During our last trip to Mauritius, my husband thought of a treat for us. We had seen model ships in museums and in the homes of some of our family members. He thought it would be an interesting experience to go and visit the factory and see how they are made. The model ship factory we visited is situated in Curepipe and is called Comajora. At the factory, they create 130 different model ships in 6 sizes – and they are all made by hand.
As we walked towards the factory entrance, we watched a man sanding the bases of the ships. It was as we entered, though, that we realised how delicate the work is that these people do. Each piece is made and glued together by hand: pieces that are minute and made to scale.
Patience is required as each item is cut, glued and then sanded.
Even the making of the sails is slow and intricate work.
Each person has their own job to do on the factory line. Once they have done their part, they set aside the ship and pick up the next one.
Slowly each step is done so that nothing is broken.
As in every factory, each person has their place on the floor at which they do their particular task.
As we were watching the people work, I noticed the focus and concentration they had while doing their task. Fingers need to be nimble as they work with the small pieces.
Tasks are done working in the natural light that streams through the window. Even though we visited during the winter, the sunlight was strong and helped the workers clearly see the small pieces they were working with.
Each person’s work station looked different. This one was the station of the person sewing the masts for all the model ships.
As we approached the almost completed product, I was struck again by how intricate the work is and was impressed by the models standing before me.
No part of the model was left incomplete. The last person in the factory line completed the finishing touches:
After visiting the factory, we went to the factory’s showroom and small museum. The models were beautiful and we spent a lot of time browsing and looking at them.
We had to, of course, bring one of the model ships home with us. It now graces one of our shelves in the living area, reminding us of our visit to the factory and of a wonderful morning we had spent together.
Do you enjoy looking at model ships?
(This post was inspired by this week’s prompt provided by Jake)
© Colline Kook-Chun, 2013
These ships are gorgeous, Colleen. Thanks for sharing this experience with us.
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Glad you enjoyed the photos. I feel that I was lucky to be able to visit this small place that is the home to such beautifully arranged model ships.
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A wonderful and skillful craft. I enjoyed walking through the factory with you. I wish I could have brought one of those beautiful ships. Love the one you have chosen. Your photos are excellent along with your narrative.
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
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The children wanted the bigger one but we had to think about carrying it on the plane with us. Even the one we bought was difficult to look after on board 🙂
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I was wondering about that. They don’t ship them for you?
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The bigger ones they do but the price was a little too steep for us. Therefore we decided to go for a middle sized one 🙂
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It looks beautiful on your mantel.
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Thank you Francine 🙂
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Very creative and talented people Colline ,Thanks for sharing this post my friend 🙂
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Glad you enjoyed it Jake. As always your own graphics cannot help but inspire 🙂
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I love them, Colline! I cannot imagine my fingers doing anything so intricate. We have a maritime museum with a large number of models too, and I love looking at them. Thoroughly enjoyed the tour, thank you. You did me a double service as the link will take me to Jake. I haven’t had time yet today.
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One does not really realise how much work they are to make until you see them doing it with your own eyes. Makes me appreciate model ships even more!
Look forward to seeing your response this week to Jake’s prompt. 🙂
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Craftsmanship can never ever be accomplished by machines. Magnificent ships, Colline!
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They truly are – and could never be matched by the clumsy efforts of a machine – especially the detailed work.
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Lovely work. Wouldn’t they be a bit sensitive about calling it a factory? ‘Tis a miniature shipyard! 🙂
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I love your name for it 🙂
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What beautiful craftsmanship, Colline. I haven’t the slightest bit of talent in that way, my fingers being nowhere near “nimble” enough. Thanks for sharing this with us.
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Thank you John. While I was watching them, my fingers felt clumsy – and I was not even working with the ships. These ship builders are really talented.
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Beautiful craftsmanship and incredible details. It takes a lot of patience and talent to do what they do…
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It is not often we get to see handmade things any more – so much of what we buy is machine-made. I think that is what makes what they do even more special.
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Oh, Colline! I love the one you brought home. And that room filled with ‘finished product’. Wow! Great post! 🙂
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I wanted to take more but the manager allowed me to take only one. They have such beautiful ships in there. And the larger ones in their museum are stunning.
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so beautiful, so beautiful… Thank you dear Colline, love, nia
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Happy to know you enjoyed the pictures Nia – I was happy to be able to share this experience with you 🙂
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Great series of photos, Colline. Model ships do fascinate me too. They always look so intricate, and must take so much time and patience to build. I love the one you chose. 🙂
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Thank you. There is a story behind it which I will save for another post 🙂
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Oh how fun to see this!
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And fascinating. We spent quite a long time in the factory.
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Thank you Colline for sharing this part of your trip to Mauritius. Your photos are fabulous! Wow, the ships are beautiful. I would have bought one as well. There is something beautiful and inspiring about gazing at a model ship, isn’t there? It makes you want to travel to remote parts and explore.
As I was looking at these photos I was in awe at the location and conditions of the workplace. If I lived in Mauritius, I would love to work on these ships in a row with others like that. With the sunlight steaming in and everything at your fingertips in your workstation, sitting beside others and sharing in the creation of something beautiful while ‘crafting’ and earning a living looks like heaven to me!
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Certainly not a factory like one would see in a first world country. 🙂
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What wonderful ships, they should grace many a mantel…..Thanks for sharing with us…..YourHobby…..
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Glad you enjoyed the post as much as I enjoyed visiting the factory 🙂
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Fabulous! I love factory tours, especially where things are done by hand. Thanks for sharing.
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We loved visiting the factory. The workers were so friendly and answered all our questions with patience. And of course it was a good moment to practice our French 🙂
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Amazing details – and a reminder of the historic ships of old. Wonderful way to record a past era.
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It is indeed. And these models are hand-crafted, reminding us of the old-fashioned way ships used to be built.
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Profound detail.
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Even months later after purchasing it, we still are amazed by the detail that we can see.
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