There hasn’t been a time in history when we’ve been more aware of our impact on the planet and the incredible amount of waste we produce. On any given day, you will come across a think piece, a documentary, a recycling bin or a friend reminding you how much harm we have done to our environment. It can all be enough to make you despondent on some days. On brighter days, you witness how much an entire generation is now fighting to protect this place and it gives you hope. When it comes to finding ways of making the most of the resources we use, it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom though. It’s possible to create beautiful objects out of materials headed for the landfill.
At Hermès, they made this realization in 2010. That’s when they decided to turn what could be considered waste into some of their most beautiful creations. That’s the year they started petit h, a division – or métier – where “creation takes place in reverse, because work here does not start with a preconceived idea or grand design, but with materials such as leather, silk, crystal and porcelain for which the other métiers have no further use, and with which artisans, artists and designers improvise by combining, assembling and altering them in a thousand and one ways.” The resulting collections are full of one-off – or close to one-off – pieces that are whimsical and offer a touch of mischief. Like a guitar made with a horse saddle.
The petit h collection made its way to Dubai last month– with a few pieces made specifically for the regionThe objects were staged in a space inside the brand’s The Dubai Mall store, custom designed by Emirati architect Abdalla Almulla. The area was reminiscent of a souk – all earthy tones, terracotta, clay, fabric and wood structures. Almulla mentioned how those materials had been worked with using traditional know-how, a callback to the Hermes’ commitment to artisanal values since its founding in the first half of the 19th century.
Objects created specifically include a falcon stand that brings together terracotta with leather, porcelain and crystal, and an incense burner consisting of a fine terracotta dish elevated on a green and white crystal base. After an introduction to the collection by Godefroy de Virieu, creative director at petit h, a few of us were invited to make our own objects out of buttons, strips of leather, and scraps of fabric. There must have been a dozen of us around the table. I felt child-like glee putting together my creation. Creation might be overstating the boho-chic camel I made, with nose-rings and anklets made out of bits of scarf. The sheer variety of the objects our group made and the pieces on display around us is a testament that when creativity is applied, nothing ever needs to go to waste.