Under the artistic direction of Godefroy de Virieu, creation at petit h proceeds backwards since it works there, from materials that the other Hermès professions no longer use – leather, silk, crystal, porcelain… – and with which artisans, artists and designers improvise by combining, assembling and adjusting them in a thousand and one ways.

The petit h workshop gives body and meaning to unique and hybrid objects whose functional aesthetics are faithful to the spirit of creation, the quality of the materials and the excellence of Hermès know-how. Creations as surprising as they are delightful. Today, petit h brings a wind of lightness, a touch of mischief and a lot of know-how to a dedicated space, with an entrance and a window that extend those of the Hermès store. Designed by the RDAI agency, it is illuminated by the clarity of the terrazzo-paved floor inspired by a creation by petit h, whose marble is dotted with brass pieces from the leather goods trade.

Echoing the ingenuity and ingenious spirit of the creations of petit h, the store, like a theater stage whose decorative elements fold and fold up, is modular at will. On the whitewashed walls, metal panels stretch out their polished surfaces where the objects are magnetized according to the seasons. The cork furniture takes the form of a set of cubes of different sizes that can be stacked and moved according to the stories told. Equipped with drawers with flanged leather handles from the petit h materials cellar, they express the spirit of diversion dear to this profession.

Four times a year, the hanging is renewed to welcome a new story around re-creation. Earth is the first material to be honored for the inauguration of the store. On this occasion, the objects created with the complicity of the pottery artisans of the Ravel factory in the south of France, for example, combine an earthenware jar with the leather handle of a Kelly bag. Other particularly innovative creations are leather cups made entirely without seams, molded in the workshop like pottery. For Godefroy de Virieu, “these two universes with fundamental and symbolic origins merge in these ephemeral collections, revealing ancestral know-how dear to the house which underline both the simplicity and the technicality of the craftsmen’s gestures”.

Petit h

chez HERMES

17 rue de Sèvres 75006 Paris

The best way to bring back a souvenir item from the prettiest city in the world or to buy yourself an original item is really to go through the brand new and first shop of Marin Montagut, which opened on June 4, a few steps from its dear Luxembourg Garden.

This talented young illustrator is also an inveterate hunter and collector and loves to share his discoveries with others. Crazy lovers of Paris and its emblematic neighborhoods, it captures the soul of everyone with charm and poetry. In this place steeped in history, a former tapestry workshop, Marin, with the help of the decorator Giovanna Maria Fragapane, wanted to recreate the inspiring atmosphere of his studio and his house, with hundreds of lockers where he presents both his finds and his creations.

MARIN MONTAGUT

48 rue Madame 75006 Paris

In 2010, Eloïse Gilles and Raphaëlle de Panafieu, both from the world of luxury, fashion and passionate about crafts, decided to revive this original and so chic object that is the fan, by taking over the Maison Duvelleroy created in 1829 by Jean-Pierre Duvelleroy, supplier to Queen Victoria or the Empress of Russia.

Both wish to remain in line with a style and a know-how by preserving gestures – those of the work of the feather in marquetry for example – and shapes, like the so-called “balloon”, slightly rounded, inspired by shells St Jacques which is typical of the Art Nouveau Duvelleroy period. For the creation, they have also returned to the sources of the fan-making profession by calling on Frédéric Gay, who is in charge of assembly and assembly.

They are relaunching couture collections, with creative fans, but also the ready-to-wear fan, as it existed in the 19th century, in cotton and wood, pleated, hand-assembled and produced in small series. They also launched numerous collaborations with artists and designers such as Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Lison de Caunes, José Lévy and Victor Cadène.

Maison Duvelleroy
17 rue Amélie 75007 Paris