Saturday Art Saves: Rubanesque.... A Box Full of Century Old Ribbons

Photos from Rubanesque

 

 

Photo from Rubanesque

 

Each Saturday I focus on an artist that I admire, 

My friend Ruth has created a shop on Etsy called: Rubanesque!

Ruban(esque) is ribbon in French.

Ruth created bracelets from old silk/velvet ribbons gifted to her by her French Husband's Grandparents.

 

"Inside a dusty cardboard box, nestled forgotten treasures, hidden for years in a drawer..." said Ruth.

 

 

Photos from Rubanesque

(L) Antique Purple Silk Velvet Handmade Cuff from Rubanesque  (R) Tim Walker for Vogue

Ruth's first collection is called, The Golden Age.

Ruth writes, "Each one of these unique, one-off (and truly so!) cuffs have been created from antique ribbons dating from the 1900′s and these were the very first ribbons gifted to me by my husbands grandmother. We went to visit her on 26th December last year for a family lunch and she unearthed an old stiff card box, contained within were ribbons her husband, Georges Faure, had put aside many years before."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(TL and CL) Tim Walker for Vogue; (BL) Screen Siren from How to be a Retronaut;(R) Antique Moon Silk Ribbon Handmade Cuff from Rubanesque.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(TL & BL) Antique Green Silk Velvet Art deco  Handmade Cuff from Rubanesque (R) Tim Walker for Vogue 

 

 

 

Ruth continues to write, "These ribbons are the only remaining pieces and I only had about 10cm of each ribbon to work with, sometimes less. These were ‘enchantillons’, originally used by the salesman for showing the haute couture houses in Paris, London etc so that they could order the different colours / styles.

 

….parting with them is going to be seriously tricky!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos from Rubanesque

 

Ruth's French husband's family has a century old ribbon/textile company.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The walls surrounding Ruth's family desk are covered with incredible silk tapestry paintings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Georgy Faure (Ruth's husband's Grandfather) was one of three brothers who took over the Faure family silk factory which had been founded in 1864 by their father Henri Faure, in the middle of Napoleon III ‘s reign. Georgy was given the responsibility of looking after the Jacquard ribbon department, where many would ruthlessly discard their old out-of-fashion ribbon stock and outdated salesmen echantillon (sample) books," said Ruth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Georgy saved what he could which he donated a huge wealth of Jacquard ribbons to the Museum of Art & Industry (Musée d’art et d’industrie) in Saint-Étienne. The family company still exists today and is run by Georgys son Julien, and you can visit their site here."

 

 

 

Photo from Rubanesque

 

 

Ruth also writes a blog about her daily life in France, "Le Petit Coquin."

 

 

 

 

Photo from Rubanesque

 

 

Ruth shares her story, "I combine turn-of-the-century ribbons, heavily laden with gold thread and hand trimmed silk velvet, with Swarovski crystals embellishments to bring luxe, and contemporary pieces with a touch of old school glamour."

 

 

Photo from Rubanesque

 

Ruth gives a sneak peek of two of the bobbin necklaces which are a work in process.

The story behind these wooden bobbins, which were originally used for spooling silk in her family's factory (at the turn of the 19th century), is that they are a little broken or chipped and therefore had been cast aside as they were no longer suitable for use on the looms.

 

 

 

 

 

"When I came across a bag of these beautiful hand-carved bobbins and decided I couldn’t possibly let them be thrown out or used as kindling (shocking but true!)... they came home with me. Each bobbin is sanded down, cleaned and then I wrap a piece of ribbon around the wooden core." Ruth said.

 

 

 

Photo from Rubanesque

 

Follow this link to Ruth's Etsy Shop to discover more.

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[everton terrace]

Beautiful jewelry, works of art really, and beautiful story. I loved it.
Repurposing at its very finest!

[Dd]

Just found your blog. What fun!!!! I am traveling to Provence for the first time at the end of April. can't wait. Hoping to visit some flea markets.

[natalie thiele]

Absolutely stunning!

[Ann Bradley]

Ruth,
Élégance,
Créativité,
Dedication
ART
Simply stunning.

[email protected]

[Tammy Hensley]

Her pieces are gorgeous! What a lucky girl!

[carol]

These are so beautiful. I know it must be terribly difficult to part with something that is so close to her.

[Priscilla G]

Corey...Congratulations!! I just found an article on you and your beautiful home in a new magazine I picked up this weekend!! That is so wonderful!!!!
Lovely photographs!!

[Jeannie]

Thank you for the introduction to Ruth's site. I love old ribbons and her jewelry shows off the ribbons beautifully. Off to do some shopping!

[Amy Kortuem]

Oh WOW. Those bracelets are stunning. I love to wear bracelets, but usually can't wear them when playing the harp because if they're too loose they clank against the side. But those beribboned cuffs...Oh, I think they would certainly dress up a gig, wouldn't they?

[Rainy]

I seem to collect with the intention of using my treasures in creation. Then I find I can't use them and keep them in their treasure boxes. How wonderful it is to make something so lovely with handed down treasures.

[freefalling]

I can't believe how incredibly beautiful these are!
I wish I could have one of each!

[Dottie]

How beautiful!! And such a wonderfully special repurpose of amazing pieces of yesterday.

[Jenna]

Those cuffs are gorgeous, so are teh wrists wearing them

[Jenna]

I've always wanted to go to the Louvre, perhaps if I find myself in Paris I can bribe a tour out of you with a cup of joe. ;)

[Kiki]

what a stunning blog Ruth has - and thank you for sharing her treasures with us. I got completely and utterly lost on her trail and couldn't rise from digging in her treasure chest of ribbons. I think I should write to her because many, many years ago I bought a collection of two large 'Muster-Bücher' - of one of the last Swiss ribbon and 'batches' maker which stopped producing in the middle of last century.
I had absolutely no interest in the 'Abzeichen', but I saw the incredible richness of what our country used to be able to produce, the intricacy of designs/fabrics/yarns, the WORK that went into that collection and the woman who sold her grandparents' heirloom sold it to me because she knew I would take the careful love and attention to those 'riches'... From time to time I look at those two albums, I stroke the many small batches, emblems, pictures, many of them depicting sweet scenes like 'congratulations to a baby, first day at school, but also for condolence cards, Happy Easter, idyllic scenes', etc etc. I feel like digging them out now - but I can't.
Ruth has not only a tremendous love for those hairlooms, but a fine eye and talented fingers for creating something utterly delightul and a brilliant feather to write a lovely blog - she also has a great friend who's supporting her and spreading the gospel!