The "Santons RICHARD" family firm was founded in 1968 by my parents, Edouard and Yvette. They specialised in making and dressing large santons (Christmas crib figures). They gained fame after creating the renowned Shepherd santon, which became their emblem and their pride and joy.

Each was responsible for a specific part of the santon-making process.
My father sculpted and moulded the figures, while my mother made their clothes. From an early age, I looked on enviously as my parents worked.

Working with clay was a great joy for me and enabled me to learn the trade very young - I used to amuse myself by making little houses. When my father died in 1984, I stepped into his shoes and, with my mother's help, threw myself passionately into the work.

At the time, I was the youngest Santonnier (santon-maker) in France, at the age of 16. In 1988, I created the "Card game" scene, at last fulfilling an old dream that my father had not had time to accomplish. A few years later, in my constant quest to perfect my work, I started producing new collections of small, entirely hand-made santons,which, almost 8 years later, my wife now paints. My mother continues to makes clothes for the large santons.

The santons collections are available in two sizes: 7cm (2.5 inches) and 9cm (3.5 inches). RICHARD santons have the particularity of being placed in various scenes such as: lavender fields, olive picking, the game of pétanque, transhumance, etc.

The collection of dressed santons, which measure 30 cm, comprises over 200 models. This makes it one of the largest collections in the world of dressed santons.
Some of the dressed santons are presented on our site. Do not hesitate to ask for information on any specific model. We work only in accordance with the strictest traditions of santon-making.

We use clay for the santons and plaster for the decors.
Our workshop is always open to visitors who wish to discover our products, the way we work and the techniques we use.