Things I Love: French Ribbon

Amy Butler

If I won the lottery, one of my splurges would be to buy hundreds and maybe even thousands of dollars of beautiful ribbon. I adore ribbon especially if it’s intricately designed and beautifully woven.

I have several go-to shopping sources for ribbon including this one and this one , but I am thrilled to have just uncovered what might be the holy grail of beautiful French ribbon.

Renaissance Ribbons was started by Edith Minne whose love affair for French ribbon started over 20 years ago. She turned her passion into a thriving business and today the company designs, creates and supplies their goods to thousands of wholesale companies worldwide and employs 18 designers who create their patterns.

The collection of styles available from Renaissance is vast, each one just as beautiful as the next.

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If you’re wondering what makes French ribbon stand out against all the others, here’s a bit of the history…

Ribbons are among the oldest decorative textiles. People have always looked for ways to adorn their clothing and their possessions and it became a staple for the purpose. In the Middle Ages, exotic ribbons were sold by peddlers throughout Europe and during the sixteenth century, as people began to recognize the beauty and usefulness of this textile, the English Parliament tried to make the wearing of ribbons a right of only the nobility.

During the 17th century, ribbons were very in vogue. Both men’s and women’s clothing of this period were extravagant. Clothing and every accessory were highly decorated with ribbons in many forms. Ribbon uses varied from trimming clothing, for use in braiding and curling hair, for ornamenting furniture, and for brightening linens. Demand prompted a manufacturing revolution in which Coventry, England, and Lyons, France, became hubs of ribbon design.

Many French ribbons are Jacquard, a specialized type developed in France. Jacquard is noted for elaborate design woven into the ribbon, and they are very expensive to manufacture.

♦ FRENCH RIBBON ♦

After discovering Renaissance, I spent some time checking out all the amazing patterns and filled my cart with my favorites. #bigsplurge

The patterns, the colors and the details–stunning!

I love to wrap gifts with beautiful ribbon, but I have to be honest, it’s going to be hard to part with these beauties.

Also in the process of discovering Renaissance, I came across the work of artist Karen Appleton. Karen is an amazing artist and has painted a collection of beautifully wrapped gifts featuring gorgeous ribbons and trims. I love her work and her blog!