New in the shop: Cream City Curling Ribbon
Meet the colorful,
curling,
eco-friendly,
sustainably-manufactured,
ribbon of your dreams.
Aaaaaallright, probably more like the ribbon of our dreams, but we know you’re going to love it.
For years we've brought you eco-friendly ribbon options and inevitably the first question asked was, "does it curl?" We know you've wanted a curling ribbon, but we just couldn’t go there with the standard plastic one we know too well. That's why, when our path crossed with Cream City Ribbon, it was as if the universal confetti popper exploded in a shower of glitter and rainbows. When we were all done high-fiving each other, we took stock.
Yes, we’d found a ribbon that was:
- artisanally made in the USA
- compostable and biodegradable
- manufactured with the same quality and concern for sustainability as Wrappily
All that, plus colorful, uncoated Cream City Ribbon simply looks stunning paired with our wrapping paper. These spools stack up to something great for your gifting. Swoon.
Like No Other Ribbon On Earth
Made of cotton yarn that is 100% grown and dyed in the United States, Cream City Ribbon is an unwoven fabric ribbon with a distinctly vintage feel. Perhaps that’s because it’s still being manufactured in Milwaukee, Wisconsin using original techniques from the 1920 on machines that are nearly 100 years old. Thread by thread, their artisans build a ribbon that is all warp, and no weft. The horizontal layers of colorful threads are held together with a gentle, water-soluble adhesive, giving giving Cream City Ribbon both its vibrancy and signature stiff-paper feel.
USA-grown cotton thread, by it's very nature biodegradable, awaits it's transformation into one-of-a-kind Cream City Ribbon.
Sustainability
Under new ownership, the family run operation doubled-down on greening-up their manufacturing and implemented changes ensuring that not only their product, but also their process is eco-friendly. Owner Eric Crawford took measures to ensure their mill meets and exceeds environmental and safety regulations, they use chlorine-, acid-, and lignin-free water-based dyes, non-toxic soy based inks, carbon neutral shipping, and much more you can read about here. Eric further walks his talk (or pedals his talk?) by biking to work.
We tell ya', there's a lot to love about Cream City Ribbons!
Tips & Tricks for using Cream City Ribbon:
As their owner Eric Crawford likes to say, there's no other ribbon quite like Cream City Ribbon. Having had the pleasure of using it for a few months now, we have gotten a feel for how to use it successfully. We're sharing a few tips with you here:
Shoestring:
Here’s how this ribbon is different: it’s stiffer than what you may be used to. After experimenting with it, we can say you need to be a bit heavy-handed when it comes to holding and tying it. Pull it firmly in place and use a finger to hold the knot. It may take some practice, but when forming your loops, shape and size them evenly before pulling them taut. Cut the tails short or leave them long and loop or curl them (as above.)
We also recommend creasing the corners where the ribbon wraps around your box for a nice, crisp look.
Here’s how the ribbon is exactly the same: simply slide the ribbon across the broadside of your scissors for tons of easy curls (no heavy hand needed). Crimped or uncrimped, this ribbon curls like magic.
The ribbon’s all warp build means it can be split into different widths. Small box? No prob, just peel off an appropriate width. This same splitting technique can also be used to create a mass of curls atop your gift—it’s a cheaters dream for creating an A+ gift topper.
And to all you crafty over-achievers out there, are you up for a challenge? Turn your ribbon in works of art using quilling techniques, or fashion them into big, fancy bows. Here's a few inspos for you from Cream City, plus a little video tutorial.
Quilled snowflake and bottle bow courtesy of Cream City Ribbon
We hope you are inspired by this awesome business and fantastic ribbon, we sure are.
Happy wrapping!
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