The creator

Jean-Michel JUDLIN, I was born on April 10, 1959, in Colmar, Alsace (France), the 4th of five children. My father, Jean-Louis, managed the technical department of a large corrugated cardboard company in Kaysersberg, and my mother, Elisabeth, devoted herself to the education of their children after a brief career as a medical assistant.

A period of unemployment led me to look for work everywhere, even in neighboring countries of Alsace (Germany, Switzerland). This is how I arrived in Romandy (French-speaking Switzerland) at the end of February 1981, at the age of 22. I got a job at Andréfleurs in Assens, in the Gros de Vaud region.

I started a nine-and-a-half-year period in production. After a year of versatility, I was appointed head of the production of perennials and rock plants under the management of Mr. Raimond Loewer, head of cultivation.

I was in my element, always outdoors in all kinds of weather, taking care of the propagation and cultivation of these plants until they were sold wholesale throughout Romandy. Passionate about the subject, starting with a collection of 600 varieties, I surpassed 1,000 varieties in 1987, producing 700,000 pots. Garden centers, botanical gardens, and vacations were all sources of new plants to try, cultivate, and market.

By chance, in November 1988, I accepted an invitation to sing in the "Tournesol" Mixed Choir in Dommartin, where I met my future wife, Corinne Curchod, who was from the village. I moved to Dommartin on May 15, 1989. In 1990, two events radically changed my life: my marriage and my change of employer.

As Andréfleurs was on the decline, with mismanagement and marketing errors, I lost all my wholesale clients in one year. I decided to change jobs.

It was a demanding and strong-willed client, Mrs. Renée Guisan, niece of General Guisan, who offered me the opportunity to maintain the large perennial garden I had designed and planted two years earlier at her E.M.S. (social care facility for the elderly) in Yverdon. I accepted the offer in mid-June, and by July 1, 1990, I started working at the Résidence des Jardins de la Plaine in Yverdon.

It was in this setting that my career truly began, along with my passion for decorating, beautifying, creating, and renewing. Mrs. Guisan, a graduate of art deco, did not allow me to do anything carelessly. She was always on the lookout for any lack of taste or balance in my work. Sometimes, with all due respect, we would disagree over details, much to the surprise of others, but I am still grateful to her today for this enrichment and these constant challenges. Routine had no place here.

With no large budget, I decorated this E.M.S. for 12 years using creative ideas, scavenging, and outings into nature. No celebration passed without appropriate decoration: large bouquets, themed entrance decorations, table arrangements, and more. Of course, Christmas was no exception, and my Alsatian roots took full advantage.

In 1993, my first son, Antoine, was born, followed by Guillaume in 1997. Antoine is now a practicing watchmaker and repairer, while Guillaume is a farmer. Both are passionate about their work.

In 1998, I applied for Swiss citizenship, which I obtained very quickly through marriage, having met the conditions for many years.

At the end of 2001, due to management errors, the E.M.S. was sold. Unfortunately, the new administrator was devoid of any humanity. The innovative idea from the early 90s, of creating a quality living environment in these facilities—a concept passionately defended and developed by Mrs. Guisan—took a significant blow. It became solely about profitability. I was laid off at the end of 2002 with this parting remark: "I don't need a Guignard of horticulture" (a reference to the famous pastry chef from the Vaud region). Those words are still in my memory; at the time, they hurt deeply—12 years of service, sometimes working up to 14 hours a day to satisfy this little man. Now, I think he couldn't have given me a greater compliment back then.

Thanks again to Mrs. Guisan, I carried with me the fruit of 12 years of hard work: the nativity scene. It was only in April 2003, at the age of 44, that I found a new job. As a head gardener, I started a new chapter of my life at the Château de Bioley–Magnoux, for Madame and Monsieur Sigwart, a cardiologist who developed stents. I stayed there for 21 years until my retirement at the end of April 2024.

I have been retired since May 1st, and I had promised to recreate the nativity scene this year.