Using authentic Japanese washi tape paper, metallic foiling and a touch of varnish for protection, our Blue Velvet/Pear Garden washi tape set will bring a pop of colour to your bullet journal spread. This double-pack is inspired by two antique textile designs.

Blue Velvet

Our Blue Velvet design is inspired by a piece of a 15th-century velvet dalmatic. The original panel was given to the Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of the Rogers Fund in 1945. It is patterned with a seven-lobed shield that contains an artichoke-like botanical shape adorned with tiny floral patterns on each side. The patterning was created using brocaded gilt metal thread.

Velvets were originally woven on a special loom that created two thicknesses at the same time in order to achieve their marvellously soft texture. It was an expensive and painstaking procedure, making velvets like this some of the most highly prized luxury fabrics of the Renaissance.

Peking Opera Embroidery: Pear Garden

The dramatic art tradition of opera traces its roots to the earliest periods of ancient China. During the Tang Dynasty (618–907), the Emperor Taizong founded an opera school called Liyuan (Pear Garden), establishing opera’s importance in the country.

By the 20th century, Peking Opera had become so popular that it was regarded as the “national theatre” of China. Sadly, the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 led to its sharp decline as entertainment took a back seat amidst political and cultural upheaval. In sharing this colourful piece of opera costume, we hope to help tell the story of the Chinese musicians and performers who played an important role in developing opera as we know it today.