Angela Liguori
I went through a bit of a ribbon phase a number of years back. It seemed to be having a moment, or perhaps I made it the moment in my collection, but I acquired, it seemed, a massive amount of lovely ribbons: picot edges, satin, velvet, soft cotton. Using it to adorn packages (anything I would dress up, really, even a doorknob in my last Boston apartment), I would covetously collect it and then be slow to part with it, using the very best stuff only for those who would get it, adore its beauty as much as I. Then I found myself looking to pare down, and with glee, I adorned packages generously, wiping out a substantial portion of my stash just so the lid on the ribbon boxes would close again and I could start fresh, with less stuff.
So I really was not looking to collect more. Happy with the smaller, well edited stash I'd culled, I turned to twine (another addiction if we allow it). I'd begun seeing the gorgeous colors and weaves of Angela Liguori's ribbons around, but forbade myself. Then one day I really wanted a swath of this. I ordered some, and the roll came wrapped like an old-fashioned candy, its ends tied with this, in silver. There went my self control. It was Small Business Saturday, I rationalized to myself. It is lovely. So beautiful that it's hard for me to unravel the perfectly round spool, because, well, I'm visual and I like beautiful things. This got me poking around the website to begin, a collaboration between two artists so special I couldn't not. Maybelle has become a dearest friend to me in the past couple of years, and her stunning penmanship atop one of Angela's luxurious (and if I may borrow a phrase from the inimitable and adored Jane Potrykus, utilitarian luxe) ribbons went on the very top of the wish list. These ribbons are a luxury, to be sure, to be savored. Thank you, Angela, and Maybelle, for creating a world in which beautiful is not only acceptable, but also sought and celebrated. See them all here. See if you can resist.
(All images via Angela Liguori and Maybelle Imasa Stukuls)