hat and shoe designer searching for artisan towns

Hi! I’m a hat and shoe designer who has been living in New York City for 7 years now. It’s been my deepest dream to move to France for the past 14 years. I grew up in Iceland and Japan mainly, and was born in Germany. I’m American, but I don’t feel American (if you know what I mean).

Here’s what I want to do. I am planning on living in France, starting this November for a trial period of 3 months. I really don’t want to live in Paris, for all the reasons that I can’t stand New York City anymore: pollution, overcrowding, high cost of living. I feel that I must, though, to build my own business. Do I really have to, though? I really want to live on the coast, since I nearly always have, and need it for my soul. (Marseille???) Are there design communities in France that I can find out about, through the internet or other ways? I know that ‘Romans’ and ‘Chazelles-sur-Lyon’ are two towns near Lyon that are interesting to me, so maybe I should go live in Lyon. But it’s land-locked. I speak French pretty well, and I know I could be fluent within a half year. I would appreciate all ideas. I have my own business, and would be working on orders from the united states, so getting a work visa wouldn’t be an issue. Thanks so much!