As of the 19C, embroiderers from the canton of Noirétable were nicknamed "grenadières", after "la grenade", the emblem of the French gendarmerie and firemen, which they embroidered. They also spent many an hour embroidering with silk thread the prestigious green uniform of members of the Académie Française. Nowadays, only a dozen women still practise the trade, compared with 500 in the 1960s. Films, exhibitions and demonstrations and even an introduction will not disappoint you.