I adore the brand, but I can never afford any of their line of bags.

I can't exactly remember when and how I discovered the brand. The nearest I can recall was from a fashion blogger and through Samantha Jones of the American series, Sex and the City. Like everyone else, I was first oriented with the two popular bags, the Birkin and Kelly. After learning how much each costs, my interest with both the bag and brand intensified. I started reading articles and what blew me away was the difficulty of acquiring either the Birkin or Kelly. Having millions of money does not guarantee any purchase. One has to line up and secure a schedule to visit, especially from their stores in France. You have to build a relationship with the sales assistants to possibly gain an offer for a bag. The relationship includes consistent purchase of expensive non-bag items. It might take two to three years for first time buyers to acquire a Kelly or Birkin. It also appears that the store implements a hidden screening process. 

While I cannot purchase any bag, I started exploring other products from the brand.  I discovered their iconic and historic line of scarves. Still very expensive. I learned about their shoes, fragrance, jewellery, ready-to-wear and surprisingly, a line of books. I discovered it when I learned that Hermès actually has an online store. If I can't afford the bag, I can probably save up for a book. Much to my surprise, the books weren't as expensive as I was expecting. 



An authentic Hermès merchandise that will not cost an arm and a leg



Here's a brief history of these books.

In 2014, Hermès released nine small sketch books or cahiers showcasing the sketches of Philippe Dumas. Philippe, being one of the descendants of the Hermès family, produced sketches depicting the brand's history, tradition and heritage. (Thanks to Brigit's blog for the information. You can  also learn more about Hermès' history from this site.)

Through the help of a friend, I purchased Les Metamorphoses (The Metamorphosis). It gave me an overview of Hermès' design process and a peek to the Emile Hermès Museum. Emile is the son of the company's founder, Thierry Hermès. Emile was responsible for starting business expansion to clothing and accessories. He also groomed his three son-in-laws (Jean-René Guerrand, Francis Puech and Robert Dumas) to take over the business. Among the three, it was Robert Dumas who succeeded. He was the first non-direct descendant to steer the business. His leadership also started the dominance of the Dumas family in the business. Robert Dumas has six children with Jacqueline Hermès. Two of which include Philippe Dumas (the sketch book illustrator) and Olivier Dumas, father of the current Hermés CEO, Axel Dumas. 

So much about history, here are some photos of my first Hermès purchase <3

I was hoping that the book will  come out in the usual orange box.. :p Instead, the book was wrapped in crisp paper and the official receipt enclosed in an elegant card. But what really surprised me, I received a bonus perfume sampler, a Eau de Citron Noir. 


The classic Hermès ribbon



The text were all written in French. Good thing, an insert containing an English translation per page was provided. I guess this is an advantage of buying from the US based online store. I'm not sure if the same works when buying from Europe based sites.

I hope I can still buy another book before the year ends. Please don't hoard, leave something for me. ;)