What is it? – China, circa 3600 BC.  That’s where it all started.  A young Chinese empress expressed a desire for a luxurious new fiber and silk was the result.  Threads of different types had been around for many years but this was different.  In fact, silk was very different.  It had a texture and luster that set it way apart from anything else.  It rapidly became the luxury fiber distributed only among the powerful and wealthy.  But the appeal was too great to keep under wraps and its use…