We celebrate planting and nurturing the Kalmus flower in our very own RHANDERS Forest.
While we have planted and nurtured ten-thousands of trees, plants and flowers in the RHANDERS Forest, the Kalmus adds a special symbolic meaning to our biodiversity and CO2 positive quest, as the Kalmus flower has pollinated our history and heritage for 800 years.
In the year 2023, we go for the bigger scale. We take our 'Mission Kalmus' up a notch by planting even more Kalmus in the areas where we see the water plant particularly flourishing. We take our biodiversity and rewildering project to new heights and we celebrate it all with a graphic explosion of the Kalmus flower in our signature colours.
We call it the Grand Kalmus.
To mark the Grand Kalmus in style, we asked our friend and art collaborator, Mette Boesgaard, to take Yvette - our trademarked burlesque lady painted by famous french painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1894 - on an adventure to the RHANDERS Forest to help planting the Kalmus in the 2 hectares lage forest lake.
The acclaimed illustrator went on an artful Kalmus journey with Yvette and arrived with the soulful creation of the muse - saluting the act of lending a helping hand to nature.
Originally an Indian medical plant, the Kalmus was brought to the water streams in Randers by French monks during the Middle Ages. By coincidence the tanners, working along the stream, discovered that rubbing the leather with the Kalmus plant, left the leather not only soft, but also with a beautiful recognisable scent. This characteristic scent, together with the gloves' incredible softness, made European Royals and Aristocrats specifically request gloves from Randers. Allegedly, French Queen Marie Antoinette wore the gloves to enhance her beauty sleep...
Read more about our Kalmus Brandmark HERE and dive into the RHANDERS Forest HERE
The Grand Kalmus scarf is delicate, soft and silky. The motif is a play on the iconic Kalmus flower, which has been treated to a graphic explosion in the signature colours of RHANDERS; mint, teal, rose and plum.
As silk is a natural material and the artwork process is done by hand, there will be beauty marks, flaws and imperfections. If these marks are too visible on the fabric, the fabric is given a different purpose in live rather than being a scarf.
So, a range of soft, silky products such as Totes, Scrunchies and Small Scarves have been crafted with upcycled leftovers from the silk scarves. This way they help fulfill our zero-waste-policy and are given a new meaningful life, when they didn't meet the high quality control for full scarves.
Discover all our Grand Kalmus and all other upcycled products from scarves HERE.
As we saw the bees and butterflies multiply in the RHANDERS Forest with our first small butterflies groves, which we planted over the last couple of years, we also wanted to take this up a notch and go to a grand scale. So, in 2023 we took the first steps on a rewildering path with the wish of letting nature lead the way. Rebuilding flourishing ecosystems and encouraging a beautiful harmony between people and nature - by focusing on giving back to Mother Earth.
Concretely, we assigned approximately half a hectare of the 6 hectares RHANDERS Forest to rewildering and rebuilding a flourishing ecosystem for butterflies and bees. A special mix of flower and plant seeds was provided by experts - containing 42 variants including knotweed, yarrow poppy and sage. This was all planted and nurtured in the Spring of 2023. Naturally, we will keep you updated on the flourishing progress, which we hope to see during the Summertime.
You can also take part in rebuilding flourishing ecosystems. When you purchase a Grand Kalmus Silk Scarf in the year of 2023, you automatically donate 50% of the product's price to the RHANDERS Forest, the planting of the Kalmus flower and the rewildering for butterflies project.
A tiny note of what we learned in this process, which carries large significance for us: the future is in our hands.
We pay tribute to the most precious of tools; the hands. With our hands we uphold the honored craftsmanship. With our hands we shape what's in our heart and with our hands we plant, nurture and help grow nature's beauty.
We see the human touch as an art form. It is what differentiates and distinguishes us from machines and AI. It is what gives our craft personality and imperfections; tiny beauty marks that tell a story and make each product we create completely unique.
Hand in hand, we care for our world.
