Part 2 Hermes Festival des Metiers London Saatchi Gallery

This exhibition was unusual from the other exhibits that I had seen from Hermes in that it illustrated so many different crafts.  

This was the first time I had seen silk scarf screen printing.

Aren't these scarves hanging lovely as installation art?

The silk screen artisan plus one of the managers at the Lyon based silk press was there to present one of the silk screen sessions 

that take place 4 times a day.

These strips of scarves that didn't make the grade was hanging from the table.  I wanted to stitch them all back together.

This tasseled look could work for my bed.

They rolled out the silk that is made from Brazilian silk worms.

They set the silk properly and tightly with no air bubbles underneath to ensure a smooth print.

He installs the first print block.

Each press involves just the one color.

They chose a relatively simple scarf that required only 13 colors.

He was rearranging and doing the final clean preparation 

for the templates.

Even the floor was specially made for the exhibition.  

It was a felt like material with pictures of all the artisan tools.

The templates was to make the scarf "Geometrie Cretoise".

These were all the handmade and special recipes of color from 

the Hermes color laboratory.

We were all waiting for the demonstration to begin.

This scarf called Eperon d'Or was the scarf they made in the previous session.

Apparently it would not have passed the quality control test 

to sell as one of the inks didn't come out evenly 

so this was going to go in the reject bin. 

Looked good enough to me.

I was excited to finally see a scarf being made in front of me.

The artisan is pouring the ink on to the template.

He uses different rubber wipers depending on the ink and color 

so it isn't just a matter of pushing it up and down.

This is the first press!

The artisan is inspecting the touch on the fabric and 

the evenness of the template.

The second press was for a different type of black and 

setting the base graphics.

The third template only had the words "Hermes Paris".

The following finally was the first shot of color.

Et Voila!

I quite liked it like this.

He continued section by section diligently.

The templates are marked out with the design, ink name and the number order.

While letting the colors dry a little and only because this was a demonstration, there were other color variations of the scarf shown.

The consistency of each ink is different which requires a different rubber wiper that you can see the edges of on the right.

This section is partly the reason why Hermes needs the skill of the artisan otherwise automated machines that can print from start to finish use a lesser grade of color and only simpler designs.

To get to this stage took about 45 minutes and 

the scarf was only half done.

The other demonstration scarf was a reissue of a classic design.  This means that each collection consists of completely new graphics but Hermes also reissue classic graphics in a new coloration. That means that even if they may reprint the design it will never be printed in the same color combinations. 

That is why certain people collect specific colors and 

one can tell how old a scarf is.

A lady in the crowd had one of the original Eperon d'Or scarves from 30 years ago!

The end product being finalized and samples being rolled up.

That is the scarf ready to go!

Now this artisan does a special technique that lifts the silk thread ever so slightly to give texture to a scarf.  

She uses almost a surgical tool that lifts the thread to create a two dimensional texture.

This is a very old traditional technique that she thanks Hermes for keeping alive.  There isn't a huge industry for this technique as you can imagine.

Sorry about the pictures but as the photo above shows it is a very tactile finish that makes you want to stroke it.

She said that it takes her about 8 days to finish a scarf. She also said that while Hermes is expensive it is because she is one of the few people who can do this.  

These scarves are special commissions only or just for the window display at the main flagship store at 24 Faubourg.

This gem setter was making an exceptional piece.

She was working on some diamond pave domes.

There are different shaped and sized diamonds in that pillbox!

She was making the diamond Collier de Chien.

The whole bracelet takes her one month to make!

This artisan originally worked in a few Italian couture houses.

This machine helped her seamlessly meld two different materials together seamlessly.  In this case, she was working on silk and cashmere sweaters.

I am by no means justifying Hermes prices.

Actually I think I am...

After the tragedy in Bangladesh, this exhibition made me think that these artisans have a skill that machines still can not learn.  But they are paid accordingly and work in proper conditions and that filters through the cost of their products.  Some of these trades would not exist if Hermes chose to start mass silk screen printing or sewing in a third world country to save costs.  

This confirmed that I really must be more aware of what I buy.  

The terrible incident in Bangladesh ( among other many unreported incidents in Asia ) and the recent horse meat scandal, I felt that seeing how things are made and where they come from is now more important than ever.

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