V V Rouleaux

One thing that we don't have, but I would really love to get someday is ribbon. Yes, we have some ribbon. But what I want is stacks and stacks of ribbon. A wall of color and texture that captures the imagination in a way that fabric and yarn don't. In a way, ribbon is more accessible. It's not as big as fabric or yarn. You don't have to build a whole project specifically from ribbon, instead you can use it to embellish what you already have.

Does anyone remember when we used to have that gorgeous book, Ribbons & Trims by Annabel Lewis? That book was a veritable treasure trove of ribbon ideas. You see, Annabel Lewis is not just the author of a gor

geous book about ribbon; she is the high priestess of trims, the Chanel of passementerie. She is the owner of V V Rouleaux.

V V Rouleaux opened in London in 1990 and that Aladdin's cave of ribbon refueled public excitement about the product. Lewis was bringing in ribbon that people had never seen before and when she acquired another company, Distinctive Trimmings, her trim world was complete.

Of course she had to go one step further and she started V V Rouleaux atelier, where products are designed with a passementerie theme and are inspired by an archive collection of ribbons and trimmings.

I have to admit that I'm a little bit concerned. For our future trip to London I have been making notes of places to go to. I'm kind of afraid that once I go into V V Rouleaux I may never come back out. Or that I might go ribbon crazy and before I know it am maxed out my Visa on trims. E won't be any help, she'll be doing the same thing, so I guess I'll have to make sure J goes with me. He knows my weakness, I can only hope he can reign me in.