The home and heart of Hermès silk

Lyon, France with Hermès

On re-discovery of the Bourgoin Jailleu site, the heart, home of the know-how, preparation of drawings for the creation of the Hermès silk. I have also been able to see a preview of their building and workshop extension of Pierre-Bénite, where all the ‘coloring’ comes into 3D.

The Pierre-Bénite workshop regroups the know-how of priming, printing and textile finishing. Since 1837, Hermès has remained faithful to its artisan model and its humanist values. The freedom to create, the constant search for beautiful materials, the transmission of a savoir-faire of excellence, and the aesthetic of functionality all forge the singularity of Hermès, a house of objects. An independent, family owned company, Hermès is dedicated to keeping the essential element of production in France.

I had the opportunity to listen to insights of how the coloring comes into reality, and how much work it takes to find the harmonic pairings accompanied by two artistic directors of the Silk département, Cecile Pesce for the feminine silk and Christophe Goineau for the Masculine silk collection. It is also where all the creativity in terms of color application happens, incorporating the crafts and creativity skills of the artisans with modern technology tools and machinery in their process.

Colors to Hermès mean energy and emotions, through their unique colors they express their emotions, the heritage and heart of Hermès. The wide space serves the artisans well-being with lots of greenery and even their own gardener and fresh vegetable assortment which is freshly cooked and served to the employees. I met also lots of Bee friends all around in their fields. Bee’s love a cloudy day on their divine working day. Enjoy the journal entry expressing my “Through my Eyes” series of what I have seen and captured for you to explore a part of the energy of Hermès.

—

In the Garden of Hermès

A multi-faceted architecture focused on nature. The design of the new Pierre-Bénite site was entrusted to the Lyon-based firm, Unanime Architectes. The architectural plan was conceived as a place to live as well as a place of production and collaboration. The architecture was designed to allow natural light to flood the
workspaces.

The colourists, who work with natural light, are installed in an open area with bay windows. The entire construction was optimised according to bioclimatic principles with eco-certified and biosourced materials, 700 m2 of solar panels on the car park roofs, a green roof on top of the logistics building (730 m2), 1,900 m2 of sun protection on one of the car parks, and a ground-source heating and air conditioning system, all contributing to the environmental performance of the building, which meets the conditions for the ‘Bâtiment Biosourcé’ (Biosourced Building) label.

The building’s architecture asserts its contemporary character while blending into the surrounding garden, which plays a prominent role and features a participatory vegetable garden. The buildings are structured around verdant courtyards.

Local species were planted to create spaces conducive to promoting biodiversity. Committed to preserving ecosystems, Hermès worked with environmental experts, including an ornithologist to safeguard wildlife habitats. By redeveloping this site, which is next door to the Pierre-Bénite leather workshop, Hermès is reaffirming its regional anchor in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region where, alongside its long-standing partners, it contributes to the influence and innovation of the fashion and textile sector.