The Hermès Ethos

Just before the CNY weekend, I found out that some parents were stressed about the composition HW that that their children needed to do for me. Apparently, there was a fear that there would be no time to complete the HW before the CNY weekend. This was a puzzling news to me.

Firstly, I strongly encourage parents to focus on 

- the fun inherent in the creation of a story, 

- and to push towards perfection when creating it.

... instead of hurrying to meet a deadline. Parents are encouraged to ask for extension, so that they and their children can revel in the creative journey, and strive towards masterpieces (not just HW).

Alas! Singaporeans are so well socialised to factory output norms and values that the notion of taking time to create a masterpiece is alien to them. Parents instead feel that missing a deadline is a failure. 

My mind chewed endlessly on this breakdown in my communication with my customers. I think I have just the thing to convey my thoughts.

Manufacturing Economy Values

In the 1960s and the 1970s, when most of us were growing up, Singapore was a manufacturing economy. Our parents had to produce X numbers of Something in a given deadline. Every unit of that Something had to meet stated norms, and processes were tried, trialed and perfected so that efficiency was maximised and deadlines could be rigorously adhered to.

Traditional crafts where people took their time to sew soul into their masterpieces disappeared from Singapore. Production lines to make jeans and shirts (each exactly the same as its clone from the same production line) became synonymous with quality and virtue.

The French part of me screams in horror, at this. I cringe when children write compositions with no soul, no feeling, full of sloppy errors, just to meet a deadline. 

Last year, we hit a 56% A* rate. It would have been a 74% A* rate if 2 children had not underperformed because of emotional distress too near to PSLE. I did not blog about our lovely results because we are no longer accepting students for English Enrichment. We don't get this type of results by forcing children to meet HW deadlines, for the sake of meeting deadlines.

We get these results by requiring that children put in effort to reach perfection, even though perfection is unachievable.

Hermès Values

For the uninitiated, prices for a handmade Hermès Birkin bag start at $15,000 and can reach $650,000 for one bag alone. The ethos that makes this happen is not simply a Hermès ethos. It is the same ethos that came through generations of artisans from Etruscan times till today, but in today's Industrial Age, the ethos is kept alive in the top fashion houses of Old Europe: Hermès, Chanel, Gucci, Bottega Veneta. The same ethos was caught by some top fashion houses in America: Vera Wang. Other American fashion houses are just really good at marketing: Ralph Lauren, Abercrombie & Fitch.

I named this blogpost the Hermès Ethos simply because I managed to find videos that showcase and explain this ethos, produced by Hermès. However, what Hermès has done is to make a big deal out of an ethos that exists everywhere in the world where people make bespoke things:

- Hong Kong cheongsam masters: they make a cheongsam around a woman's curves and personality. These craftsmen pour the love of a woman's curves into their creations.

- La Putri jewellery craftsmen: their designs are created from the soul of the gem. In other words, they read the soul of the gemstone before they create the design. They also read the soul of the customer and bridge the gap between gem soul and person soul. To weave the 2 souls together requires love too.

- Michelin starred chefs: they create dishes from foods of their terroir. The design a dish around the ingredients, and put love into the food.

See the 2 videos below.

At 3:01, he says, "I try to pass on my taste for perfection. Even if it is unattainable."

At 3:04, he says, "When you caress the saddle, rubbing oil into it, working to shape 

the leather, you can feel the life inside it."

Hermès was originally a saddlery. Horses are very sensitive animals and bad saddles affect the riding experience because it affects both the horse's behaviours and the rider's comfort. So, each saddle had to fit as well as a cheongsam fits a woman's curves. Standards had to be high. Different pieces of leather needed a different approach and the artisanal process was customised around the specifics of horse, rider, wood and leather. Hermès had that long tradition of high standards to live up to when it diversified into making handbags.

The entire world's fashionistas thank Hermès for it.

My best writers don't write mechanically. It is true that they use the writing techniques that I taught them. Yet, like these master craftsmen, who use tools that everyone else uses, my best writers pour their own pride, their own soul into their work. When love goes in, I can feel it. PSLE markers can too.

I am not sure why this ethos is important to me. I am not sure whether I honour the spirit of craftsmanship because I am autistic or because I grew up with an appreciation of how the traditional French person appreciates life at the confluence between:

(1) strong family bonds, 

(2) pride in work and 

(3) restful respite.

In Singapore, this ethos is alive and well amongst the hawkers. Those hawkers who make sure they pour pride and soul into their dishes invariably see long queues. They will yell at you if they must, but they won't feed you bad food. If love has gone into a dish, people can taste it. My favourite braised pork guys are proud of what they do. I overheard someone asking them, "What is good at your stall?" The cheeky reply that came was, "Everything is good." When I commented that the char siew rice nearby was famous, they said, "We are famous too." 

It is not just empty boasting. I often pre-order for a fixed time. When they realised that I might sometimes be late, they stopped pre-preparing my order. They would wait till I arrived before starting the preparation. This is so that I can get the freshest food possible. After the long CNY break, the entire stall is washed right to the back corner of the furthest shelf. The whole stack of dishes is also RE-washed. The boss of my favourite braised pork stall did not even get his 'O' levels. Yet, I have the deepest respect for him.

Such people have high internal standards.

In contrast, another stall near them had to send the whole staff to re-training in hygiene practices after an NEA check. Not surprisingly, this lack of internal standards even extends to that person's morals. Even though married with children, he took the liberty to draw a deliberate zig zag along my palm and look meaningfully at me.

It is important to have internal standards. When the environment or the community tolerates low standards, the one with high internal standards becomes a rare talent. When the environment and community tolerates low standards, the only way to NOT become part of the scum in the pond, is to have high internal standards so that one can rise above the mud with the regal air of a lotus flower.

That is why the real Hermès Birkin bag is priced between SGD$15,000 and SGD$650,000. The knock-offs can be bought at $35. 

This said, Petunia owns no real Birkin bag because when it comes to fashion, Petunia as no standards at all. I simply respect the spirit of craftsmanship that went into making the bags. I don't want to own a real Birkin bag. 

I want to be the person who made it. 

Twice though, I commissioned a DesignedByMeforMe jewellery. When I sat at the counter discussing the design, customers walked in and commissioned pieces too. On both occasions, those customers tried to get the artisan to complete the piece earlier than the artisan said he could manage. Why would you do that? Don't you want his best work? His most inspired work? If so, why hurry him, make him work and make him tired? He will only make mistakes on your piece.

The only time when I got angry was when the shop owner told me, "We left the leaves on the back side in yellow gold because no one can see." Peeved, I refused to take delivery. I made them change the leaves to white gold just like the front. No one can see, but I know it is there. I am not wearing the piece to show off to others. I am wearing a GestureOfLove from my husband. So, it matters to me what the back side looks like.