Hermès: Leather Forever

The Hermès: Leather Forever exhibit was recommended to me by Mimsta had visited twice already and mentioned that for a free event, it was very interesting.  I had never really given Hermes much thought but I can appreciate a behind the scenes production and so I thought I'd catch it before it shut up shop on Sunday.  

Walking up the grand staircase of Burlington Gardens. 

A ostrich leather rhino greets me at the entrance. 

Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside.  Boo, but you can see some pics here.  What I hadn't realised before is that each Hermès bag is handmade and handstitched by a long-serving single artisan, not merely 'just another employee'.  They even had two women sitting there, each making a handbag in front of us answering any queries we had.  I stood there fascinated for about 20 minutes.  I wasn't being weird!  There were other women who had clearly been watching for much longer.  I continued on peering at old and new handbags along with other leathergoods.  Most impressive was a winged leather saddle made specifically for a Japanese rock band.

The worst part about this exhibit was how much it made me want a Hermès bag!  I left really, really pining for one.  Good advertising Hermès!  (Or maybe I'm just another woman who loves handbags.  Yeah, that's probably it.)