A chance encounter in a small Aegean town while traveling in Turkey refocused my direction in
life, when I met my vintage textile expert husband Abit. I was a clothing and
interior designer in my native California,
with work stints in design centers around the world. Experiencing new cultures,
seeing how others live and create is my best possible design inspiration.
Seeking amazing textiles and the cultures which produce them is a joy my curious
nature will never give up.
In 1999, Abit and I, each avid Turkish, Kurdish and
Central Asian textile collectors before we met, started Bazaar Bayar in Selcuk,
the town next to the ancient ruins of Ephesus.
We surrounded ourselves with woven treasures from these cultures in a small
shop in the exact location where we met. I have degrees in design, but Abit
grew up watching the women in his native region of Mardin in Turkey’s
southeast weave kilims and other functional yet beautiful items for their homes.
Learning to weave was once a prerequisite before woman could marry. My
mother-in-law’s generation was the last to weave for themselves.
We spent a decade in our Bazaar Bayar shop,
collecting and selling vintage kilims and carpets, embroidered suzanis, and
vintage Ottoman and Central Asian jewelry. We also sold the hand-knits I
created, inspired by the local women who knit and crochet in profusion. From
intricately patterned colorful socks to the exquisite flower and fruit
ornaments called “oya” that adorn headscarves, I am captivated by the crafts
average Turkish women still make.
So this summer of 2010, we’ve moved to Istanbul’s Old
City, to launch a workshop
to support local unsung artisans: women who still weave, knit, and crochet in
the traditions of timeless Turkish handcraft. Istanbul is a magical, challenging city with
a diverse population of women. Some of these are educated women, reviving
crafts as a hobby or a career. There are other women with fewer opportunities
who’d like to earn money within a safe community of women. Our workshop will
also give traveling women a chance to meet Turkish women through classes we’ll
offer and craft tours we’ll host. Hands engaged to learn new skills and teach
traditional ones, spinning yarns, clacking needles and drinking tea together,
we’ll share the common language of craft with stories from our lives and about
our cultures.