Handcraft trip 19-26.8.2011, part 2

Bosnia and Herzegovina

On the way to Tuzla we stopped for some coffee and on the restaurants window lay this huge butterfly or moth. The wingspan was more than the width of my palm. And as a biologist I of course had to document it. According to my googlesearch it some sort of silk moth.


Tuzla

So, we arrived in Tuzla on Sunday evening and had a short walk around the city. It was Ramadan when we were in Bosnia and Herzegovina, so around 8 o´clock all the mosques in the city turned on their decorative lights and started summoning people for prayer and the evening feast. I think it´s amazing how they go without eating or drinking (even water!) during the hole day, when it´s 30 degrees hot! Wow. I call that devotion.

The next morning we paid a visit to BHcrafts, which is an organization that was established after the war to help women to make a living. The products are of high quality and they are exported to several countries. The idea is that the materials and patterns are sent to the women and they make the handcraft at home and get paid for it. 300-400 women are employed by this fair trade organization. The items are not cheap, but if they would be, the women wouldn´t get paid for the effort they put into the handcraft. The web page wasn´t working when I wrote this, but you can find them on facebook.

I bought some earrings (surprise surprise)...

...and some sort of necklaces, which I think I will use in a lot of different ways...

...for example around the arm. Or maybe as decoration on a bag.

The way to Sarajevo was beautiful, filled with hills and winding roads. The countryside is totally different compered to the views in Croatia, which were field after field after field. We stopped and had lunch at place that served good food and had a nice view over a small village.

And had some nice beer of course :)You need to support the local industry, right?

And suddenly we realized that there were a six puppies underneath the terrace where we were sitting. She´s so cute! I had a hard time convincing myself why I shouldn´t take her along with me. Awww...

To be continued...

Coming up in the next (and hopefully last) part of the trip: Sarajevo and Mostar.

Handcraft trip 19-26.8.2011, part 1

In general

Käsillä ry is a handcarft association in Helsinki and they arrange yearly a one week handcraft trip, where the idea is to get to know local handcraft in other countries, mainly in Europe. This year the trip headed for Hungary, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. I tagged along, as the youngest one, but I still had a blast.

Hungary

We arrived in Budapest on Friday morning and went directly for some supplyshopping (meaning handcraftshops!). After one intens hour our trip continued to the castle, were they every august arrange a handcraft festival. It is actually the biggest in Europe. The castle was full of stands and we spent the hole afternoon there. It was more or less 30 degrees, so it was pretty hot.

Stands on the castle yard.

Blacksmiths in work.

More stands and the Danube. This was my second time in Budapest and I really like the city.

This bags are made of one long zipper and are therefore called zip bags. I couldn´t decide which color, so I bought both :)

At five o´clock we met at our bus and drove down to southern Hungary.

Pécs

We spent two nights in Pécs, which is the childhood city of our guide. The city is smaller than Budapest, but really lovely. The first night I went and had some dinner and drinks with some of the ladies. The next day we had a small walk in the center. Unluckily (or should I say luckily?) that day was a national festive day, so all the shops were closed.

This is a compulsory photo for me, because I have a similar from my first trip to Hungary. Aren´t those pink phones just to die for??? :)

Hörpintö. It was easy for a Finn to understand what you get there.

Hmmm.. They put out special signs where you can do your business in the park?? It took a while for me to understand the logic of this toilet. Apparently there used to be stairs down and later they´ve closed it, but left the sign.

Local handcraft made by a woman who makes these kind of necklaces as a hobby. Love it.

At noon we went to the local handcraft association and had a hole day course in some typical Hungarian handcrafts. I never thought that I would have to make embroidery after sixth grade, but how wrong wasn´t I. My group started with the embroidery and after a few hours and a lot of sweating and hard work I actually managed to Finnish my lavender bag....

...though the result looks like it´s still me in sixth grade. lol. Well, now I know embroidery is NOT my thing. You have to try everything in life, right?

Half way trough the course we had a nice local lunch, starting with a chicken soup, for main course we had typical Hungarian maize porridge with trimmings and finnished of with fresh fruits.

Maize porridge with trimmings:

After lunch my group finally got to the felting (and yes we had a laugh at the other group, who had to struggle to get the thread on the needle!). I ended up felting a keyholder.

I think it still needs a few black pearls for the last touch.

Thanks to the national festive day, there were a lot of happening in the evening. In one park there were even handcraft stands and I picked up a teddy bear.

I´m calling him my therapy bear.

 

The main square. I just wanted you to see how the city looked after the festive the night before. No garbage! I think we Finns have something to learn from the Hungarians..

Croatia

On Sunday morning we headed for the border and drove trough Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croatia is more or less countryside in this part of the country. Ou, and we got a stamp in the passport when we crossed the border in Croatia! (Small things sometimes makes me happy :P)

Coffee break in Croatia.

The border to Bosnia and Herzegovina was dull: we had to walk and they didn´t stamp our passports. :( We arrived in Tuzla in the evening, but about Bosnia and Herzegovina I will tell you in another update.

Childhood all over again

Last summer I realized that I still have a lot of toys from my childhood. Well I didn´t want to use up all my "memories", so I went to some flee markets and found similar toys.

As with the rubik´s cubes, I drilled a hole in the head of the toys (evil, I know) and glued a wire with a loop in the other end. I just want to remind that drilling holes in small toys can be potentially dangerous, so if you do it - do it at your own risk! A problem I encountered was that the drill, due the the small size, easily breaks leaving one end in the toy. But with some practice I did some nice earrings.

 

Kinder Easter egg surprises.

These I found at Valtterin kirpputori in Vallila.

Princesses.

The dots are from the shop at my work. These were the most difficult to drill due to the hard material.

These are from some Easter eggs, but I can´t remember which brand made them. Cute though.

As you probably can see (or count), there is an uneven amount of some of the earrings. That´s because I haven´t yet done all that I have. I haven´t either paired the Easter eggs surprises, so that those who buy a pair can choose for them self which ones they want to combine.

The best market to sell this kind of earrings would probably be at happenings like Ropecon. Unfortunately it already went. Maybe next year?

Crazy rubik´s cubes

This idea I got at work two summers ago. We have a shop were they sell a lot of science stuff and due to my fixation of turning everything into jewelry I ended up doing earrings out of rubik´s cubes. It was not that difficult, although drilling holes in the corners might be considered as dangerous. Well I survived it (without a journey to the hospital ) and they are just so fabulous!!

I have got attention regarding the earrings in all sorts of situations: coffee shops, shops, parties and even at a gas station (it was a guy and he was like in his early twenties, so I was a little surprised). Even in London quite a few saleslady in different shops asked me where I had got them. Well, if you want to buy a pair, just e-mail me.

Lime-earrings

These earrings I made a few years ago. The dried lime slices I found in a shop in old Porvoo. (I love that place btw.) The shop was called Helmeri and unfortunately, as you can see by the past tense, the shop has been closed. Some of the goods they still sell in Café Helmi.

I drilled a small hole in the end of both slices and attached a jump ring. In one end of a wire I made some random loops and added three glass pearls. I finished of with a loop that I attached on the jump ring.

I have promised a friend of mine that I would make a yellow pair (oranges) for her, because the two pairs I made I have already sold. Tomorrow I´ll be going to old Porvoo, so I´ll probably ask if they have a stash of fruit slices hidden somewhere at Café Helmi. *Fingers crossed*