{"id":13633,"date":"2026-06-20T12:16:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T10:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/?p=13633"},"modified":"2026-10-08T18:36:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T16:36:53","slug":"handmade-tassel-bath-towel-the-original","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/handmade-tassel-bath-towel-the-original\/","title":{"rendered":"Handmade tassel bath towel: the original"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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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.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u00a9 Tania Panova<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Rif, the mendil, and Hadoum<\/h2>

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 Fran\u00e7oise 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.<\/span><\/p>

What did exist was the <\/span>mendil<\/b>, 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 <\/span>Moroccan textile craftsmanship<\/b>. Without yet knowing that a home linen brand was forming in my mind.<\/span><\/p>

Hadoum, the cook of the rented house, spent the winter with her friends making <\/span>“chichiates”<\/span><\/i>, 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 <\/span>handcrafted bath linen<\/b> with tassels. Neither she nor I realized, at that moment, what this encounter would trigger.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u00a9 Tania Panova<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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From the chichiatte to the handmade tassel bath towel<\/h2>

The idea came from the tasselled fabrics of the Rif. Transposing this know-how onto <\/span>handcrafted bath linen from Morocco<\/b>: a <\/span>handmade tassel bath towel<\/b>, 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.<\/span><\/p>

This model would become the seal of the V.Barkowski brand. The press seized upon it quickly. The <\/span>handmade tassel bath towels<\/b> 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.<\/span><\/p>

In 1996, there was not a single <\/span>“chichiatte”<\/span><\/i> in Marrakech, nor in Essaouira, nor in any city in southern Morocco. This <\/span>Moroccan textile craft<\/b> 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.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u00a9 Cilou de Bruyn<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Three years, one customer, a thread that held<\/h2>

The complexity of the <\/span>handmade tassel from Marrakech<\/b> 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 <\/span>handcrafted bath linen<\/b> to the desired standards. Training the artisans, adjusting every detail of production, finding the right balance between density and suppleness.<\/span><\/p>

Exactly three years after that first season in the Rif, Fran\u00e7oise Dorget was contacted to become the first customer. The stakes were clear: if she did not take this <\/span>handmade tassel bath towel<\/b>, 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.<\/span><\/p>

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.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u00a9 Delphine Warin<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What success and copies taught me<\/h2>

The visibility of the <\/span>handmade tassel bath towel<\/b> 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.<\/span><\/p>

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.<\/span><\/p>

Customers, however, know how to tell the difference. Some come to the boutique with <\/span>handmade tassels<\/b> bought elsewhere, frayed after a few washes, to ask if it is possible to replace them. The answer is always yes.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u00a9Tania Panova<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Collection Lamu : le m\u00eame savoir-faire depuis 1997<\/h2>

La<\/span>collection Lamu V.Barkowski<\/b>est la collection qui a fait conna\u00eetre la marque. N\u00e9s du<\/span>mendil<\/b>du Rif, les pompons sont fabriqu\u00e9s aujourd’hui dans l’atelier de la m\u00e9dina de Marrakech avec les m\u00eames gestes, le m\u00eame coton peign\u00e9 700 g\/m\u00b2, les m\u00eames artisan.e.s dont certain.e.s travaillent avec nous depuis plus de vingt ans.<\/span><\/p>

La<\/span>serviette de bain \u00e0 pompons faits main<\/b>Lamu n’a pas chang\u00e9 depuis 1997. Parce qu’il n’y avait aucune raison de la changer. Bord\u00e9e sur toute la largeur des extr\u00e9mit\u00e9s, des pompons cousus un \u00e0 un : c’est tout. C’est suffisant. C’est ce qui dure.<\/span><\/p>

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 <\/span>handmade tassel bath towel<\/b>. Not just to a trend. The <\/span>Lamu collection<\/b> is proof that a well-designed object, born of true craftsmanship, does not need to be reinvented to stand the test of time.<\/span><\/p>

\u2192 Discover the Lamu collection on the V.Barkowski e-shop<\/a><\/span><\/p>

\u2192 Bed linen Ilan collection on the V.Barkowski e-shop<\/a><\/span><\/p>

\u2192 Handcrafted home linen production in Morocco in our V.Barkowski journal<\/a><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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FAQ – Handmade tassel bath towel<\/h2>

Where does the V.Barkowski handmade tassel bath towel come from?<\/h3>

It was born in 1997, inspired by the <\/span>mendil<\/b>, 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 <\/span>“chichiates”<\/span><\/i>, the tassels that adorn these traditional fabrics. The tassels of the <\/span>Lamu collection<\/b> have been handmade in the V.Barkowski workshop, medina of Marrakech, since 1997.<\/span><\/p>

What is the difference between a handmade tassel bath towel and an industrial model?<\/h3>

A <\/span>Marrakech handmade tassel<\/b> is dense, uniform, and designed to withstand years of washing at 40\u00b0C. 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.<\/span><\/p>

Is the tassel bath towel available made to order?<\/h3>

Yes. On all <\/span>handmade tassel bath towels<\/b> from the <\/span>V.Barkowski Lamu collection<\/b>, 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.<\/span><\/p>

How do you care for a handmade tassel bath towel?<\/h3>

Machine wash at 40\u00b0, delicate cycle. Air dry. No bleaching agents. The 700 g\/m\u00b2 combed cotton gains softness with each wash: the opposite of an industrial towel whose short fibre collapses after a few cycles.<\/span><\/p>

Where can I buy the V.Barkowski Lamu collection?<\/h3>

In the boutique: 142 Arset Aouzel, Dar El Bacha, medina of Marrakech, every day 10am\u20137pm.<\/span>or on our <\/span>e-shop<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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