On October 7, 2026, Condé Nast Traveler dedicated an episode of its “Made In” video series to three ancient Moroccan skills: rug weaving, metalwork, and Moroccan tassels. The final chapter, starting at 8 minutes 39, was filmed with Valérie Barkowski in her Marrakech workshop and her medina boutique.
‘Made In’ showcases three Moroccan craft trades
The episode is entitled ‘How Morocco’s Ancient Crafts Are Still Made Today’. In it, Condé Nast Traveler follows three people: Oualid Namous, from Les Nomades de Marrakech, who weaves carpets; the artist and designer Yahya, who works with metal; and Valérie Barkowski, who makes pompoms.
This choice places pompons on a par with carpets and metalwork, two recognised pillars of Moroccan craftsmanship.
Thirty years of Moroccan tassels
“In a way, the tassel has accompanied me for thirty years,” Valérie explains in this sequence.
It all begins in northern Morocco with the mendil, the striped cloth women wear on their hips when going to the fields. “The women would pull threads and make small tassels along the edge of their mendils, and I found it so beautiful.” The story of this encounter and the first piece born from it is told in our article on the handmade tassel bath towel: the original.
From home linens to objects
“In Morocco, tassels have taken a large place in my activity,” she says in the video. Valérie Barkowski’s Moroccan tassels are found on bath linens, bed linens, and table linens. They also adorn terracotta lamps, babouches, and necklaces. For a time, they were even attached to the brand’s labels.
What makes a quality Moroccan tassel
In the episode, Valérie Barkowski describes her craft and its demands for precision: “With tassels, it’s the thickness of the tassel, it’s its length, it’s the way the thread is twisted.” A Moroccan tassel that is too loose or poorly twisted frays in the wash. Quality lies in these details, and the whole workshop knows it: “It must last as long as possible.“
This standard requires time. The first collection took three years to develop—more than a thousand days, she recalls. “If you don’t have patience, I think you cannot succeed, nor make a quality product.”
The end of the sequence follows Valérie Barkowski through her Marrakech workshop, where each step is handled by one person.
Cutting, stitching, inspection
Abdelilah prepares the cutting: several layers of fabric stacked, the tracing, then cutting with the large knife. At the stitching station, Hadija and Fatima work on machines. In the video, Hadija is making fitted sheets for a hotel project, the type of commission described in the article on bespoke hotel linens. Myriem handles the ironing and inspection of each piece, and the packaging.
Embroidery and tassels
Ismael, Mustafa, and Malika, the embroiderers, have worked with Valérie Barkowski for a long time, each on different techniques. They are seen hand-embroidering cords that will later receive tassels, embroidering small cushions, and shaping the Moroccan tassels one by one.
Work at home
The chapter also addresses the social dimension of the craft. Many women cannot work outside their homes. The workshop therefore set up a system allowing them to take work home and bring it back when they can. At one point, Valérie Barkowski counted up to 500 embroiderers. “They suddenly understood that with their hands, they could do something and, above all, make a living from it.”
Moroccan tassels, an evolving tradition
The tassel exists in many cultures. “India has its own tassels. Greece perhaps has others. Morocco has its own.” What interests Valérie Barkowski is this identity unique to each country, and the freedom to revisit it, to divert it, to make something else of it.
Hence a clear position: “I don’t talk about saving a tradition, because traditions evolve.” The episode ends on the next generation: “A young woman in Morocco will not have the same tastes as her grandmother or her mother, but if she can buy something that comes from her culture, I find that fantastic.”
The Moroccan tassels filmed by Condé Nast Traveler tell this journey: a gesture observed in northern Morocco, which in thirty years became the signature of a Marrakech workshop, and one of the contemporary faces of Moroccan craftsmanship.
What is the Condé Nast Traveler “Made In” episode on Morocco?
It is a video published on October 7, 2026, on the Condé Nast Traveler YouTube channel, titled “How Morocco’s Ancient Crafts Are Still Made Today.” It features three skills: rug weaving, metalwork, and Valérie Barkowski’s Moroccan tassels (starting at 8 minutes 39).
Where are Valérie Barkowski’s Moroccan tassels made?
In her Marrakech workshop, by embroiderers, some of whom work from home according to a system established by the workshop.
On which objects can these tassels be found?
On bath, bed, and table linens, on ceramic lamps, babouches, and necklaces created as unique pieces. Available pieces are gathered on this page of the e-shop.
Moroccan tassels: the workshop filmed by Condé Nast Traveler
On October 7, 2026, Condé Nast Traveler dedicated an episode of its “Made In” video series to three ancient Moroccan skills: rug weaving, metalwork, and Moroccan tassels. The final chapter, starting at 8 minutes 39, was filmed with Valérie Barkowski in her Marrakech workshop and her medina boutique.
‘Made In’ showcases three Moroccan craft trades
The episode is entitled ‘How Morocco’s Ancient Crafts Are Still Made Today’. In it, Condé Nast Traveler follows three people: Oualid Namous, from Les Nomades de Marrakech, who weaves carpets; the artist and designer Yahya, who works with metal; and Valérie Barkowski, who makes pompoms.
This choice places pompons on a par with carpets and metalwork, two recognised pillars of Moroccan craftsmanship.
Thirty years of Moroccan tassels
“In a way, the tassel has accompanied me for thirty years,” Valérie explains in this sequence.
It all begins in northern Morocco with the mendil, the striped cloth women wear on their hips when going to the fields. “The women would pull threads and make small tassels along the edge of their mendils, and I found it so beautiful.” The story of this encounter and the first piece born from it is told in our article on the handmade tassel bath towel: the original.
From home linens to objects
“In Morocco, tassels have taken a large place in my activity,” she says in the video. Valérie Barkowski’s Moroccan tassels are found on bath linens, bed linens, and table linens. They also adorn terracotta lamps, babouches, and necklaces. For a time, they were even attached to the brand’s labels.
What makes a quality Moroccan tassel
In the episode, Valérie Barkowski describes her craft and its demands for precision: “With tassels, it’s the thickness of the tassel, it’s its length, it’s the way the thread is twisted.” A Moroccan tassel that is too loose or poorly twisted frays in the wash. Quality lies in these details, and the whole workshop knows it: “It must last as long as possible.“
This standard requires time. The first collection took three years to develop—more than a thousand days, she recalls. “If you don’t have patience, I think you cannot succeed, nor make a quality product.”
The Marrakech workshop, station by station
The end of the sequence follows Valérie Barkowski through her Marrakech workshop, where each step is handled by one person.
Cutting, stitching, inspection
Abdelilah prepares the cutting: several layers of fabric stacked, the tracing, then cutting with the large knife. At the stitching station, Hadija and Fatima work on machines. In the video, Hadija is making fitted sheets for a hotel project, the type of commission described in the article on bespoke hotel linens. Myriem handles the ironing and inspection of each piece, and the packaging.
Embroidery and tassels
Ismael, Mustafa, and Malika, the embroiderers, have worked with Valérie Barkowski for a long time, each on different techniques. They are seen hand-embroidering cords that will later receive tassels, embroidering small cushions, and shaping the Moroccan tassels one by one.
Work at home
The chapter also addresses the social dimension of the craft. Many women cannot work outside their homes. The workshop therefore set up a system allowing them to take work home and bring it back when they can. At one point, Valérie Barkowski counted up to 500 embroiderers. “They suddenly understood that with their hands, they could do something and, above all, make a living from it.”
Moroccan tassels, an evolving tradition
The tassel exists in many cultures. “India has its own tassels. Greece perhaps has others. Morocco has its own.” What interests Valérie Barkowski is this identity unique to each country, and the freedom to revisit it, to divert it, to make something else of it.
Hence a clear position: “I don’t talk about saving a tradition, because traditions evolve.” The episode ends on the next generation: “A young woman in Morocco will not have the same tastes as her grandmother or her mother, but if she can buy something that comes from her culture, I find that fantastic.”
The Moroccan tassels filmed by Condé Nast Traveler tell this journey: a gesture observed in northern Morocco, which in thirty years became the signature of a Marrakech workshop, and one of the contemporary faces of Moroccan craftsmanship.
→ View all tassel pieces on the e-shop
→ Discover the V.Barkowski boutique in the Marrakech medina
→ Read about the origin of the tassel bath towel
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Condé Nast Traveler “Made In” episode on Morocco?
It is a video published on October 7, 2026, on the Condé Nast Traveler YouTube channel, titled “How Morocco’s Ancient Crafts Are Still Made Today.” It features three skills: rug weaving, metalwork, and Valérie Barkowski’s Moroccan tassels (starting at 8 minutes 39).
Where are Valérie Barkowski’s Moroccan tassels made?
In her Marrakech workshop, by embroiderers, some of whom work from home according to a system established by the workshop.
On which objects can these tassels be found?
On bath, bed, and table linens, on ceramic lamps, babouches, and necklaces created as unique pieces. Available pieces are gathered on this page of the e-shop.