3/11/11

Hermès Festival of Craft

The Hermès Festival of Crafts kicked off tonight with a cocktail party and special invitation only viewing at a space next door to the Hermès Gold Coast Boutique. The festival highlights the workmanship of the men and women behind the iconic French luxury brand. Visitors are able to observe master craftsmen at work and get a “behind the scenes” look at how everything from bags to watches are made. You can go see this fascinating, beautiful and informative exhibition starting tomorrow Friday, March 11, through Wednesday, March 16 at 110 E Oak St.

My far-and-away favorite part of the Hermès brand are the fabulous silk scarves which the company has been making since 1937. So it was a real treat for me to see how these beautiful objects are brought to life. The artistry and pain-staking, multi-step process by which they are crafted is truly remarkable.

Of course I had to wear a little piece of Hermès. I had no idea the time and human energy that went into crafting this little gorgeous kerchief.
First, engraver Nadine Rabilloud inks the designs onto screens. Each color that appears on a scarf requires a separate screen. For the design that they were demonstrating no fewer than 10 screens were produced.
Because the Hermes silk scarf is so precious, it is kind of shocking to see them here around all this ink!
The first screen is inked and pressed.
This is the basic outline of the design.
With each subsequent color another screen is inked.
Red is added.
And orange.
Now we're getting somewhere!
This is a true work of art. The richness of all the colors is just beautiful.
Silk printer Henri Lely holds up the final piece with all the inks on it before the hem is hand-stitched.
 View more pictures of the event on Très Awesome's Facebook Page

14 comments:

  1. thanks for sharing these pictures! i want to try to go before it's over!

    meghan

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  2. Amazing! I can't wait to check it out myself.

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  3. Absolutely gorgeous, what an artform...will be there.

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  4. Nice job documenting the process!

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  5. So great of you to share this with us... It really makes you appreciate the work!

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  6. trully speaking your post is awesome i like this

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  7. Gorgeous! Wish I lived in one of the cities where the demonstrations are being done. As a collector of H scarves, I would be all a-flutter. Thank you for sharing!

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  8. That is beyond amazing! Really makes you value the craftmanship and why the scarves are world renowed

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  9. Wow. Thanks so much for posting this.

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  10. The scarves are my favorite part of the brand too. This looked like an amazing demonstration by these artisans - thanks for sharing!
    I saw you on this week's links a la mode (I'm there too this week) and glad to have come across this!

    xoxo,
    Chic 'n Cheap Living

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  11. This is truly interesting post! I've never seen this work in action and wasn't aware of the silk printing process. Thanks!

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  12. wow, so cool! thanks for posting :)

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  13. Wow, super cool! How did I not see this until now? I had no idea that this was the process they use!

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