Toulouse. Louis, a life dedicated to Tintin
It was with the famous red and white checkered rocket that Louis Lozevi, the owner of the Espace, began with Tintin; at that time, he was a merchant in luxury ready-to-wear and put this unusual object in the window, among the clothes. Louis acquired more, until he opened a store entirely dedicated to the little Belgian journalist, whom he then moved a little over 20 years ago to rue des Wells Clos, near rue Saint-Rome.
The Espace Tintin is above all a shop dedicated to figurines of more than 300 characters encountered in all of Hergé’s 24 albums; but we also find derivative products with their effigy: watches, T-shirts, mugs for example, of course the paper albums and various works and models of planes, cars and other objects invented by the designer, all stamped Moulinsart , the parent company which retains rights to the entire production. “The prices vary with sometimes, if the product is in a very small number of copies, a ceiling of up to 2,500 to 3,000 euros” specifies Louis as we progress a game of chess in a shop window that has just found a buyer . Higher up in the shelves you can see more elaborate objects “these are not from my personal collection” he concludes.
Pierre, in his sixties, an informed tintinophile, often pushes the store door to immerse himself in Hergé’s world as a periodic renewal necessary for his passion as a comic strip artist. “I admit that I always have a particular fondness for this character and his adventures which accompanied my childhood”. Three weeks ago the auctioneer Jérôme de Collonges organized a sale specially dedicated to Tintin, and its environment, objects from a private collection, “we had a very good sale with a large audience of discerning amateurs. , of all ages, “he says. Proof if it were that the tintinmania is not ready to go out. Even though Louis, at almost 77 years old, is starting to think about retirement …