Celebrating craft
Craftsmanship is all around us. But when we invest in luxury, we invest in the art of the craft, which is that what lies behind the beauty of luxury. Craftsmanship is embedded in luxury and not simply in its often sought after design, but it also embodies the values, culture and time honoured skills of the artisans who create them.
Dana Thomas, author of Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Lustre, writes “Many of the luxury brands we patronize, such as Louis Vuitton, Hermès, and Cartier, were founded in the eighteenth or nineteenth century by humble artisans who created the most beautiful wares imaginable for the royal court. Luxury wasn’t simply a product. It denoted a history of tradition, superior quality.” Here in our London atelier, our team of artisans recognise and respect this high level artisanal skill in order to restore your belongings.
For our next series we’ll be recognising the craft and skill behind creating luxury goods and above all, the savoir-faire in restoring luxury. We will be putting a spotlight on our ever expanding atelier team and their extensive and endless craft skills to find out what really goes into the restoration of luxury goods whilst giving you the chance to meet our artisans and see their remarkable skills up close.
Our aim is to celebrate craft in all its forms, which expands outside our atelier so we’ll also be highlighting the craft behind other brands. We’ll be interviewing the people behind a swimwear brand, luxury loungewear, a bags and accessories brand and beauty and lifestyle products and we’ll share with you the skills they have learnt along the way.
Our elite atelier team is made up of experts in their own craft from shoemakers, milliners, leather and exotic specialists to embroidery and textile experts. The artisans are truly artists in their own right who recognise the craft behind the original item, all of which is considered when restoring each and every piece.
The art of the craft
Every aspect of the construction of an item is considered when we restore it. From skiving down every piece of leather we source to ensure the right thickness, sanding down original edge coat to reapply fresh coats, hand stitching the gussets on an Hermès as is original, differentiating between thread counts on different items and whether the item is finished with a matte or a glossy finish.
We’ll be delving into the colour theory behind why we hand mix the paint every time we provide a colour restoration and how the light on a grey day brings a bluer tone compared to orange hues on a sunny day. We’ll learn more about the dyeing process for different materials such as leathers, satins and cashmeres.
The art of the craft
By combining the power of technology with the art of craft we’re building a global brand to ensure wherever you are in the world you can trust us to restore your most treasured pieces. Innovation is core to all our teams, from technology to service but for this series we’ll be focusing on our atelier team. Our team strives to disrupt, challenge and innovate in their craft to come up with solutions to seemingly impossible problems. We find the magic behind the craft of restoration, so you can relish in the magic of falling back in love with your favourite items again.
