I popped into this free exhibition last week at the Saatchi Gallery on Kings Road. It was more interesting and engaging than I expected for Hermes, normally very posh and stuffy. The exhibition was on the first floor, in two medium sized rooms. There were about 8 workstations informally set up, where we could see the Hermes craftspoeple working and explaning to the public the process of making an Hermes object. The crafts being shown were the watch engraving, stenciling, hand painting on porcelain, jewellery polishing, leather bag making, sewing and last but not least my favourite, the silk screen printing process.

The silk screen printer demonstrated how to print a basic Hermes silk scarf with 8 colours, the most basic. The ‘silk screen panels’ , traditionally made of wood and silk screen mesh, were made of stainless steel frame with polyester mesh. There were eight panels in all. The darkest colour which was black was printed first. It was the outline of the design. Then the rest of the colours were layered on, one by one. Quite an amazing skill.

Watching the Hermes  craftspeople has inspired me to go for a silkscreen printing class. I’m really excited to try my hand at printing ;p

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. Now international in scope Hermès has continued to grow while remaining a family company, with a uniquely creative spirit that blends precision manufacturing with traditional craftsmanship.