Sealing Chanel- 09.07.07
I have had a Chanel day. Literally. But before i get into how in one day i was inundated with all things Chanel, and have a new found respect and fascination for the woman, the brand, the perfumerie (with stories from Chanel perfume creator Jacques Polge himself), the stunning timelessness of the jewelry, the sneak preview of the Keira Knightley film (as introduced by THE artistic director, Jacques Helleu), following Coco Chanel’s secret route from the Ritz to the original store, untouched apartment of inspiration, workshop, haute couture dressing rooms, and the incredible staircase… i wanted to show you the incredibly detailed process behind the sealing of the Chanel bottles… and the best part? I actually got to try it for myself ~ and it’s not easy, but if all else fails i suppose i can attempt to join their team of 100, who seal the bottles day after day by hand. (Also, how great is this mini seal tool? I think we need a NOTCOT one!) Loads of images below.
p.s. Before you think Chanel bought me off ~ think of this whole trip as more of the field trip of a lifetime. An interesting move on their part, they brought a group of international bloggers to Paris, and immersed us in the world of Chanel excitedly sharing with us the stories of their past, a peek into how things work behind the scenes, as well as a glance at what they are moving towards and what their brand philosophies are. Honestly, it kind of felt like design school again ~ you remember those studio visits with your design idols? Where they are as excited to be telling you about their work as you are to be there?
PART 1:
- take the crazy synthetic membrane, and stretch it tightly wrapping it around the neck
- take the string and tie a knot… then tie another knot (but don’t pull it all the way - so you can lay it flat to crate a T)… then loop around twice and tie a double knot…
- cut the string as close to the knot as possible
- take a knife to the membrane just below the string
- peel off the remaining membrane…
- hand to PART 2
Close up of the awesome seal. So cute. So tiny.
PART 2:
- Grasp the two tools in one hand… wax held like pencil… stamp like you might stab someone (and make sure the logo is aligned correctly!!!)
- heat the wax
- drip the wax on the knot - with that softserve ice cream kind of swirl.
- quick! stamp the seal on
- repeat with more wax if not quite perfect…
- put it in the box.
All the empty boxes waiting to be filled.
The demo room.
The exterior of the perfumerie in Neuilly.
Ok, looking back on it now ~ i’m glad i took the care to slowly break off that seal, and pick that wrapping off (i must admit that the membrane thing confused me even when i was opening it the first time as posted about here!)
For the full collection of my posts from the Chanel Paris trip:
How to seal the Chanel perfume bottles
Chanel bottles shaped like Place Vendome (proof via Google Maps)
The Chanel ID Tags, stationery, headshots and more
Coco Chanel’s Apartment and her shortcut through the Ritz
Thanks for this post- amazing!
----- Amanda 28.01.09 10:44