Vintage Hand Block Printed Russian Shawl: A Must See

I know I have been away for ages, and I do have a lot of news (which is why I did not have time to write). I promise to correct this, but for now I will just show a very unique and vintage Russian shawl that we bought recently. It is new old stock with a tag, and it is at least 50 years old. It has a field of flowers on soft ivory background, and there are also the prettiest tiny branches and twigs which make the print very elegant.

Such delicate and airy print is not often found in Russian shawl. This shawl is like a fine china or elegant lace.

The fine and soft wool drapes like a dream.

And I am always fascinated by hand block printed shawls, because they are so alive. They seem to breath. All the small imperfections are very dear to my heart - you can see that the shawl was made by people, not by metal monsters spitting dyes.

This is a very old tag. The "Weaving and Decoration Factory Named in the Honor of 10 Years' Anniversary of the Red Army" was reorganised back in 1963, so the shawl dates at least to that year, making it 50 years old. However, we feel that it belongs more to the 1950s.

The shawl is available in our Etsy store here.

A Very Unique Dress from Uzbek Silk

...We are having a very busy spring; kids have Taekwon-do competitions, we have a lot of work to do, and I also resumed running and working out with weights. I feel a bit guilty about not writing, but not overly so, as I decided that, when choosing between writing and sleeping, I must sleep.

However, this is something I want to share. A new dress fully designed and made by my mother is always a bit of a special event to me, and this one is a very unique dress. It is made from highly unusual Uzbek silk with a very wild ethnic print - I have only seen a similar fabric once. It is many years old, was stored in a chest for ages, and it looks amazing. All these designs are based on ancient rituals and beliefs and are said to incorporate symbols that protect from evil and grant health and prosperity.

The dress is voluminous, flowing and gleaming. It has a deep plunging v-neck and kimono sleeves. I really, really like it, and I am a bit jealous of someone who will buy it. I love both the fabric and the design. But, realistically, I do not wear black and white, so I could not have it to myself, anyway. I hope someone who buys it will wear and enjoy it a lot. I will ask my mother to make a similar dress for me, in colors that will look good on me. She loves working with Uzbek fabrics, as did her mother and aunt before her - both were well known fashion designers here in Uzbekistan.

The dress is for sale in our Etsy shop, Mulberry Whisper, and I do not expect it to last long. It fill fit Large and Extra large sizes.

Rose Evening - a Real Hand Block Printed Russian Shawl

Many sellers on Ebay or Etsy will claim that Russian shawls they are selling are handmade or at least hand block printed. Well, in most cases that is a complete nonsense. The modern Russian shawls as we know them - those made at the Pavlovo Posad Manufacture - are not handmade. They are mass made at a large factory. However, the Manufacture produced hand block printed shawls till 1974: the last such shawl was Russia by Ekaterina Dadonova. As this was quite a long time ago, and Russian shawls, although strong, are made of wool which deteriorates with time and is beloved by moth, there are not too many around in our days. And I can assure you that in most cases the shawls stated to be hand printed are not. This can be a mistake or a marketing move, it depends on the person I guess. Actually I made this mistake myself a couple of times, thinking that vintage shawls printed by photo film method were hand printed (in all instances they were designed by Simeon Ryjov, and his designs always look like hand printed). Now I know better.  

This topic merits a separate lengthy post with examples of different printing methods, but now I just want to show a shawl which was definitely hand block printed. It is called "Rose Evening" and this was an antique design restored by Victor Zubritsky ("Розовый вечер", художник Виктор Зубрицкий, ручная печать). To me, it is immediately obvious that this is a hand block printed shawl: it has that living and breathing quality of print that I value so much. It is as alive as a watercolour, with same lovely imperfections. Some lines seem to be trembling, and dye can run a little beyond the contours, lending a very touching feel of alive beauty to this design.

This shawl is not for sale at the moment, but we have many others in our Etsy shop.

Russian Scarf For a Picky Girl

My daughter is very picky about her clothing, so when she asked for a Russian scarf I knew I had a problem. I told her that I needed some time to think and choose. As she is just nine, I did not want a very classic looking scarf, and certainly not a black or red one. I was looking for something more subtle, to go well with grey and beige shades that she loves. Finally, I found this: Amber Evening ("Янтарный вечер"), a smaller sized scarf (34 inches or 89 cm), which seems to fill the bill. Its soft grey background and orangey-creamy roses look good with Madina's own subtle colours.

What I especially love about Russian shawls is their versatility. It suddenly became cold? Cover your head with it!

..And when it becomes warm again, you can just drape it around your shoulders. Or fold it and put into your purse. My daughter is an expert now, and she is the only girl in her class who has a scarf like this - not something synthetic.

I do not have a scarf like this for sale, but I have many others in my Etsy shop.

Venetian Glass Beads for my Russian Shawl

...So, I have this large Pavlovo Posad shawl that I adore - Fairytale by Sukharevskaya (шаль "Сказка", художник Сухаревская). It is in my favourite colours, it has a lovely intricate print, it is huge and silky to the touch and warm... my Precious! I love it so much, I decided that I needed a bracelet specifically for this shawl. I am sure you can understand.

This is me and Fairytale in Samarkand during the last weekend; a Russian shawl is a perfect travelling companion. You wear it when you are cold, and when it is too warm, you just fold it and put away in your bag, as it is so compact.

And can you see that bracelet? I feel that I could hardly find anything better suited for this shawl. I do not wear costume jewelry, but I cannot afford to buy emeralds and tourmalines in the size I would love to have for the shawl. However, I feel that murano glass with vermeil cores (that is gold over sterling) is jewelry enough, and this bracelet definitely suits my needs.



I must admit, I am very proud of how clever I was when I bought these beads. I was thinking about some Chamilia or Pandora charms, but I must admit that their glass beads are too expensive for me. And then I found these Perlavita beads here. There was a discount, so I bought six beads, most were about 5$, and only the 'wedding cake' bead - the one with painted flowers, it is called Serenissima on the website - was 14$. But I felt that I had to have it.

I was a bit confused when I received the beads (expertly packed, in perfect order, and there was a small gift, too). They are lovely, but rather large and cannot be combined with my Pandora, as I planned to do. They fit on Pandora and Chamilia bracelets, but look too bulky. However, I decided to wear them on their own, for which they are perfectly suited, and put them on the leather cord, to wear wrap style.

When I look at this, I am in aesthetic heaven. I think they look very festive, and provide the much needed splash of colour in the gloomy days of late autumn. I love the effect of foil under coloured glass, and I love the depth and richness of colour. To me, Venetian glass is as precious as gemstones. I do not wear plastic, as it is not jewellery to me, but Perlavita murano beads are very much jewellery - a real treasure.

You can see all of my Perlavita venetian glass beads here: 

And now I hope there will be a discount for the Serenissima beads, too, as I would love to have several more. I bought Chamilia teardrop earrings where you can put different beads, so I definitely need more beads! 

The Joy of Fields and Meadows

As I already said, I love all Russian shawls, but some of them I find irresistible. This one - Joy by Valeria Fadeeva - is one of them. It is adorned with glorious mauve roses, which are an integral element of a Russian shawl, but in addition to that, there are the loveliest grasses and field flowers. The subdued colors make the shawl easy to wear; it will look great with many outfits, including white formal or wedding dresses, and blue jeans.

The shawl can be bought in our Etsy shop, and I only have one. 

A Shawl of Character: Spice and Silkiness

There are some shawls that are not just pieces of fabric with fringe attached. There are shawls with character and dignity. This is definitely one of them: it is so regal that it is hard for me not to curtsey when I see it.



This Russian shawl is called Whimsical Evening ("Таинственный вечер"). It was designed by Natalya Belokur, a renowned artist of Pavlovo Posad Manufacture. In my view, it is a real masterpiece, full of harmony and energy. The combination of colours makes me think of oriental spices.



This batch of shawls was printed at very special fabric - very tightly woven wool which feels cool and silky to the touch. It is not flimsy, even though it is rather fine.

It is so large that you will feel very cozy wrapping all of yourself into it on a gloomy day. At the same time, you can wear it as a scarf, and it will not be too bulky as this is such a fine fabric.

  
You can buy the shawl in my Etsy shop here. It is new with tag. I do not expect to have another one like this, as they are quite expensive, and this one was obtained as a result of shawl swapping with a collector friend. 

A Whimsical Silk Scarf by More

This is my own vintage silk shawl. I love this whimsical picture, and it looks amazing when worn. I would love to find more like this, but cannot. It is signed "More", and when I try to Google silk scarves by More, the search results are complete rubbish as you can imagine. Anyone knows this brand?

Thinking of Cool Sea Waters

....I have had a couple of hard weeks recently; I have been overloaded with work, taken to the Kyzyl Kum desert for a field trip (not a nice trip in the summer), and had to go to a doctor and now I am receiving a rather unpleasant treatment against some inflammation. So, I haven't really had time and energy for the blog, but I will improve.

Today I took a break from work and made this collage with one of my favorite Russian shawls, Sadko. The shawl is made at Pavlovo Posad Manufacture in Russia; dress is Valentino Pre-Fall 2014; necklace is from a lovely Etsy shop, and illustration is by Ivan Bilibin. I love the cool green colour - this is just what I need to see after a trip to that desert.

I do not have this shawl for sale anymore, but I have many others - you can check them here.

My Treasures

Russian shawls look amazing when piled like that! I am almost ready to have them on permanent display. Actually, I have been toying with the idea of hanging some shawls on the wall, to add colour to my place. I might do it, if I find a suitable one. I would need one in the colours of fall for my living room, and something taupe and blue for the bedroom.

Surrounded by Suzani

It is easy to see why suzani are so much loved. People love them, because they are bright, intricate, exotic and different. They bear a flavour of faraway countries, gardens behind high walls in the middle of deserts, little spice shops and huge bazaars. However, to me they are no exotic at all, because I live in their country of origin. I am used to seeing them around, mostly in other people's houses. And my mother used to work as a designer for a Tashkent factory which produced national clothing and suzani, just like those that we used to make pillows below. I used to visit her work often and could not care less for these pieces of needlework which were in abundance there. To me, an equestrian silk scarf is exotic, because we do not have them here. A suzani is not! 

I really did not care for suzani when I was a child. I thought they were too bright and with too many details. I felt that they made my eyes tired. However, at some point I saw them in different eyes, when my mother told me about symbolical meanings of their elements. Yes, as in the case of most folk arts, all those details are not just to be beatiful. Some elements are believed to bring good fortune and prosperity, others - to protect your health and life. When you start realising how much love and care people gave when designing and making these things, you begin appreciating them more. 

And then, later, I stopped being so fixated on neutral colors and plain designs which I always used to prefer, and began really enjoying the burst of colors and the sophisticated curving lines of traditional Uzbek suzani. Why having plain green pillows in that green sofa? I would really feel like a frog sitting in a marsh. This is not to say that I do not love frogs - I do! - but something like a wonderful garden in bloom would also be nice, so there you go, suzani pillows! 

The light was not so great, but at least we can see them sitting pretty together. I think they are beautiful!  All of the suzani pillows or bags we are offering at Mulberry Whisper are one of a kind or limited edition. These vintage suzani are not easy to find, and they are not cheap, too. I buy them when I can. 

The square pillow, 18 x 18 inches, can be bought here

These suzani are embroidered in tambour stitch. This is hand-guided machine embroidery which is still considered handwork, because the machine is controlled by a person, not by a computer. Of course it is much faster than working with your hands and a needle, but this is still a hard and tedious work. And the result is beautiful.



The long pillow, 13 x 26 inches, can be bought here

When I have a bit of time and inspiration, I will write about antique suzani and the meaning of the elements. I think this is a fascinating topic.

Thinking of Easter: A Moodboard

Multicolor Birds Mobile - Crochet Pillow Cover - White Silk Blouse - Ruffle Peg Bag 

Even if these pieces were not designed specifically with Easter in mind, they still remind me of this celebration of Love and Peace. That mobile by Cherry Garden Dolls is the cutest thing you can imagine - I would definitely want it for my own baby! The crochet pillow by katrinshine is a very nostalgic thing for me as it reminds me of my great grandmother who was a master of crocheting. The clothespin bag by Duni Studio is full of shabby chic; those roses are irresistible! And, of course, our floral blouse from vintage silk... just a nice blouse, lovely to the touch, that can be dressed up or down. 

Lovisetto Butterfly Bib Necklace and Peter Pan Collar in One Piece Giveaway!

We are having another giveaway! It is a gorgeous necklace generously donated by Lovisetto on Etsy.

Necklaces by Lovisetto were featured on Vogue UK December 2011 Christmas issue,Vogue UK April 2012 wedding issue, and appeared on the Etsy Facebook page. 

...My dear friends! My name is Anastasia and I am a fashion accessories' designer. I have been making necklaces for the last five years and those of you who are familiar with Etsy community may recognize me by my Butterfly Necklaces. You might have seen them in fashion magazines, too.

I am starting my first giveaway to promote the fundraising campaign we are running together with Anya Hayiev (my friend and a very talented photographer). We have created a Gofundme campaign SaveUkraineCivil to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis in the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine.

Our most important goal is to raise money to support activities of certain trustworthy volunteer groups working in that region. Those are the only people nowadays who are helping civilians - mostly unfortunate mothers with children trapped in the war zone in Ukraine.

____________________________________________________________________

You can win one of my Butterfly Necklaces worth $59 (for more details, please see the listing on Etsy) by doing the following: 

• Leave a comment under this post and then sign in the form below to provide your name and to state that you have commented (please use the same name).

After that you will see options for additional entries such as sharing on Facebook, blogging about the giveaway, sharing at Google+, etc.

Even if you are not interested in those additional options, you will need to at least register your comment. If you do not do that, you will have no chances to win, sorry.

You can get 5 more entries if you buy something from Lovisetto on Etsy. In that case, your chances are growing dramatically. Claim the entries and indicate your Etsy user name in the form.

And if you happen to win - we ship all items for free, including your purchase! (If you do buy something this time, please send to us at Lovisetto a note to delay shipping until the end of the giveaway).

Ends: March 24, 2015.

The donations starting from $ 1 to our SaveUkraineCivil fundraising page are very welcomed! 

If you would like to order a necklace from my Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/lovisetto you can do so. 100% of the money you pay will be donated to Evgeny Kaplin's charity in Donbass - https://www.facebook.com/evgeny.kaplin

This giveaway is open worldwide and comes with free shipping as long as you have a valid address (no P.O. boxes please). You should be 18 years old and above to qualify. All entries of the drawn winner will be verified.

Another current giveaway is HERE! Welcome!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lampwork Bead Set for Pandora

This is a traditional post of thanks - this time to Aimée Milan of PolychromeBeads on Etsy,  for the lovely set of handmade lampwork beads. I put them on my multi-cord khaki Pandora bracelet and I believe they look perfect there. They are like a tiny garden on my wrist. Aimée  is a self-representing artist and makes the beads in her studio, herself, which makes them much more interesting to me than mass-produced components.

Thank you, dear Aimée! I will be back, as, of course, I need many more beads! Best of luck to you and your shop!

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Misty Forest Moodboard

It gives me a lot of pleasure to browse beautiful handmade and vintage items on Etsy. Many of them induce interesting associations. Today I saw these beautiful felted flowers by Roltinica and thought of enchanted forest, full of milky mist and soft shadows, in the dim light coming from the white clouded sky. 

I had the irresistible urge to find a picture of forest to suit the description, and found just what I needed - a dreamy forest, where you cannot tell reality from illusions (www.khoras.net).

...After uniting the two images in a collage, I realised they needed something else. Something to gleam softly - a lost treasure - maybe a strand of pearls lost by a princess who travelled here or a nymph living somewhere deeper in the forest. However, no explanations are really needed; the pearls just needed to be there, and the lovely keshi pearl necklace by Arctida was perfect in its organic beauty. 

This is what they call "moodboard" - a funny name. To me, this is a more sophisticated stage of window shopping. I play with the items, put them close to each other and think about associations. I try to make a beautiful combination. Then maybe I will buy something (I know I can always find a use for a pearl necklace with great luster, and the flowers are lovely), or maybe not, it does not matter. It is the process that gives pleasure.