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Gunia Project: a new life for Ukrainian folk art
Have you been to the National Museum of Applied Arts? Have you seen Carpathian and Bukovina icons on glass? Have you ever made vytynanki yourself? We probably wouldn't have either, if it weren't for one Ukrainian brand, whose name is Gunia Project. It doesn't just create ceramics, scarves, woven baskets, and jewelry, but with their help revives Ukrainian crafts, handwork, and ancient production techniques. In just two years, the Gunia Project team managed to create a trend for Ukrainian primitive art, folk icons, embroidered patterns, and vytynanki scarves. Read — for Ukrainian cultural heritage in general. Moreover, they created something with which you can proudly represent Ukraine abroad. Have you heard about the plate that the President gave to the Pope? Yes, it was the Gunia ceramic makitra. To be honest, we've been waiting a long time to introduce the brand's ceramics in our store, because despite its huge popularity, Gunia remains a small company, and its production volume is quite limited. However, we finally have the opportunity to tell you more about Gunia Project, because now we present not only candles, but also collections of ceramic dishes .
BRAND OF EXCEPTIONAL THINGS
Natalia Kamenska and Maria Gavrylyuk started Gunia Project as a hobby. In 2017, tired of working in fashion, Natalia — co-founder of the fashion brand Lake Studio (formerly kamenskakononova) — took a timeout, became a volunteer at the Center for Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum" and began exploring ancient Ukrainian techniques and crafts on expeditions. During one of these trips to Western Ukraine, Hutsul fur coats were found, which she really liked and with which she decided to make an art project. This is where the story of Gunia began and, in fact, the name of the future brand appeared.
"We don't want to say that Gunia is only about Ukrainian, because our global mission is to tell about world heritage in a new way. But since there is still more to dig and dig, we are still relying on local resources. We are a fish that has finally found water," says Natalia Kamenska in an interview with Wonderzine Ukraine .
A little later, Natalia suggested that Maria create a joint collection of scarves with the Ivan Honchar Museum: transfer elements from traditional embroidered towels to silk - this is how the first Gunia silk scarves appeared. And in early 2019, the girls released a glass and ceramics collection and made their first presentation at Ukrainian Fashion Week - since then, Gunia Project has gradually turned into a business with its own small team and ceramic workshop. Currently, the brand works with 40 craftsmen in 12 regions of the country, implementing its mission: to give a second life to forgotten manual techniques, since most of them are on the verge of extinction. The girls strive to tell the whole world how rich Ukrainian culture is and how fashionable these products can be.
"FLOWERED"
Gunia pays great attention to naive Ukrainian art in its work. In particular, the naive style of painting dishes from the “Zakvitchani” collection is inspired by carpets from the National Museum of Applied Arts. This museum boasts a truly remarkable collection — it houses 1,199 Ukrainian carpets from the 18th–20th centuries. The central pattern of the collection is, of course, floral — images of stylized flowers or branches with flowers can be seen on carpets from the Poltava, Kyiv, and Chernihiv regions. In addition to flowers, you will find a lion on Gunia ceramics — animals were also depicted on carpets, but on Podolsk ones. The brand makes sure that the owners of the ceramics themselves want to learn more about the drawings with which it is decorated. It seems that studying Ukrainian art has never been so pleasant.
An important part of Gunia's big idea is to combine elements of folk heritage with functional objects. In addition to the fact that you can use the dishes for their intended purpose, they will, of course, become a beautiful decoration (all the brand's plates have special holes so that they can be hung on the wall), the teapot can easily be transformed into a vase for flowers, and the sugar bowl can be used to store nuts or candies. So the brand's products are perfect for everyday life. The only thing is that the ceramics are covered with a rather delicate gilding, so the brand's craftsmen advise you to treat it with care and avoid washing in the dishwasher.
SINGERS OF GOODNESS AND LOVE
Perhaps the most recognizable products of Gunia Project are soy bird candles — they were the first to “fly” to Ogonyok this year. In Ukrainian tradition, birds are singers of goodness and love and, of course, a symbol of spring — so with them in the house at any time of the year it will be warm and cozy. They contain soy wax and natural oils, are hypoallergenic, and each of them has its own name and aroma: there is a white flower , an apple orchard , a blue night , and silence . So we recommend choosing your first candle in person, focusing on the smell. In our team, for example, everyone has their own favorite bird.
NEW FAMILY TRADITIONS
And yet, dishes play a significant role in family traditions. Grandma's Christmas makitra, the same porcelain service, a hand-painted candy jar - all these things are passed down in the family from generation to generation. With their products, the Gunia team has given the opportunity to modernize these traditions and add elements of Ukrainian culture to them. Or even to establish such traditions independently for those whose families did not have them. This is especially true for dishes from the Christmas and Easter collections, because it is on these holidays that the whole family usually gathers together at the family table. This year, on Easter, while setting the table with Gunia Project dishes, we caught ourselves thinking that we really want to pass these artifacts on to our children later.
