The Gardienne Hair Comb, Nacre

A small gift to keep, complimentary with orders of MYR 500 and above. Automatically added to your cart when eligible and removed if your order total falls below MYR 500. While stocks last.

The comb was the jewel

A second guardian for the back of the head. Two eyes of nacre, set to shelter. Worn at the nape, the shell close to the skin.

THE STORY

Long before the ateliers of Paris, one material held the hair more than any other. The Romans carved it into combs. Through the great hair-up styles of the 1800s, women pinned their hair with the same warm, mottled shell, taken from the hawksbill turtle. The wanting of it very nearly ended the animal. Trade in it has been forbidden for fifty years, to protect what is now a critically endangered species. The pattern survived. The shell itself, rightly, cannot be taken again.

This Gardienne continues the pattern in a material built to carry it forward.

Acetate, cut and shaped by hand into the same marbled tortoiseshell the hair has been dressed in for centuries, so the look goes on being worn without asking anything of the turtle again. Its line is drawn from the curve of the body and the shape of a vessel, narrow at the waist, open at the base. Vintage soul, modern muse, now in a second skin.

At its crown sit two cabochons of nacre, the mother of pearl. The lustrous lining of the shell has been worn as a shelter, not a watcher, for as long as anyone has kept the record. It is what the shell grows to guard the soft creature living inside it, the same lining that protects a pearl before it is ever found. Sailors once carried it for safe passage. New mothers were given it for steadiness. We set two of these where the eyes sit, a small shelter for the part of the room you have turned away from.

It holds your hair. It gives shelter.

Finished by hand and made to be kept, it waits in its satin pouch, a flower pressed into the weave, for the warm evening you lift your hair off your neck and pin it up.

THE PIECE

The body is tortoiseshell pattern acetate, roughly 10 cm by 5 cm. Two cabochons of natural nacre, 6 by 8 mm. Satin pouch with a pressed flower, roughly 11.5 cm by 7 cm. Each piece is cut and finished by hand, so no two are exactly alike.

Keep away from heat, perfume, hairspray, and long contact with water. Wipe with a dry, soft cloth. Return it to its pouch when your hair comes down. Worn and kept this way, it is made to last and to be handed on.

Worn at the nape, pushed into an upswept twist, it does a comb's job, holds the hair and shows its heading above the knot.

THE POUCH

Our inspiration began with jacquard, a textile technique deeply rooted in history, dating back to the early 19th century. During this period, French weaver and inventor Joseph Marie Jacquard revolutionised the textile industry through the creation of the Jacquard loom, introducing a new way to weave intricate patterns directly into fabric with remarkable precision.

For the Hair Comb Series, we selected a cream white satin jacquard fabric to create its accompanying pouch. Through the jacquard weave, the pattern becomes an integral part of the fabric itself, where the luminous satin surface intertwines with matte threads to create a subtle interplay of texture and light. Finished with a delicate overlock stitch, the pouch reflects the same sense of refinement and craftsmanship as the hair comb it is designed to protect.

We believe every detail we create carries a quiet meaning. Each piece is designed to accompany you through everyday rituals, and even when resting within your space, it continues to exist as a small expression of art and beauty.

The Gardienne. The decorated comb. Designed by Rowan Ooi, executed by MYJN Galerie.