Lucas Bessard
Wooden ski manufacturer
Cuarnens

« Customers tell me that my skis don’t make the same noise on snow as other models. I tell them it’s the song of the wood. »

Lucas Bessard inherited his passion for woodworking from his father. As a teenager, he made skateboards and, later, his first pairs of skis. After studying food engineering, he dropped everything to create his wooden ski manufacturing business. Thanks to social networks, the first orders arrive. He is the winner of the First Prize for Relève Métiers d’Art in February 2019.

« Ash is the species that was already used at the time to design skis because it has excellent mechanical properties. »

Lucas Bessard has converted a 30m2 garage into a workshop: there he transforms ash planks from the forests of French-speaking Switzerland into custom skis, all unique pieces. From drawing to sharpening, going through the press or the varnish, he devotes up to 30 hours per pair. Last October, he launched crowdfunding in order to invest in larger premises and acquire new machines.

Distinctions

2024, Lignum Prize 2024, Western region distinction, "carpentry work" category

2019, First Prize for Emerging Artistic Crafts, Swiss Association of Artistic Crafts

Links

https://www.facebook.com/woodspiritski/

https://www.instagram.com/woodspiritski/

https://www.24heures.ch/vivre/societe/lucas-bessard-transforme-frene-plaisir-glisse/story/10675563

https://www.rts.ch/play/tv/couleurs-locales/video/vd-le-jeune-lucas-bessard-a-decide-de-relancer-la-production-de-skis-en-bois?id=8338433&station=a9e7621504c6959e35c3ecbe7f6bed0446cdf8da

https://www.lematin.ch/news/Il-reinvente-les-lattes-en-bois/story/21317859

https://www.laregion.ch/woodspirit-bois-veines/

Homofaber: https://www.homofaber.com/en/artisans/lucas-bessard-ski-making-switzerland