The value that I learned in my childhood during visits to my apple-peeling
favorite grandma is of an intangible nature. The time she
gave me, the peace, the new impressions... And yet this bracelet is a unique memento that I have from her alongside the family's textile cultural heritage, and which connects me to her and reminds me of her: The bracelet is made of white and yellow gold, a soft material that bends very easily... For me, it embodies my grandmother's life, which was not only black and white. My grandmother was born at the beginning of the 20th century; she survived two world wars in the prime of her life in the countryside with hard field work and great deprivation. She grew the flax herself, which she harvested, hacked... and much more, until she was able to spin the brittle material into yarn, weave it at night by candlelight on a large, room-filling loom, and then refine it for her three daughters in the form of table linens and bed linen, white linen with embroidered elements - often identity-forming monograms - as a valuable dowry.
I inherited these tablecloths as a granddaughter from one of her daughters
and they are not just decorative accessories in my home.
The diverse textile surfaces tell stories, just as my grandmother told me stories on vacation. They became part of my family and personal cultural memory, as it was only much later that I turned my grandmother's and my mother's handicrafts into a profession, unconsciously developing them further, and incorporating much of their cultural heritage into my profession and my passion.
A Story of Respect Grandma's Bracelet→
Much more important, however, is the memory of the time my grandma gave me during the holidays, the stories we shared together, the attention and appreciation I received from her and she from me. I know how hard
their lives must have felt like at times, and yet I also know the soft side of this generation...
The bracelet and the fabrics made by my grandmother are seemingly so opposite and yet only different in the material: white and yellow (white
and black ...) threads are interwoven when a thread is raised or lowered – in the weaving process – in life ...
It wasn't until much later that I realized how influential this family legacy was in my life—both personally and professionally. This value is lasting; it shapes my life—every day: I smile when I look at the bracelet on my wrist.
