One silk bandana, three ways to carry a wish.
Peace, in the shape she hoped for.
The motif is Thanh Binh Nhu Y, peace in the shape you wished for: the hope that a new beginning turns out as it was meant to. Tied on a bag handle, knotted at the throat or wound through a ponytail, this 22-inch silk square keeps that wish close all day.
It comes in three colorways at the same price: two on a navy ground with a warm figure, and one that reverses it, with warm orange as the field. Pick the color above, then read on for how each one wears.
16 Momme
3 Colorways
2 Sides printed
We pay the import duty, not you.
Nothing owed on arrival, nothing added at checkout. Shipping is $20, free from $90. Sent from Hanoi, most US orders land in 9 to 15 business days.
Buying this for someone else? It ships from Hanoi, so allow 9 to 15 business days to a US address, and it arrives gift boxed with your note written by hand and no price anywhere in the parcel.
Choosing among the three
Navy Blue and Yellow The gentlest of the three: yellow drawn on navy, easy with denim and lovely at a candlelit table, the quietest from across a room.
Navy Blue and Orange The warm one: orange on navy, beautiful with tan and cognac leather, and the one to choose for a bag handle.
Orange and Navy Blue The reverse, a warm orange field with the drawing in navy, so the color leads and the drawing becomes its structure; the boldest of the three, seen clearly from across a room.
Four ways to tie a 22-inch square
The bag handle A slim diagonal roll, wound up the handle and finished in a small bow.
The ponytail or topknot Roll it on the diagonal, wind it round the elastic twice and knot it on top, the ends left free.
The neckerchief Fold it corner to corner, roll it from the long edge, wrap once and knot at the side of the throat with the point in front, graceful over a crewneck, a v-neck or a mock neck.
The wrist Wrapped twice and knotted, beside a bracelet or in place of one.
Twenty-two inches is made for the handle, the ponytail and the wrist; to wrap the head, belt a waist or cover the shoulders, look to the larger squares in our guide to which size to choose.
The phrase English is missing
The nearest English phrase, peace of mind, has been claimed by warranties, alarm systems and insurance, where it means someone else is holding the worry.
Thanh binh nhu y is a blessing with nothing to sell: an elder offers it to someone younger as the year turns, or writes it on a gift for a beginning, a new house, a new job, a marriage, a child, hoping all goes as she wished.
That is what the gift says. A dragon congratulates and a phoenix celebrates a person; this square hopes on someone's behalf, with a warmth English seldom puts into words.
Three quiet virtues
01
A knot with real hold Light silk has to be pulled tight before a knot will stay; at sixteen momme this one holds by its own weight, and a bow on a bag handle keeps its shape.
02
A wish that explains itself A story card in the box names the motif and its meaning, so the wish arrives already told.
03
Both faces carry the same ink A neck knot and a bag bow both turn the cloth over, so the square is printed through both faces, and every fold shows the same color.
A test you can make yourself
The box holds a cutting from the bolt her square came from, so the test happens on that small piece and the square itself stays new.
|
Mulberry silk |
Polyester |
| Held to a flame |
Burns |
Melts |
| The smell |
Singed hair |
Acrid, like plastic |
| What is left |
Soft ash, crushes between your fingers |
Hard bead, sticks |
If you try it: over a sink, clear of anything that can catch, not with children in the room. A corner is enough. It is a home check, not lab proof.
Rather not hold a flame to anything? The silk is tested at the Textile Testing Center, part of the Vietnam Textile Research Institute. Outside lab, outside paperwork.
All three at $64
This is our least expensive square for one reason, its size: the same 16 momme Grade 5A mulberry silk, the same double-sided hand printing and the same hand-rolled hem as every square we make.
A smaller square still has its whole edge rolled by hand, proportionally more hem than a large one, and the motif costs the same to redraw whatever it lands on. We make it in our own atelier in Hanoi, post it straight to you, and pay the US import duty.
Inside the phrase Thanh Binh Nhu Y
Two halves make the phrase, and both count.
Thanh binh means peace and calm, the easy word for a quiet town or a gentle year.
Nhu y means as wished, and across East Asian decorative art it marks a hope that comes true.
Together they mean peace in the shape you wanted, words for beginnings, spoken at the new year and written on gifts for weddings and housewarmings. Our guide to what the Peace in Mind motif means tells more of the story.
So this is the motif for a beginning, where the dragons honor a deed and the phoenix a person, and this square looks kindly toward whatever happens next.
Getting it there in time
If there is a date attached to this, it is worth reading before you order.
Nine to fifteen business days to a US address, counted from the day it leaves Hanoi.
For Christmas delivery in the US, we recommend ordering by November 27.
Ship it straight to them. Sending it to yourself first and forwarding it adds a week you do not need to spend. We write your note by hand and there is no price anywhere in the parcel.
If the date is fixed, write to us at Folkformint@gmail.com before you order.
Which motif should I be looking at?
Each motif we print belongs to a different moment, and this short guide matches them.
For someone starting something For a move, a new job, a marriage or any beginning at all, this motif is made for the moment.
For an achievement already finished For these, choose a dragon: Dragon Dreams, with its large corner dragons composed like a picture, or Dragon of Grace, a single creature repeated small in center symmetry.
For a person, about who she is Phoenix Dance, the empress's bird, a wish for new life and grace.
For how someone carried something Imperial Lotus, a lotus rising clean from the mud.
For two people Lotus Serenade, with two mandarin ducks side by side beneath a lotus.
A gift for a fresh start
When the moment is a beginning, reach for this one. It costs less than seventy dollars, needs no size, and brings its wish written on a card.
A housewarming These are the words said over a new home in Vietnam, and silk has no furniture to match.
A new job, or a move to a new city A hope sent at the very start, before anyone knows how it goes, gentler than congratulations.
New year The words are traditionally spoken as one year gives way to the next.
For a finished success This motif hopes more than it congratulates; to celebrate something already won, give Dragon Dreams.
The box, the care, and the returns
In the box A rigid gift box and matching bag · the square folded in tissue · a story card naming the motif and its meaning · an illustrated styling guide · a care card · the silk cutting. Nothing left for you to wrap.
Washing Hand wash only, in cold water, using shampoo or a gentle body wash rather than laundry detergent. Detergent enzymes are designed to break down protein, and silk is a protein fiber. Never machine wash. Squeeze, never wring. Dry in shade, never in sun. Iron on the lowest silk setting while still faintly damp. Silk sheds dust on its own, so every three to five wears is plenty.
Returns Thirty days from delivery, unused and unwashed, in the original box. If the fault is ours, a flaw in the silk, a print error, a seam that failed, postage goes both ways on us and you get a replacement or a full refund. Changed your mind? Thirty days, return postage yours, and if you take store credit instead of a refund we add fifteen percent. One condition: it comes back unused, unwashed and unworn, in its original box.
Specifications
| Material |
100% Grade 5A mulberry silk |
| Colorways |
Navy and Yellow · Navy and Orange · Orange and Navy |
| Motif |
Thanh Binh Nhu Y · Peace In Mind |
| Meaning |
Peace, in the shape you wished for |
| Weight |
16 momme |
| Size |
22 × 22 in · 55 × 55 cm |
| Print |
Hand screen-printed, double-sided |
| Edges |
Hand-rolled, hand-stitched · 220 cm |
| Testing |
Textile Testing Center, Vietnam Textile Research Institute |
| Made in |
Hanoi, Vietnam |
One small square in three colorways,
each carrying the same kind wish.
Pick your colorway above: each is sixteen momme silk, printed through both faces and hemmed by hand in Hanoi. All three are $64 and all three arrive gift boxed with a cutting you are welcome to set on fire.
Add navy and yellow to bag · $64Add navy and orange · $64Add orange and navy · $64
Free US shipping from $90 No customs fees 30-day returns
