IN BAD GEORGES’ STUDIO: THE SOUL OF SÈTE IN SILK-SCREEN PRINTING

At 53 Rue Jean Jaurès in Sète, behind the window of Bad Georges, lies much more than just a souvenir shop. It is a workshop of unbridled creativity, run by two artisans who have set out to reinvent the tourist poster. Meet Christopher Dombres and Bastien Garnier, the creators of a brand that celebrates local culture with boldness and skill.

Updated on 15 June 2026

THE STORY OF AN ENCOUNTER

It all began in 2011 with an original poster stuck up on Rue Mario Roustan. It depicts a figure resembling Georges Brassens, armed with a pistol, beneath the title‘Bad Georges’.Christopher Dombres, a graphic designer from Sète, then conceived an artistic project centred on the poet’s dual personality: “Brassens once said that if he hadn’t made it as a singer-songwriter, he would have become a thug,” he explains. This remark became the starting point for an unexpected adventure.

At the time, Christopher was producing a few handmade posters: the beach, Brassens, local references, but he soon came up against his technical limitations. Meeting Bastien Garnier, a professional screen printer who had just moved to Sète, changed everything in 2015, during a festival. “He understood what I was trying to do. I needed a real professional,” recalls Christopher.

From this meeting emerged a natural synergy: Christopher’s creative graphic design met Bastien’s masterful craftsmanship. “ We had the same ideas, the same goals. That allowed us to create what we have today, something I would have been unable to do on my own.” ” Christopher designs the visuals and develops the concepts, whilst Bastien manages production and client relations. A duo where one’s patience balances the other’s creative flow.

A FULLY ARTISANAL APPROACH

At Bad Georges, everything is “designed and made by us”. This isn’t just a marketing slogan; it’s a guiding principle that shapes every decision we make.

The creative process always begins with local inspiration. Take, for example, ‘Miss Macaronade’, a poster that often intrigues customers. ‘My father, along with some friends, organised world macaronade championships back in the late 1970s,’ says Christopher. “When I was a child, my grandmother told me about a Miss France born in Sète who had become extremely famous because she had married a Muslim prince, the Aga Khan. This Miss France also inspired Hergé for the comic book *The Castafiore Emerald*.”

It is this alchemy, “the blend of this incredible story and the celebration of local cuisine ”, that gives rise to the Bad Georges creations. “It’s pretty much the same for all the posters. There’s a source linked to my childhood, and then criteria linked to local culture and history. It’s a blend of the two: personal history and general history.”

Once the design is created, Bastien takes over. In the workshop he runs, each piece is screen-printed by hand using traditional techniques. Each colour requires a specific pass, and each product is printed one by one using a squeegee. This artisanal process guarantees an authenticity and quality that industrial production cannot match.

A QUIRKY VISUAL IDENTITY

The Bad Georges logo – a skeletal octopus with a moustachioed skull for a head – perfectly encapsulates the brand’s spirit: originality, creativity and a strong local connection. “Through our perspective on this local culture, we aim to reach as many people as possible, leaving no one out,” explains Christopher.

To achieve this, they have opted for “a popular approach to the visuals, with mostly retro references, but accessible to all ”. References to the 60s and 70s that resonate with several generations. “ People of a certain age, even if they’re not from Sète, can understand what we’re talking about.”

Among their most striking creations is the world of sharks: “this is where the largest great white sharks were caught, something people didn’t necessarily know.”

KEY PLAYERS IN LOCAL CULTURE

When asked to describe himself in a single sentence, Christopher simply replies: “ I hope to be a contributor to local culture. I don’t know if that defines me, but that’s what I hope for.”

Behind this modesty lies a very real ambition: to bring heritage to life and pass it on, whilst reinventing it. Bad Georges is not a nostalgic venture, but a forward-looking project rooted in the collective memory of Sète.

Over the years, the brand has collaborated with renowned artists such as Robert Combas and C215, and taken part in major cultural events, from the Rockstore to the ImageSingulières festival and the Brassens centenary. Every collaboration, every creation is an opportunity to create a dialogue between tradition and modernity.