Manuela_Menzi_Studio_light_pink_birch_bark_silk_ribbon.jpg
Manuela_Menzi_Studio_light_pink_birch_bark_silk_ribbon.jpg

SILK RIBBON · BIRCH BARK · LIGHT PINK

CHF 20.00
Material:

PAY WITH TWINT

For a lighter pink, we went north. Into the birch woods, where the trees grow close and pale, and the light comes through the leaves in small, moving pieces.

Birch is among the first trees to return to bare ground. After the ice, after fire, it arrives before almost anything else, and its white bark sends the winter sun back into the sky. In Finland they tell how the old singer Väinämöinen cleared a forest to sow barley, but left a single birch standing, so the birds would have somewhere to rest. An eagle, pleased by this, gave him fire in return.

We walked among them in early spring, when the sap was rising and the catkins hung loose and yellow from the branches. The bark peels on its own here, in curls as thin as paper. White on the outside, marked with small black lines. Turn a curl over, and the underside is a plain, papery tan. Nothing about it hints at pink.

Only warmth brings it out. The bark steeps and simmers for a long time before it gives anything at all, until the whole kitchen smells like a Finnish sauna, of warm wood and birch leaves in the steam. Then the water warms, slowly, to the colour of weak tea, then apricot. Once dry, the silk settles into a light, clear pink, warm at its heart. A colour the birch never shows in the forest.

Long after the pot has cooled, the kitchen still smells faintly of the north. The ribbon lies drying by the window, ready to be tied.

PAY WITH TWINT

For a lighter pink, we went north. Into the birch woods, where the trees grow close and pale, and the light comes through the leaves in small, moving pieces.

Birch is among the first trees to return to bare ground. After the ice, after fire, it arrives before almost anything else, and its white bark sends the winter sun back into the sky. In Finland they tell how the old singer Väinämöinen cleared a forest to sow barley, but left a single birch standing, so the birds would have somewhere to rest. An eagle, pleased by this, gave him fire in return.

We walked among them in early spring, when the sap was rising and the catkins hung loose and yellow from the branches. The bark peels on its own here, in curls as thin as paper. White on the outside, marked with small black lines. Turn a curl over, and the underside is a plain, papery tan. Nothing about it hints at pink.

Only warmth brings it out. The bark steeps and simmers for a long time before it gives anything at all, until the whole kitchen smells like a Finnish sauna, of warm wood and birch leaves in the steam. Then the water warms, slowly, to the colour of weak tea, then apricot. Once dry, the silk settles into a light, clear pink, warm at its heart. A colour the birch never shows in the forest.

Long after the pot has cooled, the kitchen still smells faintly of the north. The ribbon lies drying by the window, ready to be tied.

DETAILS

FABRIC

100% Silk

COLOUR

Light pink

Naturally dyed with birch bark.
Each pot gives a slightly different shade. Small marks and uneven patches are part of the process and make every ribbon one of a kind.

DYE

Around 3cm

WIDTH

LENGTH

Around 2.5m

EDGES

Hand torn, softly frayed

MADE IN

Switzerland

  • FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS

    Orders are usually shipped within 2–3 working days, and international shipping is available.

    Please note that customers may be subject to customs duties in their respective countries, which are their responsibility.

    You can also pay directly via TWINT.

    You’re also welcome to pick up your order directly from the studio in Meilen. Important: Please call or text ahead to arrange a pickup time. This ensures I’m at the studio and have your order prepared.

  • Hand wash only if needed, in cool water and lay flat to dry. Iron on a low silk setting through a cloth. Keep away from direct sunlight to preserve the colour over time. Trim loose threads rather than pulling them.

WRAPPING PAPER WRAPPING PAPER
WRAPPING PAPER "GORGEOUS MADNESS"
CHF 30.00

PAY WITH TWINT

Come in the late afternoon, when the walls have had all day to warm up. From a distance Marrakesh is just a low pink line under the palms, the whole of it the shade of dust in blush, ochre and clay. Then the smell catches up: saffron, cumin, turmeric, mint, pepper, paprika and of course cinnamon.

Keep going. The alleys narrow, then narrow again, and on the Mouassine, the old quarter around the mosque, there is a door most people walk past.

A botanical garden, four squares of it, laid out around water that has run under the city since the twelfth century. The date palms go up and up. Somewhere in them a magpie is complaining.

Walk the low hedges and the air changes every few steps: thyme, rosemary, lavender, verbena, and geranium that smells almost of roses and goes into the tea for calm. Then you stop. Mint. Every Moroccan childhood has a kitchen in it, a mother packing the pot with leaves until the lid will not sit, sugar broken off the loaf, the tea poured from a height so it foams and so hot you'd have to wait until it cools off a bit.

Figs in the corner where the wall holds all the warmth. You smell them before you see them, that sweetness of a tree in fruit. The fig is not really a fruit at all but a flower folded in on itself, blooming on the inside where nobody sees it. Butterflies swirl around the tree, small ones and big ones. Bees work the split fruit on the ground and ants run the trunk all day.

Everything here was planted on purpose, and it has been kept that way for four hundred years.Hibiscus opens wide and white with red running out from the throat, one day each. Bougainvillea takes the whole wall in paper pink. Jasmine waits for the evening, and the bitter orange keeps its blossom for spring.

At the centre, a white marble basin. Goldfish turn in it, slow, orange going to rose where the light hits them and sparkling in the sun.

Gorgeous Madness is that afternoon in the garden. By dark the jasmine has opened and taken the whole place over. You will smell nothing else for the rest of the evening. Somewhere the magpie is still complaining.

PAIRS WELL WITH

SILK RIBBON · AVOCADO SKIN · DUSTY PINK SILK RIBBON · AVOCADO SKIN · DUSTY PINK SILK RIBBON · AVOCADO SKIN · DUSTY PINK SILK RIBBON · AVOCADO SKIN · DUSTY PINK
SILK RIBBON · AVOCADO SKIN · DUSTY PINK
CHF 20.00

PAY WITH TWINT

We went looking for a particular pink. Not the pink of sugared almonds, nor the loud flush of a peony, but something older. The pink of a rose pressed between the pages of a book.

So we began in the garden, in the last warm weeks of August. Rose petals first, gathered after rain and simmered until the kitchen smelled of jam. Once, the story goes, a rose was hung above the table, and whatever was said beneath it stayed secret. Ours kept their colour to themselves and gave us only a weak tea. Madder root, dug from the end of the bed, ran coral, far too bright. Then dark hollyhocks, and blackberries from the hedge. Each dye bath came close and slipped away, sliding into brown or cooling into lilac.

We found it, in the end, in the kitchen. Avocado skins from breakfast, dark and pebbled, the part usually thrown away. Simmered slowly, they give up their tannins, and the water darkens through rust to the red of mulberries. Lifted out and left to dry, the colour settles into an old, dusty pink. The pink we went looking for.

On the windowsill, the stone from that same breakfast sits in a glass of water. It has split along its middle, and a pale root is feeling its way down. Keep it watered, and one day, years from now, it may flower.

WRAPPING PAPER WRAPPING PAPER
WRAPPING PAPER "RARE THOUGHTS"
CHF 30.00

Rare Thoughts wrapping paper was inspired by colours that are both bright and soft at the same time. Each color mixes energy with gentleness, creating shades that spark your imagination and make you stop to wonder. The name ‘Rare Thoughts’ captures the essence of those hidden treasures within our minds—the quirky, unconventional ideas that add a touch of magic to our lives. They remind us of the beauty in being different, in exploring new perspectives and embracing the unexpected. In today’s fast-paced world, where we're constantly bombarded with information, it’s easy to overlook these fleeting moments of creativity and introspection. Rare Thoughts serves as a gentle reminder to cherish these special thoughts, infusing your gift-giving with a sense of wonder and delight. This luxurious wrapping paper not only enhances the presentation of your gifts but also transforms them into thoughtful, memorable experiences.