Origins of the project
In 2018, I received a gift that changed my sleep : a silk pillow case. I quickly became addicted to its virtues. After a few wears and washings in machine, it started falling apart though so I had to buy another one.
While looking on online, I encountered lots of suspicious sellers, received no explanations about the production conditions or the product quality and did not understand the very varied pricing (it can be very cheap on big marketplaces and very expensive for established brands). I kept looking and learned a lot about sericulture, a true craft as well as the important role that Asia played in it.
I also learned that children work was surprisingly more common that we can think of, that silk is often mixed with cheap satin and that dies can be pretty toxic to our human skin.
I sadly learned that our continent wasn't a big producer anymore and that most brands that use the Made In Europe label actually shipped the raw material from Asia before finishing the product transformation in Europe.
It's after those inconclusive researches, a failed online purchase and an ever increasing frustration that I decided to launch the project.
At Venus & Gaia®, we make our silk ethically, in small quantities in a factory that limits its use of non-renewable energies in Suzhou, the historic region of silk.
Our pillow cases are of high quality : 100% white mulberry silk, 19 and 22 momme, grade 6A and certified OEKO-Standard 100.
We try to maintain a decent pricing by selling directly to consumers, by making little to no investment in marketing and packaging but putting our money into product development that guarantees decent production conditions.
Why Venus & Gaia ?
Because they are strong feminine figures from which the world metaphorically originates. They perpetuate the world’s divine harmony and symbolise vitality, love, beauty and union with nature; values that speak to us.Beauty is a vast, elaborate subject, which is not as superficial as it seems : beauty if profound and necessary in our world in order to understand, love and bear it. Sometimes to escape it too :)
We are a different kind of beauty brand. We love women deeply : our products are conceived by women for women. We want to shade a positive light on them and would like for them to look in the mirror with a kinder eye. We have at heart to create qualitative, simple, beautiful and environmentally friendly products that improve their daily life.
Who are Venus & Gaia ?
• Venus (or Aphrodite, for the Greeks) is the goddess of beauty, love, seduction, pleasure and femininity. She had a double face, as she is linked to fertility, virtue, happy marriage but also to lubricity, vulgar and venal love. She personifies reproduction and species conservation. Historically, Venus verticordia was implored by women all around the world to help preserve their beauty and moral virtues.
• Gaia is the predominant divinity for Greeks. She personifies the Earth and is synonym of harmony with nature. She created the world by herself by giving birth to the sky (Ouranos), the mountains (Ourea) and the sea (Pontus). To populate the world, she makes love to her son Ouranos who, by fear of being dethroned, prevents her from giving birth to their offspring by permanently staying inside her.
She then asks her former children for help. Only Cronos is willing to emasculate Ouranos in his sleep. By doing so, Ourano’s semen falls in the sea. From this mix was born… Aphrodite (= Venus).
And thus, the circle is complete !