Korean textile candle holder (hemp, silk or ramie) by Sung-mi Kim

This candle holder (which can also be used as a delicate basket to hold treasures), available in several variations, was made by seamstress Sung-mi Kim, who specializes in traditional Korean sewing, from hand-woven Korean fabric. The textiles Sung-mi uses, carefully sourced from traditional markets, are rare treasures spun and woven by elderly women who carry on ancestral traditions. For these pieces, she sourced Korean ramie (the white candle holder) and a hemp-silk woven textile (the other variations).

With respect and patience, Sung-mi imagines small objects to magnify these textiles. For these pieces, constructed in a very architectural manner, she imagined airy and precious objects, like clouds in the Korean sky, which give pride of place to the textile fibers, a rich ancestral heritage of Korea, and whose delicate details of added threads and embroidery (on their bases) bring great poetry.

Trained for three years in Japan as a seamstress after initial training in carpentry, Sung-mi, who lives in Seoul, completed her apprenticeship in Korea with a traditional sewing teacher. She works exclusively by hand, using natural Korean materials such as ramie, hemp, and cotton, which she dyes herself using natural processes. Each piece is unique, determined by the textile itself.

These precious objects come with a flameless LED tea light and can therefore be used if desired as a candle holder which diffuses a very soothing soft light, to hang thanks to its handle or simply to place on a table. Each piece of the series is unique: 1 x tall candle holder in white Korean ramie; 1 x tall candle holder in black dyed silk and hemp; 1 x low candle holder in black dyed silk and hemp; 1 x Low candle holder made of beige-dyed silk and hemp. The dyes were created by Sung-mi and are all natural.

Sung-mi Kim's work and her portrait can be discovered in this article , which also helps to understand the heritage of sewing in Korea. To better understand the importance of ramie in Korea, you can also read our full article on the subject here .

CARE INSTRUCTIONS : a little water and Marseille soap in case of stain, then let it dry flat. Light ironing, carried out before the fabric is completely dry, allows it to regain its shape if necessary (if necessary, place a thick cloth inside during ironing to restore its original shape).