This week’s {at the shops} is located in beautiful Provence — Avignon, to be exact, and so, a few beautiful photographs to set the scene . . .
Shortly after the publishing of Sarah‘s fascinating {take me away} article on The Extravagantly Lovely Silks of Lyon received a lovely letter from reader, Ruth Ribeaucourt, introducing her shop, Rubanesque, which happens to sell antique French silk jacquard ribbon jewellery from an atelier is located in Avignon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, a little over two hours south of Lyon.
For the last few years, Ruth has been transforming ancient silk ribbons into jewellery, and in November of 2011, launched an Etsy shop, Rubanesque, with her first collection, The Golden Age, a collection of one-off handmade cuffs made of art deco antique ribbons that ended up selling out to clients around the world . . .
Above & below: Handmade Antique French Silk Ribbon Bracelet Cuff in Ivory, Gold, & Silver motif, embellished with Swarovski crystals
“My husband is from a celebrated French silk family, the Faure family (Julien Faure) of St. Etienne (creating silk since 1864) and at Christmas 2011 they opened their archives for me and gifted me with some incredible echantillons of ribbons from late 19th to mid 20th century, all which had been rescued and hidden away for years by my husband’s Grandfather, Georges Faure.”
Now, there is a new series of vintage ribbon cuffs, more modern than the first collection, as well as antique and vintage ribbon pendants, a range of antique ribbon on silk bobbin necklaces, and the designer’s favourite, a series of delicate antique gold passementerie trim bracelets.
Above: Antique French Military Ribbon Bracelet in Silver, Cream and Navy
“I have also just added two antique silk (from the 20s) in acrylic cuffs which I adore” —from the second collection, an antique silk and acrylic cuff
“Where some might see scraps of old fabric, I see miniature works of art, heirlooms with breathtaking detail, shimmering antique gold thread and long forgotten ancient techniques and each piece calls to me to be transformed into something that can be worn and enjoyed for years to come.”
Says, Ruth, “Ever since, I have been lovingly collecting echantillons and passementerie trims (dating from late 19th to mid 20th century), from the family archives and crafting one-off (and truly so as no other piece of identical ribbon exists) handmade jewellery, combining these turn-of-the-century ribbons, heavily laden with gold thread and hand trimmed silk velvet, with Swarovski crystals embellishments to [create] luxe, contemporary pieces with a touch of old-school glamour.” ♛
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previous at the shops:
* leuie, vancouver
* sarah & bendrix, london
* harlex, hong kong
* grace loves lace
* bloom theory
* peggy porschen cakes
* sarah brown jewellery
* heirloom lingerie by claire pettibone
* kora, nairobi, kenya
* gildem, california
* gemma redux, new york
* morning calm, south korea
* loom, australia
* florence & florence, uk
* lady grey, new york
* ralph lauren, paris
* neology by mina, brooklyn
* always glamorous gold
