Festival des Métiers, is a travelling installation of Hermès’ artisans around the globe, showcasing their time-honored craftsmanship while interacting with public who want to witness some of the process in crafting Hermès coveted and sought after jewelry, clothing, watches, scarves, saddles and leather bags.
tofashionistas.com attended the exhibit while they were in Toronto at Design Exchange last week and we are here to bring you some of the highlight from the event. Here are some of the stations are the artisans behind them.
Sertisseur – Gem Setter
at the Gem Setter station, artisan utilizing small hand tools and the help for microscope, mounting points are created and gems are set without glue on a bracelet.
Remailleur – Twin-Set Linker
at the Twin Set Linker, we can see a glimpse of how some of the dresses are made.they could pass for enfant clothing, but they are actually one quarter scale samples!
Horloger – Watchmaker
at Watch station, look at those beautifully crafted timepiecesat the Horloger station, here is the mechanical movement of a watchat the Horloger station
Peintre Sur Porcel – Porelain Painter
at the Porcelain painting station, we were shown the process of layering different colours of a design onto porcelain plates, and some of the reasons behind the necessity of the layering.
Dessinateur – Engraver
at the Dessinateur station, where their craft is to deconstruct an artists’ design into production ready layers. Each layer represent a different colour at the silk printing station. This design on display, has 46 layers in total!
Imprimeur Sur Soie – Silk Printer
The finishing scarf from previous station’s designat Silk Printing station, we were given a live demonstration of the printing process. They are working with a simpler, 11 layers designThe finish scarfs. After the printing process, the scarfs will go thru additional steps to set and protect the ink, along with additional finishing touches
Sellier – Saddler
FYI, saddle is Hermès’ first craftat the Sellier station, artisan let us know each saddle is custom fit and built, and they have a system of records of each saddle’s measurements and production history
Maroquinier – Leather Worker
at the leather work station, where we see how a bag handle was painstakingly put togetherat the leather work station, where we see how a bag handle was painstakingly put together
In all, the exhibit gives us a glimpse into the exquisite and meticulous details of Hermès’ hand-craft process and a new found respect to craftsmanship.
A panoramic view of the exhibit floor
About Hermès
Hermès was founded by Thierry Hermès in Paris in 1837, as a house of master harness-making and later saddle-making. Since that time six generations of enterprising artisans have explored new markets and new skills. Hermès has continued to grow while remaining a family company, with a uniquely creative spirit that blends precision manufacturing with traditional craftsmanship.
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