Saxon Silk Flowers
We have antiquarian hunted down this wonderful article from 1907 by M. von Brück and simply cannot withhold from you the beautiful description of our Boutonnière place of origin. Note: We have retained the original spelling from the Imperial era. (Original article from 1907 as PDF)
In Sebnitz our beautiful silk flowers are handcrafted. The picturesque place is located in the Saxon Switzerland near the Bohemian border.
"It hasn't been long since our world ladies absolutely had to wear Parisian products of this kind. Yes, even today, in many 'salons', the prices of the most beautiful and faithful imitations of Flora's children are made more acceptable with the assurance that they are 'Parisian flowers'."
The beautiful Otero in a lavishly decorated dress with so-called "Parisian ball flowers." These artistic blooms allowed the same dress to be presented in a constantly new way with different decorations. Sustainability in 1900 and not infrequently "Made in Germany."
"Certainly, many of these shops really source many of their finest flowers from France. But even if every German product there had to be labeled "made in Germany," not very many of these wonderful, fairy-like flowers would be allowed to enter the market without such a designation."
The beautifully situated Saxon Sebnitz in the year 1911 on a contemporary postcard.
The Saxon Flower Village
"For the most beautiful, the most lifelike Parisian ball flowers come from the industrious Saxony, where entire villages, by the way, substantial settlements that hardly deserve the name village, are almost exclusively engaged in flower manufacturing. The relatively high prices of beautiful artificial flowers are, by the way, not unjustified, for in their production, human hands must do most, indeed almost everything."
"In the past as today, skilled hands are responsible for the creation of sophisticated silk artificial flowers."
"And it must be skillful hands, guided by almost artistic feeling, if one is to bestow upon their creations that highest praise that can be given to an artificial flower at all: They look as if freshly picked from the stem."
At the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, there were more than 200 larger and smaller companies in this industry in Sebnitz. They employed up to 15,000 people during times of economic upturn, of which about 90% were home workers.
"In many families, this craftsmanship is passed down through generations, and naturally, it is mostly women who create the finest and most natural artificial flowers. Such generations of flower makers are housed in the beautiful and large village of Sebnitz in Saxony, where almost everything revolves around flower manufacturing."
Silk flowers made in Saxony still find their way into the world today. Here: Meneer Bom in Delft with our boutonnière Waldsauerklee on the lapel. International orders mainly reach us today from Austria, Great Britain, Sweden, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
Handicraft in flower manufacturing
"The ordinary varieties are indeed produced through mass production, but even here, handwork cannot be dispensed with; however, it is carried out more mechanically. The materials suitable for flower manufacturing are a specially woven batiste and a loosely beaten cotton fabric, while for the finer types, light silk and very delicate velvet are used. For ordinary flowers, these fabrics are dyed in pieces."
Partly, the silk fabrics for our boutonnieres are dyed in whole pieces; mostly, however, they are dyed individually in artistic handwork with colors specially made according to old recipes.
"The pink roses made in one color, the sky-blue forget-me-nots, the flowers that are so popular this year for the colorful wildflower wreaths, which are worn so much that egg yolk for the yolk flowers, the fire red for the poppy, they all come in many hundreds of meters to the die-cutting shop, where they receive the leaf shape through machines or manual operation."
A look into the stamping shop back in the day - today, mostly no less historical, but still smaller stamps are used on the table.
"From there, the punched-out leaves reach the hands of the girls and women and are attached to the cups, which are in turn completed by other hands. Then they come together in large bundles, into the shipping boxes and embark on their journeys that take them all over the world."
"By no means an accessory of the past. Here in the picture again Joost Bom with our Saxon boutonnière in Delft. It is the red rose."Artificial flowers from the artist's hand
"The production of finer flowers is significantly more complicated. The prerequisite for this is the flawless model, and these models are created by special, one might say, artists, based on selected beautiful, natural specimens. Every petal shape is carefully taken, every nuance is tested. From the most delicate yellowish pink of our noblest roses to the black-red, velvety sheen of the purple rose."
Silk roses, exclusively made for us as a boutonnière for the lapel of gentlemen in Saxony. These models are hand-dyed and true classics of men's fashion.
"Next to this, the task of these model makers is to try out all the strange color shades with which fashion surpasses nature. Lilac, bluish-red, autumn leaf brown and green roses are very popular this year. Throughout the winter, diligent hands have worked to produce all these shades. In addition to the various tones that are created on larger pieces with a brush. The individually pre-cut leaves for these finest flowers are also dyed. Again and again, the model maker compares with nature or with the prescribed artificial color tones until the right one is found."
"Unchanged to this day: here we dye, 'flower' and 'toast' - and to our very special joy, after many years of uncertainty, we are also training again in the operation."
"Then each leaf is "toasted" in its own special way, i.e., shaped into the right form with tweezers. The final task is then to bind and create the shape, to attach the rubber handle [today this is a wire wrapped with fine silk thread] and to tastefully tie it together with the magnificent, lifelike foliage produced in other factories."
Leaves and foliage are rarely used in our silk boutonnières; however, they showcase the utmost craftsmanship and quality of production. Pictured: our elaborately crafted buttonhole flower "Bachnelkenwurz".
"Once the models are completed, they are sent to the various workshops after the form models of the individual sheets have been handed over to the die-cutting shops. The sheets punched out from the raw materials or the appropriately colored material then go to those workshops where they are individually colored, and finally to the assemblers and binders."
"Here, the previously punched silk flowers and leaves are pressed into shape. Additional tools: heat, gelatin, and starch - depending on the flower, different ones."
Bouquets, bridal crowns - and boutonnieres
"Before such a bouquet of flowers reaches its highest perfection, it indeed passes through a dozen hands, all of which engage in laborious work with it. A very special specialty is practiced by the bridal wreath makers, who are also very dependent on fashion. The simple, diadem-shaped myrtle bridal wreath finds no mercy in their eyes anymore."
Here is a look into the historical rooms of our manufacturer with old sample books and historical templates. These inspire us to create new boutonnières.
"The most modern bridal wreaths consist of a round ring covered with very little green, which has two round, fairly tightly bound tufts on each side, a rautendelein arrangement that will likely remain in favor longer than the rautendelein itself. For very elegant bridal wreaths, the small, white leaves of the myrtle are almost exclusively used, as these are loved to be bound from natural green, to which artificial flowers must be added, because the natural myrtle bloom wilts and browns immediately after being cut and is therefore not really suitable for the decoration of the myrtle wreath."
Ball flowers were and are by no means reserved for the ladies. Here in the picture, Joost Bom in charming company with a tailcoat and white Edelweiss boutonniere.Forgotten: Ball Flowers
"Other florists, on the other hand, are exclusively concerned with the arrangement of ball flowers. Unfortunately, this branch of the industry has experienced significant neglect in recent years, as artificial flowers in large garlands for ball gowns are no longer as fashionable as they have been for many years. Only recently have the florists had stronger employment again due to the round Empire or Biedermeier wreaths that are popular for adorning dresses. Nevertheless, this hardly bothers the diligent florists."
"Shipping is still done all over the world today - to be honest: Our boxes are much smaller and the inclined clientele is somewhat sparser, but we take joy in each and every silk flower."
"There is always some use for artificial flowers: the lovely children of Flora will never be dispensable as adornments for women. The preference for very fine flowers, where naturally the merit is greater, increases day by day, and while just a decade ago the cheaper hats were adorned with relatively unsightly and cheap flowers, even the village beauty today knows quite well how to distinguish and appreciate the finer product from the inferior one."
Authors: M. von Brück, Andreas Thenhaus
Photos: L.-E. Reutlinger (Wikimedia), Kunstverlag Brück & Sohn (Wikimedia), dto., German Art Flower Sebnitz, Isabel Doil, Achim Meurer, René Gaens, Joost Bom, Lars Koel
More on the topic:
The article from 1907 with the original illustrations (PDF download)
