Treasures from the Silk Road: Bokja Design

This post is for all of you that go crazy with embroideries, silks and other sumptuous fabrics!

Bokja Design is the brainchild of Hoda Baroudi and Maria hibri, two lebanese textile artists, who decided to give new life to all the beautiful vintage fabrics they collected from voyages around the world.
Most of the colouful pieces are embroideries and other handmade fabrics from Central Asia. Suzani, ikat, brocade, ottoman sarma (embroidered velours) and chatma (printed velours) and other are reused for reuphostering furniture from all ages creating unique and whimsical objects full of shiny colours and contrasts.

Since I discovered them I couldn't stop looking at these gorgeous pictures.

Will I be able to create something similar myself?

Find more information and all pictures here.

Living Room Inspirations

The day bed in our living room needs definately a new styling ... so I browse around for new ideas. I think a combination of two colours will work well, but I still can't decide whether to chose dark red / honey or coffee / teal. Both combinations are vivid but still not too flashy.

These examples come from Nalli Silk found via Once Upon a Tea Time.
Looking at the Saree collection I realized how beutiful these colours look on an evening gown!

Now it is even more difficult to decide ;-)

Memories from Algiers

Wouldn't you like ...... a cup of sweet mint tea made on hot stones like in the Sahara?


... shop plenty of coloured tassels ...



... or shimmering brass decor?

Algiers, we miss you!

Suzani, Ikat & Co. - Ethno Style Decor

Browsing around my eye fell on a detail at Timothy Paul's bedding and home collection's picture. (found via Apartment Therapy) You see the mirror with mother of pearl inlay on the top of the bed? I brought a similar one from Syria many years ago. Looking at the other products I was surprised to see traditional fabrics from Central Asia reutilized for contemporary home decor - and they fit so well!

Traditional Uzbek Suzani needlework is used for the bedspread; "Suzanis are prestigious and lavishly embroidered panels used as a wall decoration or as a bedcover to protect people from harm and evil eyes. The term “suzani” derives from “suzan” the Farsi word for “needle”, and it used generically to describe a particular family of embroideries as well as specially to describe some of the largest of these which are mainly used as wall hangings. These wonderful textiles are an evolving expression of ancient aesthetic and technological traditions. The production of a number of various embroideries of different forms and functions for bride’s wedding dowry, belongings for horsemen and their horses, and the embellishment of reception rooms was integral part to life style of Central Asian people."
(Source: uzbekshop.com)

I love these colourful pillows with Suzani silk embroidery:


Here are two examples of an Uzbek Ikat, abr in uzbek, which means cloud and refers to the blurry edges of the figures that are woven into the fabric using pre-dyed weft thread. This complicated technique can be found in different parts of the world and is mostly known from Indonesia, where the name "Ikat" comes from.


In Uzbekistan Ikat fabric is made from silk or half silk, half cotton yarn, which makes the fabric more resistant.

The last cushion is decorated with a saree (?) lace.

And now a Suzani table runner, which adds a special twist to the embroidered napkins.

What a beautiful combination!

Time for a break

After a crazy weekend with a workshop, a dance performance and traveling many hours by train with my 20 month old daughter I came home completely exhausted. So I decided to dedicate some hours of this morning completely to myself...


... getting inspired by my bead collection in my "atelier" (a 2,5 square meter sun parlour) ...

... and knitting funny baby-cardigans from recycled wool leftovers!
Aaah, what a beautiful day!

Mail from India - Chikkankari needlework

Just a few days ago this lovely package arrived directly from India :-) I love those fabric envelopes with many colourful stamps...

See what was in there...

A wonderful Lucknowi style salwaar kameez with Chikkankari, a traditional North-Indian embroidery technique. I have been looking for something like this for a long time; I saw it for the first time when my Kathak Guru wore it while she was teaching. Finally i found it - guess where - on ebay :-)

I will need to adjust it a little bit to my size

... but I totally love the tender lilac shade of the fabric and I couldn't resist to wear it at once, even if it is too big for me (see last post).

This shopping season is wonderful :-)

This was my favourite shop in the market of Algiers... hidden in a labyrinth of tiny stores (in front of the hammam I showed you some days ago) where a woman can find anything she desires ;-) shoes, bags, scarves and dresses in the most unbelievable colours...
This shop sells caftans from Syria. I was completely engrossed by the mesmerizing colours...

... this seasons is clearly inspired by Central Asian arts and crafts ...

...bright colours and broad, mostly geometric patterns inspired by plants and flowers ...

... and extra wide sleeves, a reminescence of Chinese traditions ...

Tulips from East-Germany

No sign of spring until now... last night it was snowing again. Not that it is unusual in this time of the year. But my internal clock runs differently and I always have had enough of the winter several weeks too early (my mediterranean genes?).
So yesterday I decided to buy something that reminded me of flowers and colours, a combination of a vase and a candleholder, which I had been eyeing for several months in the window of an antique shop. These two pieces were made in the German Democratic Republic, i.e. here, but in Soviet times, probably in the sixties ot early seventies. The porcelain vase is a mass product, the surface is printed, but I found it irresistible because of its oriental pattern and the unusual shape.



This is a tiny remnant of the friendship and the mutual influence that linked the countries of the former Soviet Union and the Eastern Block. Although fabricated in central Europe it has a distinctively turkish-persian look adopted also by the central asian soviet republics.
The tulip with its round, turban-shaped blossom, is a often recalled motive in persian and turkish culture from Afghanistan and Central Asia, where the the flower and the name actually have their origin.
From there it took its way to Europe and much later a nameless German designer created this set as an hommage to some Soviet brother country far down in Asia.
Travelling in Eastern Europe I noticed a strong tendency towards asian-oriental patterns and accents very closed to kitch all over; I call it the "Soviet concrete baroque". But this is another story to be told another time... ;-)
Unfortunately, as you can see, the shape of the vase does not really fit the tulip, it is far to slim and high; I will have to wait for the daffodills to adorn it!

Handmade Felt Messenger Bag

Look at this wonderful one of a kind handfelted
messenger bag! It is large enough to put inside all the books I need for my language classes ;-) and the strap fits perfectly to carry the bag diagonally, which is important if you ride a bicycle. And last not least I love the ornaments in different blue shades that remind me some mediterranean underwater landscapes with strange algae and marine animals.
My friend Antje made it on commission for me -I'm quite sure this is the best christmas gift I will get this year ;-) Thank you Antje!

November... sun ;-)

Brrr, what a lousy weather... November has arrived. Now I love even more my handmade Nepalese lamp in luminous imperial yellow that brings the sun into my living room ;-) - I bought it from a very sweet shop in Weimar, where you can find lots of handmade stuff from Nepal and India.
So I spend this sunday with a cup of spicy Indian Chai playing with my daughter and adding some beads to my new projects whenever she lets me work...

... until night falls. Now the colour looks even more gorgeous! What a wonderful lazy afternoon!