Pascal Mussard. Photo courtesy of Vincent Leroux
If you know Hermès, you will be very excited to hear about their latest project, Petit h.
Years ago if there was a defect in any of the Hermès leather or hardware it was destroyed – without exception. Enter Pascale Mussard, the great-great-great granddaughter of Thierry Hermès, the French saddle maker and founder of the coveted French brand which is his namesake. Mussard grew up alongside skilled craftsman and high-quality raw materials. As a fourth generation Hèrmes, she was allowed to take scraps away from the workshop and reinvent them at home into toys and trinkets. In essence, she was upcycling before it was de rigueur. Mussard has now taken her childhood obsession, recruited a handful of those skilled artisans that work at Hermès and created Petit h. The motto? “We don’t throw away anything.” All of those yummy little scraps, hardware and hides that had imperfections and were once destroyed are now re-purposed into over 4000+ unique pieces.
Officially launched 4 years ago, the pop-up stores are more like museums curated by the Hermès team of expert visual merchandisers. Pieces are crafted with the only limit being quality craftsmanship and large imagination.
Squirrel Bookcase in Hermes Orange Leather by Petit h
One notable piece that was sold at the LA pop-up in July was an large Hermes orange leather bookcase shaped to look like an origami squirrel. It is like getting an invitation into the childhood of an Hermès heiress.
Petit h Skeleton Bag
On the style side, we covet the skeleton bag made from the remnants of hides that have had other bits cut out of them. Perhaps you start with this and then the Birkin comes later…
We love that they don’t throw anything away and that you can get a little piece of Hermès on a budget. The shops seem to be only pop-up with sightings in London, L.A, and (of course) Paris. Here is to hoping that Petit h pops up near you …
