Founded in 1956, the Biot glassworks quickly became famous for its bubble glass creations. Influenced by this glassworks, several other artisanal glassworks also developed in southeastern France over the following two decades.
Éloi Monod founded the Biot glassworks in 1956 to produce handcrafted blown and bubbled glass objects, inspired by traditional Provençal forms, such as those made during the second half of the 19th century by the La Bocca glassworks near Cannes. His creations quickly became very popular with customers on the French Riviera, leading to the opening of other workshops in Provence, on the island of Bendor in 1965, and in Montauroux in 1969, producing rustic bubbled glass tableware in the Biot style.
Influenced by these models, other small glassworks also established themselves in southeastern France in the early 1970s. Among them were the Dieulefit glassworks, founded in 1970 by Claude Morin in the Drôme region; the Vallauris (Verval) glassworks, opened by ceramist Alexandre Kotanda in 1970 in the Alpes-Maritimes region; the Allex glassworks, established in 1974 by former Biot glassmakers in the Drôme region; and finally, the Clémencières glassworks, near Grenoble, also founded in 1974 by Walter Couffini. All shared a common characteristic: the production of high-quality glassware, where bubbles were replaced by shimmering, variegated colors, tinted throughout.