Ribbons

photo © Julien Faure

Some pretty ribbons to wrap up the week.

photo © Julien Faure

When you give a bouquet of flowers, why not make it even more special by wrapping a really pretty ribbon around the stems? As Louise de Vilmorin once said, 

they have the advantage of not wilting.

The talented Mme de Vilmorin had just the right, light touch in expressing things of the sort and didn't shy away from writing about simple things like ribbons.

Le ruban n'est pas un ornement superflu puisque son rôle est d'embellir. L'enfant lui-même y est sensible, et je ne connais pas de petite fille dont les mains ne se tendent avec avidité vers le ruban qu'une grande personne dénoue en ouvrant un paquet. Les ficelles sont pour les garçons mais ils n'en savent pas moins qu'un paquet, pour être beau, a besoin d'un ruban.

The ribbon is not a superfluous ornament because its role is to beautify. Even a child is responsive to it. I can't say I have ever seen a little girl who didn't reach out eager hands toward the ribbon a big person was untying to open a package. Strings are for boys, but they know nevertheless, that for a package to be pretty, 
it needs a ribbon.

There's no escaping it; the making of such intricate patterns can't be rushed. With so much artistry, time, energy and talent poured into these little bands of fabric, Virginie Wittmer, creative director at Julien Faure calls the high quality ribbons made by her company  "concentrates of humanity."