Nanjing · Jiangsu provincial intangible cultural heritage, 2007
Flowers
made of silk,
held by wire.
Ronghua is the Chinese craft of silk flowers shaped over copper wire. We make hairpins, brooches, bridal pieces and wedding crowns, one petal at a time, in a studio in Nanjing.
- Material
- Mulberry silk
- Frame
- Copper wire
- Studio
- Nanjing, CN
A flower that holds its shape
for decades.
Most silk flowers sold today are polyester shaped over plastic. Ours are mulberry silk pulled over copper wire by hand, then dyed and shaped before the silk dries. The colour sits inside the fibre, which is why a piece can be worn for a wedding and still be worn twenty years later.
The craft was listed as Jiangsu provincial intangible cultural heritage in 2007. There are very few people left who can stretch a petal cleanly, and most of them work alone.
Silk, not polyester
Dyed mulberry silk floss. It moves and catches light the way fabric does, because it is fabric.
Wire, not glue
Every petal is built on its own copper loop. That is what lets a piece be reshaped after travel.
Repairable by design
Petals are bound, not sealed. A crushed flower can usually be opened and re-shaped by hand.
Four stages, no shortcuts.
The full processDyeing the floss
染色
Mulberry silk floss is dyed in small batches, one colour at a time. A petal can hold three shades, so the flowers read as cloth rather than as plastic.
Stretching the silk
劈绒
Each petal starts as a loop of copper wire. Silk is stretched over the loop by hand until the surface is taut and slightly translucent. No two petals are identical.
Shaping
打尖
Petals are pinched, curled and pressed into shape while the silk is still workable. This is where a camellia and a plum blossom stop looking like the same flower.
Assembly
传花
Petals are bound onto the stem in layers, then the finished piece is set into a hairpin, comb, brooch back or frame. A bridal crown can take four to five weeks.
The collection
Four ways to wear a flower.
Bridal
Made for one day, kept for longer.
A bridal crown takes four to five weeks. It is built on a padded band so the weight sits across the head, with peonies shaped in three sizes and set slightly off centre.
When you order, we ask for a photograph of the planned hairstyle and a swatch of the dress fabric. Ivory is not one colour, and a flower matched to a phone screen is the most common reason a piece looks wrong on the day.
The Silk Circle
The dye deepens with every order.
Membership is automatic. Five dye tiers, a discount that rises with lifetime spend, and a point for every dollar. There is nothing to apply for.
Silk White
Every member
Celadon
US$150
Saffron
US$400
Rouge
US$900
Cinnabar
US$1,800
First editions, before they are listed.
New flowers are made in small batches and often sold before they reach the shop. Leave an email and we will write when the next batch is ready.