- manosdeagua
The creation of a silk fan requires the collaboration of several crafts.
In the creation of a handcrafted fan, in the case of ManosdeAgua, made of hand-painted natural silk, several artisan sectors are involved. Each professional plays a role in different parts of the process.
For example, the fan’s frame is the wooden part composed of the base and the guides. The lower part of the frame, joined by a pin or ring and rosette, is the base, and the upper part where the leaf or fabric is glued is the guides.
The fan’s measurements
The fan can vary in length and proportion between the base and the guides. Typically, we work with 14 to 6 inches, which corresponds to 27 to 19 cm fans or pocket fans. The number of ribs is even and can vary from 14 to 28. The two thickest ribs at the ends are the guards or outer ribs. The proportion between the base measurement and the total size of the fan can also vary. If they match in measurement, it’s called a playing card fan, which has no fabric. If there is no difference between the base and the guide on the guards, it’s called a dagger fan. The frame can be natural as it comes from the factory, or polished, lacquered, engraved, openwork, or painted.
The type of material used for the frame can vary and come in many qualities. The most prized are mother-of-pearl, bone, and woods such as mahogany, rosewood, ebony, olive, bubinga, kotibé, birch, pear, and cedar.
For the manufacture of the frame, rib makers or artisans working with wood, mother-of-pearl, or bone are involved, and for the finishing, polishers are involved, and depending on the finish, also engravers, openwork artisans, and lacquerers.
At ManosdeAgua, we are committed to complementing the quality of our painted silks in each fan with quality in the frame. We use frames made of pear wood, kotibé, and birch. We also use frames with the AEA “Artisan Spanish Fan” seal, which is the only quality guarantee ensuring that the frame is handcrafted in Spain and provides the fan with the best quality in terms of material and finish.
Our frames are polished so that the wood grain is visible, varying in color depending on whether it is birch, pear, or kotibé. For making the leaf or fabric part, there are fabric painters, either cotton or silk, although there are also leaves made with handmade bobbin lace.
Fan assembly
Each fan requires a different mold according to its measurements and number of ribs, usually made by a graphic designer or technician. The fabric must be prepared, pleated with the molds, glued to the ribs, and the fan’s edge finished by hand. This is usually done by fan fabric mounters, who are becoming increasingly scarce and work for different fan companies.
At ManosdeAgua, we are one of the few workshops that carry out the entire fan process except for the frame manufacturing, from painting the silk to the final finish, including making our molds and mounting the silk on the ribs.
