Savin
Saving
'en
Saving 'endangered'
handmade textiles,
reviving + reinterpreting disappearing
handcrafts,
employing
local women artisans,
promoting cultural exchange between
Turkey + our global visitors.
The
word conjures up sepia images of Middle Eastern alleyways, filled with nargile
smoke and touts of questionable character loitering on every corner. It evokes
colorful mental pictures of carpets stacked high under vaulted brick ceilings,
daylight barely filtering in through high rosette panes…a world of men, intrigue,
shady dealings and endless bartering.
Our
Bazaar is another vision entirely. A gathering place, a cultural haven filled
with the intricate handmade textiles that women from the regions of our former Ottoman Empire have been making for themselves, for their
families, to use and cherish for ages. Vivid embroideries wheeling circles of
fertility and abundance across dark hand loomed cottons, painstaking crochet
work that needles forth a cornucopia of fruits and flowers in scarf-trimming
profusion, our bazaar is a color-filled refuge for artisans and storytellers.
In
a world overwhelmed by machine made stuff churned out by the thousands and
destined soon to be fodder for landfill, we think it’s wiser to slow down,
reuse, recycle and reinvigorate those traditions that have value over time, not
passing whims based on trend. Whether you are looking for vintage handcrafts to
pass along to your own families, or are intrigued to learn about timeless
crafts passed from mother to daughter for generations, you are welcome here, in
our Bazaar Bayar.
