In 1997, the first handmade tassel bath towel left a workshop in Marrakech. It did not have a name yet. It featured tassels sewn one by one across the entire width of the ends, thick cotton, and a story that began a year earlier in the Rif. Today, this model exists all over the world in various forms. In hotel rooms. In showrooms in India. What does not exist everywhere is what preceded it: the original gesture, the woman who passed it on, and the chain of coincidences that triggered everything.
It was a house in northern Morocco that changed everything. A friend mentioned it, in the Rif. We went there, without internet, without knowing anything about the region. The owner’s name was Françoise Dorget. Four years later, she would become the brand’s first customer, with her boutique Caravane in Paris. In 1996, none of this existed yet.
What did exist was the mendil, a hand-woven striped fabric that the women of the Rif wear on their hips when working in the fields. Antique pieces to be sought from Tangier to Tetouan, via Chefchaouen, Ouezzane, and Ksar el Kebir. A passion was born for these expressions of northern Moroccan textile craftsmanship. Without yet knowing that a home linen brand was forming in my mind.
Hadoum, the cook of the rented house, spent the winter with her friends making “chichiates”, the name for tassels in the Rif. These small tassels decorate traditional fabrics, a way of dressing unique to the region. She would become the very first artisan entrusted with the first production of handcrafted bath linen with tassels. Neither she nor I realized, at that moment, what this encounter would trigger.
From the chichiatte to the handmade tassel bath towel
The idea came from the tasselled fabrics of the Rif. Transposing this know-how onto handcrafted bath linen from Morocco: a handmade tassel bath towel, bordered across the entire width of both ends. Tassels sewn one by one, by needle, exactly as the artisans of the Rif have made them for their fabrics for generations.
This model would become the seal of the V.Barkowski brand. The press seized upon it quickly. The handmade tassel bath towels travelled the world on glossy paper. The model was copied, reproduced, adapted by numerous brands across the world, all the way to showrooms in India, without its origin ever being mentioned.
In 1996, there was not a single “chichiatte” in Marrakech, nor in Essaouira, nor in any city in southern Morocco. This Moroccan textile craft had belonged to the Rif since the dawn of time. We trained 1, then 2, then 3, 4, 5, 10, 50, 100, 200 women and men to make these small tassels. After bath linen, the tassels moved to scarves, then table linen, then bed linen. Thousands of people have earned their living with this specific expertise throughout Morocco.
The complexity of the handmade tassel from Marrakech taught me patience. Three years to finalize the first collection. In Morocco in the 1990s, finding good cotton was a challenge: the cotton had to be imported, and it took time to find a company capable of making handcrafted bath linen to the desired standards. Training the artisans, adjusting every detail of production, finding the right balance between density and suppleness.
Exactly three years after that first season in the Rif, Françoise Dorget was contacted to become the first customer. The stakes were clear: if she did not take this handmade tassel bath towel, no one in 2000 was, in my view, in a position to sell these products. Her world at Caravane was perfect to represent them. She took them.
The butterfly effect of simply choosing a house in the Rif rather than in Essaouira. It is dizzying when you think about it. Even today.
The visibility of the handmade tassel bath towel V.Barkowski had effects far beyond bath linen. Franchise offers, contract proposals of all kinds, requests to design houses in Marrakech. This recognition above all gave the brand a foundation, introduced its world as a whole and, concretely, strengthened the visibility of the boutiques. The tassels contributed greatly to this, even if it was the brand as a whole that benefited.
The mistake was not having registered the design. The copies nevertheless made it clear that something real had been created. When you are young and still seeking recognition, that validation has its importance.
Customers, however, know how to tell the difference. Some come to the boutique with handmade tassels bought elsewhere, frayed after a few washes, to ask if it is possible to replace them. The answer is always yes.
Collection Lamu : le même savoir-faire depuis 1997
Lacollection Lamu V.Barkowskiest la collection qui a fait connaître la marque. Nés dumendildu Rif, les pompons sont fabriqués aujourd’hui dans l’atelier de la médina de Marrakech avec les mêmes gestes, le même coton peigné 700 g/m², les mêmes artisan.e.s dont certain.e.s travaillent avec nous depuis plus de vingt ans.
Laserviette de bain à pompons faits mainLamu n’a pas changé depuis 1997. Parce qu’il n’y avait aucune raison de la changer. Bordée sur toute la largeur des extrémités, des pompons cousus un à un : c’est tout. C’est suffisant. C’est ce qui dure.
This is what the boutique in Marrakech has confirmed every day for twenty-eight years: long-standing customers who return to express their attachment to this handmade tassel bath towel. Not just to a trend. The Lamu collection is proof that a well-designed object, born of true craftsmanship, does not need to be reinvented to stand the test of time.
Where does the V.Barkowski handmade tassel bath towel come from?
It was born in 1997, inspired by the mendil, the traditional striped fabric of the women of the Moroccan Rif. The first production was entrusted to Hadoum, an artisan from the Rif, and her friends who make “chichiates”, the tassels that adorn these traditional fabrics. The tassels of the Lamu collection have been handmade in the V.Barkowski workshop, medina of Marrakech, since 1997.
What is the difference between a handmade tassel bath towel and an industrial model?
A Marrakech handmade tassel is dense, uniform, and designed to withstand years of washing at 40°C. It is sewn by hand, one by one, with fade-resistant thread. An industrial tassel reproduces the look without the technique: after a few washes, it frays. Customers who come to the boutique with imitation tassels to have them replaced regularly attest to this.
Is the tassel bath towel available made to order?
Yes. On all handmade tassel bath towels from the V.Barkowski Lamu collection, the colour of the tassels can be customized: by choosing a solid or multicolour shade from our ranges, or by Pantone reference or colour sample. Contact: sales@valeriebarkowski.com. Lead time: 2 to 4 weeks.
How do you care for a handmade tassel bath towel?
Machine wash at 40°, delicate cycle. Air dry. No bleaching agents. The 700 g/m² combed cotton gains softness with each wash: the opposite of an industrial towel whose short fibre collapses after a few cycles.
Where can I buy the V.Barkowski Lamu collection?
In the boutique: 142 Arset Aouzel, Dar El Bacha, medina of Marrakech, every day 10am–7pm. or on our e-shop.
Handcrafted linens foster a different relationship with everyday objects. They connect material, use, and craftsmanship in a discernible continuum. Choosing this type of linen means prioritizing a controlled production, designed for longevity, mindful of the techniques and the individuals who make it possible. Handcrafted Home Linens: A Different Approach to Production Handcrafted home linens are …
In 1996, Valérie Barkowski moved to Marrakech. In the alleyways of the medina, she noticed men working outdoors, along the walls. They were everywhere. She did not yet understand what they were doing. She moved closer. They were Moroccan twisted-thread makers – an ancestral trade, discreet, rooted in the quarter for generations. Along the walls, …
Handmade tassel bath towel: the original
In 1997, the first handmade tassel bath towel left a workshop in Marrakech. It did not have a name yet. It featured tassels sewn one by one across the entire width of the ends, thick cotton, and a story that began a year earlier in the Rif.
Today, this model exists all over the world in various forms. In hotel rooms. In showrooms in India. What does not exist everywhere is what preceded it: the original gesture, the woman who passed it on, and the chain of coincidences that triggered everything.
The Rif, the mendil, and Hadoum
It was a house in northern Morocco that changed everything. A friend mentioned it, in the Rif. We went there, without internet, without knowing anything about the region. The owner’s name was Françoise Dorget. Four years later, she would become the brand’s first customer, with her boutique Caravane in Paris. In 1996, none of this existed yet.
What did exist was the mendil, a hand-woven striped fabric that the women of the Rif wear on their hips when working in the fields. Antique pieces to be sought from Tangier to Tetouan, via Chefchaouen, Ouezzane, and Ksar el Kebir. A passion was born for these expressions of northern Moroccan textile craftsmanship. Without yet knowing that a home linen brand was forming in my mind.
Hadoum, the cook of the rented house, spent the winter with her friends making “chichiates”, the name for tassels in the Rif. These small tassels decorate traditional fabrics, a way of dressing unique to the region. She would become the very first artisan entrusted with the first production of handcrafted bath linen with tassels. Neither she nor I realized, at that moment, what this encounter would trigger.
From the chichiatte to the handmade tassel bath towel
The idea came from the tasselled fabrics of the Rif. Transposing this know-how onto handcrafted bath linen from Morocco: a handmade tassel bath towel, bordered across the entire width of both ends. Tassels sewn one by one, by needle, exactly as the artisans of the Rif have made them for their fabrics for generations.
This model would become the seal of the V.Barkowski brand. The press seized upon it quickly. The handmade tassel bath towels travelled the world on glossy paper. The model was copied, reproduced, adapted by numerous brands across the world, all the way to showrooms in India, without its origin ever being mentioned.
In 1996, there was not a single “chichiatte” in Marrakech, nor in Essaouira, nor in any city in southern Morocco. This Moroccan textile craft had belonged to the Rif since the dawn of time. We trained 1, then 2, then 3, 4, 5, 10, 50, 100, 200 women and men to make these small tassels. After bath linen, the tassels moved to scarves, then table linen, then bed linen. Thousands of people have earned their living with this specific expertise throughout Morocco.
Three years, one customer, a thread that held
The complexity of the handmade tassel from Marrakech taught me patience. Three years to finalize the first collection. In Morocco in the 1990s, finding good cotton was a challenge: the cotton had to be imported, and it took time to find a company capable of making handcrafted bath linen to the desired standards. Training the artisans, adjusting every detail of production, finding the right balance between density and suppleness.
Exactly three years after that first season in the Rif, Françoise Dorget was contacted to become the first customer. The stakes were clear: if she did not take this handmade tassel bath towel, no one in 2000 was, in my view, in a position to sell these products. Her world at Caravane was perfect to represent them. She took them.
The butterfly effect of simply choosing a house in the Rif rather than in Essaouira. It is dizzying when you think about it. Even today.
What success and copies taught me
The visibility of the handmade tassel bath towel V.Barkowski had effects far beyond bath linen. Franchise offers, contract proposals of all kinds, requests to design houses in Marrakech. This recognition above all gave the brand a foundation, introduced its world as a whole and, concretely, strengthened the visibility of the boutiques. The tassels contributed greatly to this, even if it was the brand as a whole that benefited.
The mistake was not having registered the design. The copies nevertheless made it clear that something real had been created. When you are young and still seeking recognition, that validation has its importance.
Customers, however, know how to tell the difference. Some come to the boutique with handmade tassels bought elsewhere, frayed after a few washes, to ask if it is possible to replace them. The answer is always yes.
Collection Lamu : le même savoir-faire depuis 1997
Lacollection Lamu V.Barkowskiest la collection qui a fait connaître la marque. Nés dumendildu Rif, les pompons sont fabriqués aujourd’hui dans l’atelier de la médina de Marrakech avec les mêmes gestes, le même coton peigné 700 g/m², les mêmes artisan.e.s dont certain.e.s travaillent avec nous depuis plus de vingt ans.
Laserviette de bain à pompons faits mainLamu n’a pas changé depuis 1997. Parce qu’il n’y avait aucune raison de la changer. Bordée sur toute la largeur des extrémités, des pompons cousus un à un : c’est tout. C’est suffisant. C’est ce qui dure.
This is what the boutique in Marrakech has confirmed every day for twenty-eight years: long-standing customers who return to express their attachment to this handmade tassel bath towel. Not just to a trend. The Lamu collection is proof that a well-designed object, born of true craftsmanship, does not need to be reinvented to stand the test of time.
→ Discover the Lamu collection on the V.Barkowski e-shop
→ Bed linen Ilan collection on the V.Barkowski e-shop
→ Handcrafted home linen production in Morocco in our V.Barkowski journal
FAQ – Handmade tassel bath towel
Where does the V.Barkowski handmade tassel bath towel come from?
It was born in 1997, inspired by the mendil, the traditional striped fabric of the women of the Moroccan Rif. The first production was entrusted to Hadoum, an artisan from the Rif, and her friends who make “chichiates”, the tassels that adorn these traditional fabrics. The tassels of the Lamu collection have been handmade in the V.Barkowski workshop, medina of Marrakech, since 1997.
What is the difference between a handmade tassel bath towel and an industrial model?
A Marrakech handmade tassel is dense, uniform, and designed to withstand years of washing at 40°C. It is sewn by hand, one by one, with fade-resistant thread. An industrial tassel reproduces the look without the technique: after a few washes, it frays. Customers who come to the boutique with imitation tassels to have them replaced regularly attest to this.
Is the tassel bath towel available made to order?
Yes. On all handmade tassel bath towels from the V.Barkowski Lamu collection, the colour of the tassels can be customized: by choosing a solid or multicolour shade from our ranges, or by Pantone reference or colour sample. Contact: sales@valeriebarkowski.com. Lead time: 2 to 4 weeks.
How do you care for a handmade tassel bath towel?
Machine wash at 40°, delicate cycle. Air dry. No bleaching agents. The 700 g/m² combed cotton gains softness with each wash: the opposite of an industrial towel whose short fibre collapses after a few cycles.
Where can I buy the V.Barkowski Lamu collection?
In the boutique: 142 Arset Aouzel, Dar El Bacha, medina of Marrakech, every day 10am–7pm.
or on our e-shop.
LAMU Guest Towels – Set of 2
LAMU Hand Towel
LAMU Shower Towel
The press talks about it
Related Posts
Why Choose Handcrafted Home Linens?
Handcrafted linens foster a different relationship with everyday objects. They connect material, use, and craftsmanship in a discernible continuum. Choosing this type of linen means prioritizing a controlled production, designed for longevity, mindful of the techniques and the individuals who make it possible. Handcrafted Home Linens: A Different Approach to Production Handcrafted home linens are …
The Manufacturing Secrets of Our AYA Home Linen
In the manufacturing of V.Barkowski home linen, everything begins with a thread ball. It is hand-closed, stitch by stitch, with a simple needle. Once finished, it is sewn, one by one, onto the edge of the linen. This is AYA, conceived in 1997, and produced continuously ever since. © Tania Panova 1996: A Djellaba Button …
Moroccan Twisted Thread: An Ancestral Craft Applied to Bed and Table Linen
In 1996, Valérie Barkowski moved to Marrakech. In the alleyways of the medina, she noticed men working outdoors, along the walls. They were everywhere. She did not yet understand what they were doing. She moved closer. They were Moroccan twisted-thread makers – an ancestral trade, discreet, rooted in the quarter for generations. Along the walls, …