Yatzer founder and editor in chief, Costas Voyatzis, was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to tour the Hermès workshop in Pantin, France last month.

The one thing he learned not to do when visiting the workshop is to leave your bag on the floor.

“Once you’ve taken the tour through their Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré boutique, you’ll realize that treating your leather with the respect it deserves is like paying tribute to the craftsman who made it,” Voyatzis says.

From the sights to the sounds to the scents, a visit to the Hermès workshop is a very sensory experience.

“As for the workshop itself, the prevalent sentiment is that of everlasting love: each bag is affectionately crafted by a single artisan from start to finish, which would explain why they only turn out two pieces a week,” Voyatzis says. “No leather-worker is allowed to intervene in another colleague’s bag and each individual has their own set of tools, which they eventually take home with them when they retire.”

Many Hermès artisans claim they can pick a piece they created out of a lineup without question. That is some serious craftsmanship.

If this is the process that goes into making a handbag, I’d love to see how Hermès saddles are created. Sheesh.

For more from Voyatzis’ tour, click here.

Photos: Lucie & Simon, Jérôme Galland and Alfredo Piola; Hermès / Costas Voyatzis; Yatzer

- PS

I’m in a band called London vs. New York.

This designer guy Vahram Muratyan makes minimalist visual designs showing the differences between Paris & New York that he posts to his blog Paris vs. New York.
These are a few of my favorites.

-Tim