CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Cloth clock, chest of drawers, coffee cup holders, and a wrap, all fashioned from remainders from the Hermès factory
 
  Pascale Mussard

"Waste shocks and angers me; I am revolted by it,” remarks Pascale Mussard, co-creative director at Hermès. Granddaughter of Hermès heir, Émile Hermès and his wife, Julie Hollande, Mussard inherited her grandmother’s magpie tendencies as well as her cabinets full of trinkets, ranging from buttons to leather straps. “It is a question of education as well as a love for the materials,” says Mussard. “Like all children, I loved to create objects.”

Much like the bequeathed cupboard of curiosities, Mussard’s Petit h project began with a collection of discarded, soon-to-be-rediscovered treasures. Motivated by environmental concerns and potential restrictions from the Industrial Direction Committee regarding discarded materials, Mussard recognized a need to put excess materials from the Hermès factory to good use. “I needed to find a use for these discarded materials, to find a way to give them a new life in the Hermès way.”

Hermès Lends a Green Hand
And thus, from the unwanted excess, Petit h was born. “The name Petit h first came to me when thinking about the ex libris of my great-grandfather,” says Mussard. “It is a wink to the capital H of Hermès and a bridge between previous generations and those to come.”

Once the workshop was created, various artists, designers, and Hermès craftsmen with varying skill sets and specialties, including noted talents Gilles Jonemann and Christian Astuguevieille, were offered the challenge of recreating materials in a different context. “These materials spark the creative process and a discussion between the craftsmen and designers to find a solution that is concrete, realizable, and esthetic according to Hermès values and procedures,” says Mussard, who refers to the artisans as “pathfinders” in honor of their unique talents for weaving together Hermès’ hallmarks with innovative design solutions, reinventing classic concepts and creating new possibilities.

“This project recalls childhood, particularly in the way to perceive objects and materials in a new way without preconceptions or prejudice,” she says. “It is a light and constraint-free creation process, which makes this little h the legitimate child of big H.”

Petit h has since traveled from its hometown of Paris to Asia, and finally comes to New York this month at the insistence of its New York counterparts, who petitioned Mussard for the collection to be presented here. It was then that Robert Chavez, president and CEO of Hermès of Paris, expressed his desire to work with Petit h and inspired Mussard to bring the collection to New York. While the materials dictate that each piece is unique, there will be 110 one-of-a-kind pieces, out of 2,200 total pieces, sold in the New York flagship alongside coffee cup holders inspired by the city itself. 691 Madison Ave., 212-751-3181