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”: three Moroccan artisanal crafts
The episode is titled “How Morocco’s Ancient Crafts Are Still Made Today.” Condé Nast Traveller follows three individuals: Oualid Namous, from Nomades de Marrakech, for rug weaving; artist and designer Yahya for metalwork; and Valérie Barkowski for tassels.
This choice places the tassel on the same level as rugs and metalwork, two recognized pillars of Moroccan craftsmanship. Belgian by birth, settled in Morocco for thirty years, Valérie Barkowski summarizes it in one sentence: “In a way, the tassel has accompanied me for thirty years.”
Thirty years of Moroccan tassels
It all starts in northern Morocco with the mendil, the striped cloth women wear around their hips when going to the fields. “Women would pull threads and make small tassels at the edge of their mendils, and I found it so beautiful.” The story of this encounter and the first model born from it is told in our article 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 (pillowcases, sheets, duvet covers), 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 good Moroccan tassel
In the episode, Valérie Barkowski describes her craft through measurement: “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 in her Marrakech workshop, where each step has its dedicated person.
Cutting, stitching, quality control
Abdelilah prepares the cut: several layers of fabric stacked, the marking, then the cutting with a 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 order described in the article on bespoke hotel linens. Myriem handles ironing, checking each piece, and 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 Moroccan tassels one by one.
Working from 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”: three Moroccan artisanal crafts
The episode is titled “How Morocco’s Ancient Crafts Are Still Made Today.” Condé Nast Traveller follows three individuals: Oualid Namous, from Nomades de Marrakech, for rug weaving; artist and designer Yahya for metalwork; and Valérie Barkowski for tassels.
This choice places the tassel on the same level as rugs and metalwork, two recognized pillars of Moroccan craftsmanship. Belgian by birth, settled in Morocco for thirty years, Valérie Barkowski summarizes it in one sentence: “In a way, the tassel has accompanied me for thirty years.”
Thirty years of Moroccan tassels
It all starts in northern Morocco with the mendil, the striped cloth women wear around their hips when going to the fields. “Women would pull threads and make small tassels at the edge of their mendils, and I found it so beautiful.” The story of this encounter and the first model born from it is told in our article 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 (pillowcases, sheets, duvet covers), 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 good Moroccan tassel
In the episode, Valérie Barkowski describes her craft through measurement: “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 in her Marrakech workshop, where each step has its dedicated person.
Cutting, stitching, quality control
Abdelilah prepares the cut: several layers of fabric stacked, the marking, then the cutting with a 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 order described in the article on bespoke hotel linens. Myriem handles ironing, checking each piece, and 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 Moroccan tassels one by one.
Working from 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.