SO far this series about materials used in the home has fooked at crystal, china and cot- ton. All of these produc’ fascinanng and aici ries, but none conjure up the image of sensuous luxury, of us history romuinee and splendor as muuch as silk does. Legend savs that alk was discovered over 4,000 years ago by the Chinese empress IngShi, A litde whice cocoon had fallen into her tea cup, the story goes, and wher she tried to retrieve it, it emerged on 2 long silken FEREDOUN Haghighi holds up one of the many siik rugs available at the Pegasus Rug Gallery in West Vancouver. Edith Saatkamp reports that when synthetic fab- ries became available after the Second Worid War, the silk Industry —~ particular- fy the sfik rug ousiness — was dealt a severe blow. 1626 Lloyd Ave 987-4250 thread. Unforrunatety, nobody recorded what hap- pened neat, bur we do knew that China was the first coun- try in the world to develop a large and prosperous silk industry and is still the biggest producer of silk varn. The secrets of Chinese silk production were caretully guarded for over 2,000 years during which the precious fabric made its way from Road to Europe and ¢ ly by ship to North An . sand legends on the Silk Road abound, Marco Polo traveled it, as did traders, Buddhist monks, Christian missionaries and 20th century adventurers. It is a hazardous, 4,000 inile stretch from Xi'an in Chins along the edges of the Gubi Desert, through Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara, through Persia and Turkey to the port of Antioch, and trom there by ship to Haly, France and England. Ic is said that in the sixth century some tiny silk worm eges survived the long jour: — they were hidden inside the canes of a few monks who had been dis- patched by Emperor Justinian to ferret out the secrets of silk production in China. The product was coveted not oniy by women of taste and wealth; even men enjoyed their richly embroidered silk shoes and brocade sashes. The material was worth its weight in gold. A “home-grown” silk industry was very desirable, and mulberry trees — their leaves are the favorite nour- ishment of silk worms — sprang up in Italy, France aiid even England. By order of James I of England the seedlings were transported from there across the Adantic to Virginia. But tobacco leaves proved more profitable in Virginia, while in England the mulberry tarts, rather f si Friday, January 10, 1997 — North Shore News - 25 than the silk worms, were successful, France and fraly stl have Jarge silk indusines. Then as now, the tiny si worm eggs ced to be pam- pered co perform their meta- morphosis. From larvae they grow into fat lide caterpillars that ear themselves through mounds of mulberry leaves. To contain thelr growing, bodies, they must shed their skin tour times before they finally spin the cocoon from which only a few are allowed fo emerge as bombya mon — the sitk moths that are chosen to start the next fife cvele of egg to caterpillar to chrysalides to moth. A others end their lives as vsalides in a tub of hot water, while the precious silk thread cocoon fs unra around them. The thread can be up toa mile long; depend- ing on the desired thickness of the yarn, fe t threads are combi ered the most prac fibres, However, siik still has ¢ Custom-built Closet Organizers © Increase Overall Closet Capacity up to 100% ° Affordable Custom - built Interiors ® Adjustable Shelving © Custom-designed for Linen & Clothes Closets @ Installation or Do-lt- Yourself ® Mirrored Doors to 8' tall FREE ESTIFAATES north snore the aura of costly extrava- gance, but no other fibre is as sumpruous, and as delicious on the skin as sil Vhen synthetic fabrics ame available after the econd World War, they dealt a severe blow to the silk industry, Many imitated the look of silk: most outperform siik when it comes to color fastness, longevity and worka- bility. Yet, would you exchange a silk blouse for a polyester shirt, or a Persian sik rug for nylon caspe! To see and touch s Inost sumptuous form, you simply must visit the Pegasus Rug Gallery at 1859 Marine Drive in West Vancouver and ask to see their silk rug from Ghom. Not only does it deserve every flowery adjective in the dictionary, but you could walk on it for the next one years without mak- ing a dent. Edith Sautkamp practises and teaches interior design on the North Shore. CANADIAN CLOSET “A family owned business since 1984° 1385 Crown St. N. Van. $86-4263 WEEKEND Friday, Saturday, Sunday January 10,11,12th DON’T PAY THE GST* ON ANYTHING IN THE STORE: CERAMIC TILE, LIGHTING FIXTURES, -. PLUMBING, BATH FIXTGRES, ELECTRICAL, KITCHEN CABINETS” *A discount equivalent to the GST will be given at time of purchase. Not valid with any other offers. **GST Discount applies to regular priced kitchen cabinets cnly, tiot valid vith any other offer.