I was on a stroll via the downtown area in my hometown last week and came across a brand new store filled with lovely textiles, it was like discovering a new planet of exotic products just down the street from my house, such bliss!
I struck up a conversation with the owner Julie and we chatted for over an hour. Julie has been traveling to exotic countries all her existence, which gave her an appreciation for various cultures and the handwork carried out by the artisans in diverse countries. Soon after her very first journey to Turkey she started out importing items for her former retailer in Palm Springs but she has relocated to the Bay Area.
Julie and her mother have just opened a stunning keep Bohca Bazaar in downtown Petaluma, California. Our town is well-known for its antique merchants and we have a lot of, so it is wonderful to have a really diverse boutique filled with genuine textiles and home products imported from Turkey and Uzbekistan, each and every inch inside is such a visual deal with!
 
Julie considers her spouse in Istanbul loved ones, she has stayed with him numerous occasions and they have a long time business partnership. It was so great to connect with a person who speaks the style language with in depth information of the history and craftsmanship of genuine Kilim, Suzani, Ikat and equivalent woven and embroidered fabrics from the Middle East and Asia.
Julie was kind ample to response all of my concerns and get pictures in her shop, I realized so significantly! The following are estimates from Julie’s solutions to my question, enjoy understanding a bit a lot more about these stunning textiles from an skilled!
What are the recognizable distinctions between Kilim, Suzani, and Ikat?
Kilim is a classic Turkish woven wool flat weave carpet with geometric repeating patterns. It is produced with strands of vegetable dyed wool knotted onto warps and held together by pressing the wefts tightly, the Kilim motifs are created by interweaving the variously colored wefts and warps.
Suzani is traditional to Uzbekistan and is needle function on a cotton or silk background, it is very distinctive, utilizing a chain, satin and buttonhole stitch along with couching. Couching is laying a thread all around a style and then including a second stitch to secure it, giving is a raised feel around the motif.
Patterns usually are repeating floral types, and can contain vines or birds. Genuinely large quality vintage versions are available, frequently with a black cotton background and silk stitching. Much more rudimentary Suzani can be found, they are not as expensive but whimsical and exciting and a wonderful piece for the beginning collector. Reproductions are generally only in print work.
Suzanis in good condition are very best displayed on a wall, bedcover, throw, etc. but you can consider a broken suzani, salvage the the pieces in excellent situation and make bench seats, cushions, poufs, ottomans as a beautiful addition to any space.
Ikat is made with a resist dye approach, to create the patterns the threads are bound or tied off, dyed and repeated, then woven with each other in a weft, warp, or double Ikat method. The ikat we carry is from Uzbekistan, nonetheless Ikat weave can be located in Indonesia, Central and South America, Central Asia. Okinawa on of the Japanese islands is a single of the couple of spots you will uncover double Ikat.
The fabric for the Ikat pillows we carry in the shop are woven/resist dyed velvet on a single side and hand woven resist/dyed silk on the opposite side in complementary patterns and colours.
The Kilim furnishings is manufactured by my spouse and they are are of Turkish origin. The sofas take four Kilim rugs to make, this is quite hard because each and every Kilim is 1 of a type. When creating the piece, my companion has to examine the patterns of various carpets in purchase to produce a cohesive pattern. Smaller sized pieces like poufs, ottomans, and benches can be created from the very best remaining piece from and outdated carpet.
Since our textiles are genuine, if taken care of they turn into heirloom pieces. When decorating, I believe it is really critical to devote the additional money for a single or two pieces remembering that you are purchasing a one particular of a type, handcrafted piece of art."
Tell me about the incredible lamps and ceramics in the store.
"The ceramics are known as Iznik which is the exact same as the ancient town of Nicea, not far southeast of Istanbul. Iznik Golu is the lake that the town of Izni/Nicea sits on. In the 15th century artisans inspired by the blue and white porcelain from China adopted their very own approach of making the ceramics.
They use quartz ground to a fine powder, then formed into a clay. The pottery is hand formed and painted, with raised motifs.  All motifs have a meaning: the tulip is God and the Rose is Mohammed. The lamps are all manufactured in Turkey, they and are called mosaic shade lights and are extremely labor intensive."
 
Boots and sneakers are New Suzani, the recent vogue is platform but we do carry flats that are called Babette. We also produce guys’s and girls’s Kilim footwear, handbags and travel bags."
Girls, aren’t these boots amazing? I must have a pair for winter!
 
Julie also carries dyed patchwork rugs, ottomans, benches, Turkish towels and robes, and authentic pashminas as well (I bought one for my Mom for her birthday). Bay Region collectors and designers, be confident to give Julie a phone or get a trip to the store, she can supply these textiles for you or your client, or have some thing created custom!
 
Julie’s husband passed away from a uncommon bone cancer of the spine Chordoma so proceeds from every single sale from her shop go to that foundation to honor her husband. Bohca Bazaar is on Facebook and will quickly have an on-line shop to supply these textiles to the rest of the country, so be confident to comply with along. Thank you Julie for sharing your skills ! …
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