Saving ‘endangered’ handmade textiles,
reviving + reinterpreting disappearing handcrafts,
employing local women artisans,
promoting cultural exchange between Turkey + our global visitors.
The word conjures up sepia images of Middle Eastern alleyways, filled with nargile smoke and touts of questionable character loitering on every corner. It evokes colorful mental pictures of carpets stacked high under vaulted brick ceilings, daylight barely filtering in through high rosette panes…a world of men, intrigue, shady dealings and endless bartering.
Our Bazaar is another vision entirely: A gathering place, a cultural haven filled with intricate handmade textiles. Made by women from all regions of our former Ottoman Empire for themselves and their families, to use and cherish for ages.
Vivid suzani embroideries wheeling circles across handloomed cottons and silks.
Cotton and silk ikats and velvets in traditional patterns, bursting with color and personality.
Handloomed patterned silk velvets from Uzbekistan, Grand Bazaar
Painstakingly detailed oya crochet work that needles forth a cornucopia of fruits and flowers in scarf-trimming profusion.
Felted wools that move traditional techniques into contemporary expressions.
Ebru marbled silks swirling with hand dyed layered color.
Angora mohair+cotton yarn windings, hand knit into luscious warm splashes of color.
Vintage carpets, redyed in myriad shades to suit the modern home.
Vintage kilims in their original humble beauty, timeless Turkish textiles.
Our bazaar is a color-filled refuge for artisans who use fiber arts to tell their stories.
In a world overwhelmed by machine made stuff churned out by the thousands, destined soon to be fodder for landfill, we think it’s wiser to slow down, reuse, recycle and reinvigorate those traditions that have value over time, not passing whims based on trend. Whether you are looking for vintage handcrafts to pass along to your own families, sourcing textiles for your business, or just intrigued to learn about timeless crafts passed from mother to daughter for generations, you are welcome here in our Bazaar Bayar. Contact us here.
Visiting Istanbul, and overwhelmed by too many choices – and knowing who to trust – when shopping? We can help…