No. 10  ·  the ribbon issue  ·  autumn

Something to tie you over.

Silk flowers with long, loose tails — for your hair, your coat, and the boy’s t-shirt you never gave back.

read the story
A young woman with a dusty-rose fabric flower pinned in her hair, a thin ribbon falling past her cheek
03.10.26 — glass-block wall, hackney.
Her, mid-thought. Ribbon doing the talking.

i.  a ribbon is a promise

A ribbon is a promise — loosely kept, beautifully.

We start with a length of silk and no plan beyond the first fold. The petals come first, pinched and pressed between finger and thumb. Then the tails: left long, left to wander, left to catch the wind on Kingsland Road.

Nothing is cut to a template. If a petal wants to curl, we let it. Which is why yours won’t match anyone else’s — not your best friend’s, and not ours.

Pin it, knot it, tie it to whatever you love. A ribbon doesn’t ask for much. Only that you wear it like you mean it.

— the workroom, east London

ii.  threaded, a little diary

Three afternoons, one long thread.

A woman against a red-brick wall wearing a grey coat with a large ruffled rose and long cream ribbons
14.10.26 — brick wall, bethnal green.
The long-tailed rose, in oyster. the oyster rose · £95 ·
Close-up of the ruffled rose brooch and trailing cream ribbons on a grey coat
same afternoon
The wind did all the styling.
A woman asleep on white sheets, a dusty-rose flower with ribbon tails tucked in her hair
21.09.26 — sunday, nowhere to be.
Dusty rose, slept in. Still perfect. the sunday rose · £80 ·
A couple lying close; one ribbon brooch on his navy t-shirt, another in her hair
21.09.26, later
And one for him. Matching, but not.
A woman with her collar pulled up to her chin, a grey ruffled rose with long pale ribbons pinned to her coat
02.11.26 — first cold morning.
Grey coat, pale ribbons, collar up. the fog rose · £90 ·
The grey rose brooch with trailing ribbons on a dark wool coat, against a pale wall
02.11.26
Tails long enough to fidget with on the tube.

iii.  how to wear yours

Four ways, no rules.

Pin it where it makes you smile. These are only suggestions.

  1. Close-up of a fabric rose pinned above the ear in dark hair, a ribbon falling past her cheek
    one

    In your hair

    Pin above the ear and let the tails fall past your collar. Messy hair encouraged.

  2. A woman in a cream shawl with a small rosette pinned low by her bag strap
    two

    On a bag strap

    Clip it where the strap meets your hip. Your tote, upgraded. Your commute, slightly cinematic.

  3. A couple on a bed; a cream ribbon rose pinned to his navy t-shirt
    three

    On his tee

    Borrowed, obviously. He’ll pretend not to like it, then wear it to the pub.

  4. A grey wool coat with a large ruffled rose and long ribbons, worn against red brick
    four

    On your coat

    High on the lapel, tails loose. The easiest way to make last year’s coat feel new.

cut, shaped and stitched by hand in london. one at a time, so no two are the same.

the whole point, really

iv.  the next ones

Still on the table, not quite tied.

A cream double rose that refused to stay small. A cobalt one we haven’t named yet. Something for the fur-coat girls.

They go to the letter first. Then they’re gone.

  • A woman sitting cross-legged wearing a cream double-rose brooch on a black vestcream double, nearly done
  • The cream double rose worn by a window with yellow autumn trees outsidewindow-light test
  • A woman in a pale fur coat with a cream rosette, by a glass-block wallfor the fur-coat girls

v.  the letter

Tie a knot — get the letter.

Once a month, sometimes less. First look at the next ones, and the occasional thing we overheard on the night bus.