CALYPSO SCARVES HAVE JUST LANDED
I am THRILLED to announce the arrival of my latest (and most treasured) product - the Calypso scarf ♡♡♡♡♡
It’s been a JOURNEY to get to this point (which honestly feels appropriate given that Calypso features so heavily in Homer’s Odyssey, the ancient text that recounts Odysseus’ long journey home). This whole process started with my love of Calypso, the goddess-nymph who takes Odysseus as her lover, holding him captive on her island Ogygia for several years. Maybe my attachment to Greek mythology goes beyond my control - my parents almost named me Calypso so I’ve always felt connected to her. (I seriously considered changing my name to Calypso when I moved schools but in retrospect I’m quite glad I didn’t - Cosima is ~ UNIQUE ~ enough).
The mythic episode that features Calypso and Odysseus is excellent but the character, the CHARACTER of Calypso is just UNREAL. I’m a sucker for a good orator and my word she just delivers this absolute slam-dunk of a speech denouncing the hypocrisy of the gods and their sexist double standards UGH. But I’m getting ahead of myself, let me actually EXPLAIN.
Calypso is mentioned in Hesiod’s Theogony and in the work of Apollodorus but she is most well-known for her role in Homer’s Odyssey. Homer’s version describes her as a daughter of the titan Atlas (the strapping fellow who holds up the world on his shoulders). The hero Odysseus literally WASHES UP on the shores of her island (he has just been shipwrecked AGAIN. he is also a shipwreck of a man). Calypso falls in love with him, promising him eternal youth & immortality if he stays with her. Odysseus DOES stay with her for many, MANY, years (specifically 7) but it is said that he cries on the beach every day because he’s so homesick. Let’s duck to the ancient Greek real quick, the “Nymphe Kalypso, a goddess of strange power and beauty, had kept him captive within her arching caverns,” (Hom. Od. 1.14 trans. Shewring). Now I know my mind is semi-permanently if not permanently in the gutter but I don’t really feel like I’m reaching for the innuendo here?! The gods intervene (eventually), Calypso releases Odysseus and he trots off back home. The actual NATURE of their relationship is hotly debated ~ at least it is between me and my PALS ~ Hannah Parker, Erica Stevenson and I dedicate a decent chunk of our twitter space (it’s like a live podcast) Go Hard or Go Homer debating this very topic. Erica very kindly whacks up the recordings on her youtube channel - so you can tune in to this specific episode if you’d like to learn more.
Now onto her SPEECH. The speech that has me by the THROAT. It cemented me as a Calypso stan, apologist and god knows what else. Hermes, the messenger god, has just rocked up to her island and essentially says “c’mon love, time’s up, you’ve had your fun, Zeus has had enough, it’s high-time Odysseus gets going.” She doesn’t exactly take it well, replying:
“You are merciless, you gods, resentful beyond all other beings; you are jealous if without disguise a goddess makes a man her bedfellow, her beloved husband. So it was when Eos of the rosy fingers chose out Orion; you gods who live in such ease yourselves were jealous of her until chaste Artemis in her cloth-of-gold visited him with her gentle shafts and slew him in Ortygia. So it was when Demeter of the braided tresses followed her heart and lay in love with Iasion in the triple-furrowed field; Zeus was aware of it soon enough and hurled the bright thunderbolt that killed him. And now so it is with me; you resent this mortal man beside me. I saved him when he was all alone and astride his keel, when Zeus with his flashing thunderbolt had shattered and shivered his rapid vessel in the midst of wine-dark ocean. All his brave comrades perished then; he alone was borne on to this place by wind and wave. I welcomed him and tended him; I offered him immortality and eternal youth. But, as you say, when once the master of the aigis has fixed his own purpose, no other god can cross or thwart it; so let the man go - if such is the word and behest of Zeus - go where he will over the barren sea. I cannot help him to depart; I have no ships or oars or crew to speed him over the sea's expanse; but gladly enough, without concealment, I will counsel him how best to reach his own land unscathed.”
I mean she just goes AFTER them (them being the male Olympians) and my word does she have the receipts!!! In all seriousness, I am so moved by her rage and indignation but particularly her swift acceptance. She realises she’s being forced to say goodbye to the love of her life and will soon resume her days on Ogygia all alone all because the gods demand it yet she somehow finds it in herself to accept it with dignity and grace, helping Odysseus prepare and sending him back to his wife and home.
Now THIS is the moment, THIS is the vision that I brought to Natalee Miller. I didn’t have a super specific idea tbh but I did have a very strong desire to do justice to this character who I’d adored for so many years. I’ve been a fan of Natalee’s work for many moons and we immediately connected over our shared love of the strong, complex women of myth. I explained over FaceTime what was so special about Calypso, how she evidences feminine rage and dignity in such a powerful, moving way. Natalee started working on the design, offering me a few versions, careful to include Calypso’s braid (her main epithet is the nymph of the braided tresses which I just love). I selected the one where she looked strong, with a tear falling down her face as Odysseus leaves her island. I’d pored over so many artistic representations of Calypso but I was yet to come across one that captured her strength, grief and beauty all in equal measure. Natalee brought her to life in all her raw, emotive glory and I am so grateful.
Deciding what I wanted to do with the design was tricky because I was desperate to do justice to Natalee’s work and Calypso herself. Cat Rose O'Brien recommended the company Contrado who are based in the UK and can print designs on anything with no minimum order number. They only work with made-to-order pieces and they only produce work in their UK facility, keeping emissions and transport costs as low as possible. I thought scarves would be the perfect way to showcase the design, big enough to do it justice with a practical, fashion-y element. The scarves are printed on their silk-sensation poly blend, which is soft and satiny but a hell of a lot more practical/affordable than silk.
I took the scarves on a family trip to the south of France, forcing my long-suffering sister to take piles of pics of me wearing them, but then decided I needed the work of a professional photographer to capture the scarves. My friend Ray of Ray Makes Things had recommended Barnaby Boulton - his work was unreal so I approached him and he captured the scarves in all their ridiculously divine glory.
And NOW these silky creations are finally READY to be shared with you ! I’ve got 2 scarves still available for purchase - Message me on Instagram if you’re interested in purchasing one, the perfect Christmas gift or festive-season indulgence !
This has been one of the most meaningful, rewarding and wonderful projects I’ve ever worked on and I am truly truly grateful for all your support ♡♡♡