Unraveled

A PEEK INTO THE ONLY COTTON RIBBON MANUFACTURER IN THE UNITED STATES.

BY FAYTHE LEVINE

After working in many different fields, from cotton ribbon in the United States. “Years ago, there science to fashion design, Milwaukee native were a number of companies like ours, but when Lorette Russenberger made the decision to plastics came out, people were so taken with how buy a local manufacturing business 20 years ago. cheap they were that most of those companies

With no knowledge of ribbon making, Russenberger went out of business,” says Russenberger, 54. bought the company, which was founded in the Unlike most ribbons, which are made with nylon, 1920s and had been shut down for more than two acetate, polypropylene, or polyester, the cotton years. She renamed it Cream City Ribbon, after a historic nickname for the city of Milwaukee and its many cream-colored brick buildings.

Now her company is the only manufacturer of

Photography by Kevin J. Miyazaki

Faythe Levine, based in Milwaukee, runs her shop Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery, coordinates the annual Art vs. Craft fair, and is the director and co-author of Handmade Nation.