The age of the internet has changed
all of our lives in ways we never imagined. A case in point is one Michael
Tonello who stumbled upon an, idea, a trend and a fact that had a life altering
effect on him and a life all of its own. He did in fact become one of the
largest purveyors of all things Hermès; first on eBay and then craftily and
entrepreneurially via an assembled preferred customer list that indeed opened
doors hitherto... let’s say... locked or unopened and probably in many ways unforeseeable.
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Having just read his wildly amusing , witty and informative book,
Bringing Home the Birkin, insights
and observations about Michael cleared my thought processes to the point of fully
understanding how and why respoke
was born. Amazingly, we share a common friend who played an
important role during our respective “reinventions!” What becomes apparent is
that there are parts of us that take a leading role in our lives that we cannot
suppress no matter the path we have chosen for our lives.
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In the words of the greatest doyenne
of fashion, Diana Vreeland “give them what they never knew they wanted” and
that’s exactly what this brand achieves!
All that said, respoke is just this amazing idea/concept
hatched by 2 friends (I am not one of them) who combined their loves for all things
Hermès and possessed a collective creative spirit. Indeed in many ways, if you
read the book which I urge you to do, you will come to understand that when one
door closes another one does indeed swing open so widely as to be unfathomable in
terms of possibilities of what lay behind that door!
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So here in his own words is a founder
of respoke who offers his insights on an Hermès life amongst the many adventures
that laid behind those unopened doors ….
Jeffrey Felner: Can you give us a brief summary of your career leading up to the present
situation?
Michael Tonello: For nearly twenty years I did makeup
for photography for the advertising industry. My big clients were TJMaxx,
Marshall's, Reebok, Dunkin Donuts, IBM...lots of corporations based in and
around Boston. In September of 1999 I moved to Barcelona and later that year I
got involved in reselling Hermès scarves ... which eventually lead to reselling
Hermès Birkin and Kelly bags. In 2008 I wrote a memoir, Bringing Home the Birkin, which is about all of that Hermès
business (the book became a bestseller and is now published in 13 languages).
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JF: How did the concept of respoke
become reality? And
what drove you to it?
MT: Living in Spain, it's common practice to buy a pair
or two of espadrilles every spring and wear them throughout the summer. A
couple of years ago I got to thinking how boring, year after year, the
espadrilles were … Mostly cotton canvas, solid colors ...the occasional stripe
…Yawn. I had thought of covering a pair with a vintage cotton bandana and over
the course of a week began expanding on my own idea. An Hermès silk scarf? In
the spring of 2015 I reached out to several espadrille workshops in Spain
(where the finest espadrilles in the world are made) to see if I could get
custom espadrilles made to my specifications. Most of those inquiries went
unanswered. About six months later I stumbled upon a workshop in La Rioja
(Spain) that understood my vision and was willing to make some
prototypes/samples for me. There was considerable back and forth and lots of
issues to work through. I was somewhat obsessive and a bit of a perfectionist,
but the director of operations understood my vision, my dream. In October of
2016 I received the very first pair of Respoke espadrilles.
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JF: What are your expectations in terms of brand extensions and
distribution channels?
MT: I know
it sounds cliché but every single pair is unique and a labor of love. The fact
is that the entire espadrille is entirely made by hand and hand stitched. Each
pair is a process that takes about a month. We have lots of ideas but must go
slow. It's great when we have buyers who understand the process (Bergdorf's is
a good example) and will work with us. Eventually we will do wedges, mules, and
various embellishments. We have some brand extensions in the works for years
two and three but want to keep that as a surprise.
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JF: If you could choose any collaboration with any other brand or designer,
who or what would it be and why?
MT: I just adore the stuff that Takashi Murakami has done
for Louis Vuitton. It's full of whimsy and he has the ability to nail the
perfect mix of high-art and commercialism. I'd love for him to design a silk or
cotton fabric for us...it would be a great limited edition! I'd want two
pair for myself; one to wear and one to keep as a collector's item.
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JF: You have a very specific target audience so
let’s speak to that topic ... why? Do you plan on expanding that base audience
… why or why not?
MT: It's a niche product and we're not for everyone. Due
to the nature of our components: rare iconic silk scarves and hand
craftsmanship, our costs are high and we will always only be able to produce
limited quantities. To give you an example, I was recently in Venice Italy and
there's a store next to the Gritti Palace Hotel that sells luxury vintage (i.e.
$10K Kelly bags and $5K Chanel jackets). They had a mint/pristine 1970's Pucci
dressing gown for $1100. I bought the gown and made it into espadrilles. That's
it...end of story...we can't make more since there's no way of procuring more
of that fabric. Those espadrilles are already collectible.
