On this Wednesday in December, there are still not many people at 7, rue du Chemin de Fer, in Roubaix. Between the station and the swimming pool museum, this new third place is however already noticed by the public as by the press (reports have been broadcast in The life and The world). Here, machines knit your future sweaters and pairs of socks directly.
“We already have many orders, especially for the Christmas period,” assures Sacha Boyadjian, general manager. People even call us from Normandy. Things are starting so well that we are going to buy a second machine for the socks and that we have already hired an additional person. ”Particularity: here, employees must know how to serve at the bar… and iron socks!
A drink and a sweater at the bar
It must be said that the concept, really launched a month ago, has something to seduce. Les Trois Tricoteurs is certainly a bar, but behind a large bay window, machines make … sweaters and socks on demand. You order your sweater or pair of socks at the bar, the color, the shape, even its pattern, and paying 7 to 85 euros, you can leave 10 minutes later with your socks. It takes 45 minutes more to make the sweater. In the meantime, we can sip a drink at the bar.
This concept is unique in France, says the former student of the National School of Arts and Textile Industries (Ensait) in Roubaix. Having become a textile engineer, Sacha Boyadjian was looking for meaning in a new activity, around zero waste and sustainable production. Hence this manufacture of clothes on demand, from the yarn to the finished product, with two of his former comrades.
For creators too
It was, however, necessary to find the machines. The one for the sweater, from Japan, required an investment of 150,000 euros, and 30,000 euros for the Italian sock knitter. The sweaters are made from Australian merino wool, the socks from Egyptian cotton, spun and dyed in Italy.
With this material, the Trois Tricoteurs also reached a different audience. For example, a Roubaix company has just ordered 500 pairs of personalized socks for Christmas. Creators also take advantage of these machines for their small series. “Their machine offers me both a technical solution that avoids the seams on the sleeve, but also to produce small quantities”, explains Nathalie Chalvet, installed in Rouen for “Jeanne a dit”.