What Vilac is known for
French lacquered-wood toymaker founded in 1911 in Moirans-en-Montagne, in the Jura, by Narcisse Villet; took the Vilac name in 1979 (from Villet + lacquer). Toys are turned, lacquered and decorated on site from local beech, hornbeam and boxwood; holds the Living Heritage Company label since 2011.
Vilac's roots go back to 1911, when Narcisse Villet started a wood-turning workshop in Moirans-en-Montagne, a town in the Jura region long associated with French toymaking. The company took its current name in 1979, a contraction of 'Villet' and 'lacquer' - the finishing process that gives its wooden cars, animals and figures their glossy colour. Toys are still turned, smoothed, sanded, lacquered and decorated in workshops in the Jura, using local hardwoods including beech, hornbeam, alder and boxwood. Vilac built a reputation through design awards from the late 1980s onward, and since 2011 has held France's 'Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant' (Living Heritage Company) label.
How ORBIS reads this city
Best for — Glossy lacquered-wood toy cars and animals made in the Jura since 1911
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