfect blue”, was the “Blue Gold” that brought wealth to the region. A meadow of Isatis Tinctoria is magnificently yellow; the large green leaves are crushed and placed to dry in balls, the famous “cocagnes“. After fermentation, they produce “agranat”, a blackish grainy paste. The powdered pigment is then used to produce the inimitable pastel blue.
Pastel is the plant source of blue that is found throughout Europe and the mediterranean basin. He knew a story copy of Pays d'Oc from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century. Its culture and its trade and shaped so the history and heritage throughout the region and were the source of its economic boom. We owe to this period of opulence the expression "Pays de Cocagne". The pastelliers build houses as luxurious hotel Assezat in Toulouse, or hotel Reynès in Albi.
Pastel is a plant with yellow flowers which contains in its leaves (before flowering) its source of blue. It used to multiple stages of processing, of leaves harvested and crushed and then molded into a ball, plenty, the "agranat" to mount the tanks dyes.
Château-Musée du pastel
By saving Château Magrin from ruin in 1971, its owners pulled off a double coup : preserving a historic monument and bringing the incredible story of the blue of kings out of oblivion. This former fortress transformed into a woad museum, everything evokes its epic tale : the Renaissance facades, symbols of the golden age during which Occitanie was the woad granary of Europe, as well as the enormous drying room, the collections of manuscripts, textiles and tools and the last mill in the region.
Tél. : 05 63 70 63 82
From medicinal virtues to dermatological benefits, woad is a keeper of all secrets ! Renowned since ancient times for its healing properties, woad, with its near magical seed, is also a source of omega 3, 6 and 9 enough to incite cosmetics to seize its powers. Cocagne balm with woad oil and firming serum with anti-ageing paswoadtel proteins since 2003, the French brand Graine de Pastel has been purveying the beauty secrets of the miraculous plant.
Found all woad products in shops :
La Ferme au village (Lautrec)
La Petite Maison du pastel (Lautrec)
