Philippe Naegele
Artistic ironworker
Chexbres

« In this job where you learn every day, even at my age, you have to be tougher than metal. »

For Philippe Naegele, the forge is a long family history: he represents the fourth generation of ironworkers. For more than forty years now, he has been creating unique pieces from design to final production. He is currently preparing his next generation and training Bertille Laguet, winner of the 2017 Swiss Design Prize, who will later take over the forge.

« Either I sold and the forge disappeared, or I fulfilled my dream of handing it over to someone who would make the profession, its values and this place last. And I found. »

Philippe Naegele’s forge has been enthroned in the center of Chexbres since 1906. A crackling fire, walls blackened by smoke, ancestral anvils, forge tongs, the regular sound of hammered iron: it is here that he creates for his customers, sometimes prestigious like the Prince of Luxembourg or Westminster Abbey, signs, chandeliers, balustrades or weathervanes.

Diplomas

1979 Master's degree in locksmith, Professional School of Lausanne (EPSIC), Lausanne

1975 CFC blacksmith, Professional School of Lausanne (EPSIC), Lausanne

1974 CFC locksmith, Professional School of Lausanne (EPSIC), Lausanne

Connections

https://www.24heure.ch/vaud-regions/riviera-chablais/ferronnier-chexbres-celebre-cache/story/19650193

http://www.leregional.ch/N51629/le-chant-du-marteau.html