Interview

           Guess who is coming to Dinner

JS: Well Mr. Thimonnier, Let me start off with saying that I’m so excited to meet you, and I appreciate you taking time out of your day to be here today.

BT: Why thank you, the pleasure is all mine.

JS: So, can you tell me, what made you take interest in the arts?

BT: During the time in which I was coming up as a boy, there were many new forms of art developing, and I just loved the thought of being a tailor. Watching my mom create clothes, I was always interested. Back then, I’m not exactly sure that it would be considered an art. I more so thought of it as a profession.

I thought that I would love to do this daily, so I went to school to study for it. I then became a tailor, created the sewing machine, and opened a factory.  

JS: What was the world of art like in your particular art field when you entered it?

BT: Entering the field of my profession, I didn’t get as large of a salary as people who were skilled in more “popular” arts. For “Fashion” wasn’t a very big then until a little later on. Art forms like painting and music were becoming quite popular though. To be quite honest, I don’t think that being a tailor was even considered an art like a musician or artist. I think that it was just looked at as a job. Many women worked hard making clothes for their families day by day, and no one ever thought to call them an artist. At the time my skill wasn’t seen as art, but a profession.

JS: Did you have any mentors, and if so, how did they help you develop your skills?

BT: Well, I can’t exactly say that I had a mentor. Growing up the eldest out of 7, my mom was busy making clothes for us. Since I was the eldest, many of my clothes were passed down. Sometimes I got to witness my mother working on clothes. Also being the eldest, I wanted to set a good example for my younger siblings.  So if anything that had the biggest influence on me.

JS: How did the cultural, economic and political situations of the time impact your work?

BT: I knew that many people were making clothes every day, and me being a tailor I knew how long it took to make just one garment. Watching the workwomen sew, continuously in a repetitive manner, I began to think of how it would be to sew with the help of machinery. I thought that it would be a big help to everyone everywhere. To be able to make many garments every day, would make business everywhere faster, bringing in more money.

I thought that my machine would be a big help to companies everywhere, but I soon came to notice that it was actually the opposite. I thought that people would jump at the opportunity to be able to sew faster, to get work done faster.      

JS: What were your major accomplishments and the methods you used in your art?

BT: Well, my biggest accomplishment was creating the first functional sewing machine. I really didn’t have a method, I just sewed daily, and tried to get garments done as fast as possible. As far as accomplishments, I also opened the first machine based manufacturing company in the world. Although my machine nor my factory didn’t go very far then, I’m happy to know that my idea and invention is being used everywhere today. It was still my biggest accomplishment, and I am very proud of it.

JS: What were the key opportunities you had that led to turning points in your life and art?

BT: Key opportunities? I would have to say meeting and pairing with Auguste Ferrand. After inventing the sewing machine, I signed a contract with him, he made drawings  and submitted a patent drawings. The patent for my machine was issued on July 17^th of 1830 under both of our names. That same year I opened the first machine based clothing manufacturing company in the world.

JS: Wow that’s great.

BT: At first, it was excellent, but my factory was then burned down by workers in fear of losing their jobs. It wasn’t a good feeling, but it really was a turning point in my life. Now there’s people everywhere that uses my machine, and skill. Although my machine didn’t become very famous, I still feel very accomplished.

JS: I know that you have to make some difficult choices in life, so what were personal choices that you had to make to become successful?

BT: I had to make many choices, like signing a contract with Auguste, and even opening a manufacturing company. One important choice that I had to make was leaving home and studying in Lyon. I felt that it was something that had to be done in order to become successful in life. I needed to study in order to become as successful in my skill as possible. I’m happy that I made this choice though, because I met my beautiful wife, and even opened a business. If I hadn’t made this choice, I have no idea where I would be today. Every artist has to make a choice in order to become successful, you can’t just gain it overnight, you have to work at it, and that’s exactly what I did.    

JS: What hardships and difficulties did you have to overcome in order to be an artist?

BT: Like I said, I had to leave home and study in Lyon, when I came back; I had to go about finding out how to start off my life. There were difficulties in becoming an artist, as well as being an artist though. When my first machine was issued, many tailors rioted ransacking my factory. Destroying machines, throwing the pieces out the windows, and it was eventually burned down. I feel there were more difficulties being an artist than becoming an artist. I don’t regret any thing that I’ve done, I’m proud of my a

JS: What kind of limitations did you run into as both an artist and a person?

BT: I believe I ran into many limitations. I think that inventing the sewing machine, I didn’t think about other workers in my profession, and how they would feel. I thought that everyone would be happy with the invention. I never thought about people and the risk of them losing their jobs. I believe that that was a limit that I passed, and I didn’t think of anybody personally.

As a person, I think that I had a limit in how much I could do. I was only one person, so there was a limit in how much I could do. I couldn’t do it without support or partners to stand by my side. I believe that everybody has a limit, and those were some of mine. 

JS: What personal stories best illustrate how you became successful in the arts?

BT: A young poor boy, the eldest of 7 children. I went away to study in Lyon, and became a tailor, then an inventor. I worked hard day by day, sewing garments by hand. I then began to think about sewing with help from a machine would make life so much easier. I then paired with someone by the name of Auguste Ferrand.

My first machine was then issued and I opened the first machine-based clothing manufacturing company. Many tailors rioted, destroying my factory and machines. They were afraid that they would lose their jobs. I was crushed.  Now, many people use my invention every day, and it has made life much easier.

JS: Well thank you, so much for your time today. I enjoyed talking to you. You have a very interesting story.

BT: The pleasure is mine, and I enjoyed talking to you as well, and I’m happy to know that you enjoyed my story.