The Silk Road

Can I tell you...about Hermes silk scarves. During my trip in Hong Kong, Hermes held an exhibit entitled 'Once upon a silk' inside the Pacific Place Mall. At the end of the 'pop-up' gallery they held a demonstration of what goes into making an Hermes scarf.
They flew in 2 master craftsmen from Lyon, France where the scarves are printed and still made today.

The process was truly fascinating. They brought in the engraved screens, cans of dye and yards of silk twill to print on. It was heaven, especially to printaholic like me. Depending on the intricacy of the artwork, each scarf can take up to 24 individual screens to make and hours worth of labor. Each screen represents a color and these screens are massive. Each scarf is painstakingly hand printed to ensure the artisanal tradition and quality that Hermes is known for. The scarves are then sent to be 'hand rolled', a stitching technique that requires years of experience and a sure hand because it has to be invisible to the untrained eye. All luxury scarves are finished with this stitch. Since 1937, over 1,500 designs have been produced by the company. The lectures were done entirely in French (bien sur!)and were translated in English and Cantonese at different times of the day. This went on for a whole week and I was lucky to witness one, even if it was in Cantonese. My French classes came in handy so I got the essence of what they were saying.

You can just imagine how many scarves they sold during this period. I call that really 'kick ass marketing'. I was tempted to buy one for my Mom but I just bought her one last year in St.Barts and I have 'a scarf a year' quota.
I must say that seeing the demonstration made me believe in and appreciate the brand more than ever, not just because everyone else does, but because they make beautiful things that you want to keep and pass down through generations. Now that's the kind of reputation worth aspiring for.