THE BISOUS BROOCH COLLECTION

A love letter to one's craft

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The story behind the Bisous brooch collection began in March. I was celebrating the end of an embroidery class in Indonesia, ready to take a flight to South India to spend a few long-awaited weeks with my partner who lives there. Unfortunately, as things started to gather pace with the pandemic, India closed its borders that night. I flew back to London with a heavy heart, as we were going to be apart longer than I expected.  

                           

Back in London, 8000 km apart from my love, along with the growing sadness and uncertainty of the Covid-19 crisis, I found comfort in embroidering these little kisses, like substitutes for the ones I so wished I could give. Week after week, as borders remained closed, I thought about all the millions of lost kisses around the world. And so, I made more and more of my own bisous, embracing diversity in an array of shapes and shades, echoing the global nature of the situation. 

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After months spent in isolation away from my love and my beloved India, I craved connection with this country where I had lived so happily just a few months before. In an attempt to lift my spirits, I wanted to make and share as many kiss brooches as possible. So, this collaboration with highly-skilled artisans in Mumbai was born, hand-crafting bisous in small batches (you can read more about Clo de Vila’s unique connection with Indian embroidery here).

 

With these little bisous, I hope to spread a bit of love and give a touch of comfort to those wearing them, just as they did for me in making them.

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With love,

Justine x

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'Je t'envoie mon coeur dans un bisou.' / ' I send you my heart in a kiss.' – Anatole France