silky and meaningful gifts
from the places you dream of or miss...
Zodiac Scarf with your favorite color and your name on it
Designing scarves for our For Zodiac Lovers Collection,we had in mind particular people - our friends and relatives, who were supposed to get the first Zodiac Scarves as a birthday gifts.
When one of our friend got Gemini Scarf with her name printed on it and with the colors that were “talored” for her, she was so impressed that gave us a list of her friends with their signs of Zodiac, their names to be printed on the scarves and the colors that her friends loved. She didn’t care what were the lucky colors of those Zodiac signs, she cared what colors her friends loved.
So we were “forced” to change the colors of the original designs according to the customer request. The Customer was happy to get the unique and meaningful gift for her friends, and we were happy to find one more way to make a gift, which is indeed For You Only.
Scarves inspired by folk traditions
What kind of a gift to present to a person, who has everything that is possible to buy? Not an easy problem to solve. Not a price, but some intangible value should be found and transformed in a heart touching gift.
One of our customers and the whole office she worked in were brain storming of what birthday gift to create for the head of their office. Finally they came up with an idea to make a silk scarf from a photo of Mirdita bridal coat. Mirdita is “the wonder-world of the mountains” and the birth place of the young lady, who was supposed to receive the gift. They wanted the scarf to be square and the pattern to be assymetrical. It was the first time Triqita used the goden deposit of Albanian Folk Costumes.
As far, as we know, she liked our scarf and her freinds also liked it, and so we got more oders for the scarves for the different ladies with the pattern tied to the folk costume traditions of their birthplaces. All these scarves exist in one copy and have the names of ladies printed on each of them. Therefore, from the same folk elements very specific for different regions of Albania, we desined some scarves for our collection Gift From Albania.
Natural Silk - Twill Scarf Dibra
Natural Silk - Twill Scarf Scrapari
Natural Silk - Twill Scarf Zadrima
Mirdita Bridal Coat -
the prototype for the scarf Mirdita 90x90 cm/ 35.4 /35.4” made of natural Silk - Twill
Scarf The Color of Enke's Eyes
If the "Scarf The Color Of Enke's Eyes" has a permanent color, then Enke's eyes, of the color of the Ionian Sea, change color as the sea itself. When her mood is sunny, the eyes are deep turquoise. When she is angry, her eyes are electric tuquose. When she is sad, her eyes become as gray as the sea, reflecting the clouds. Sometimes there are tears in her eyes, but as Sophia Loren said: "If you haven't cried, your eyes can't be beautiful."
Another famous movie star Audrey Hepburn, if she had a chance to look at the Enke's eyes, would repeat again what she once said: "The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides".
If we would say more than we have said by designing for Enke's birthday the "Scarf of a color of Enke's eyes", and more than our loving eyes tell her, it would be to announce our plan to design a special dancing handkerchief for her. According to the rule of Albanian line dance, the one who leads the line holds and waves a handkerchief to the
pace of music.
Probably our dance handkerchief for Enke will have some link to her native Korca, where she was born and learned to dance in a way that causes every spectator of her dancing to join the line she leads. The way she holds her head and waves her hand with the handkerchief hypnotizes us, moving and making us do as she does.
Once we invitded Enke to our home to teach us and few friends the basic steps of Albanian dance. It helped. We learned the steps and enjoyed dancing when ever we have a chance (mostly at weddings, where people dance until they fall) but Enke is still our unreachable dancing star. That is why on our "Scarf Of The Color Of Enke's Eyes" we put some stars, appearing as white embroidery on a turquoise background.
We have been friends from the first sight. Sometimes we go out for coffee as friends do in Albania. We look at each other's eyes and we believe each other as much as we believe our own eyes.
Scarf Lea
- Who do I envy the most?
-People who can do what I can’t do.
Lea is one of such people. She spent in Albania a little more than two years and she managed to learn the Albanian language exceptionally to a degree that she translated Albanian books and conducted a long TV interview in Albanian.
Lea knew well not only the Albanian language but also Albanian art and artists. She did some projects with them and became the subject of a documentary: “American lady in Albania”. It was about her, about how she organized a visit to New Orleans and an exhibit there for the students of the Albanian Academy of Arts, and of course about her own art works.
When she presented us a little linocut that one of the Albanian artists, whose lessons she was taking, made from her painting “Crows”, I knew right away, that her painting is going to be translated in one more media - it is going to be a silk scarf.
I got her permission and designed a scarf “Lea”. When I presented her the scarf, she was impressed so much, probably as much as I have been impressed with how she speaks Albanian. Not that I envy her Albanian any less, but at least it made me feel that I also can do something impressive...
Scarf Kujtim
- What is the best modest way to flatter yourself?
- Not to talk about yourself, but to talk about your famous friends.
Our friend Kujtim, or Chashku as everybody calls him, or Kujtim Cashku, has been famous in the communist times of Albania, in the times of the anti-communist struggle, and in the times of post-communist changes. Happily we didn't know how famous he was when we met him. We just accepted his friendship as a gift. And it has been a gift – a unique one.
Our good friends once mentioned that there was a movie director, who had restored an abandoned building in the former Albanian Kinostudio and opened the Marubi Academy of Film and Multimedia – the first such school in Albania. Every Thursday in the school’s small theater, he screens classic movies from all over the world for anyone who wants to come.
We came one Thursday. He greeted us at the entrance to his school, as a host greets guests coming to his home. He gave an introduction to the movie and saw everybody off when it was over. He has been doing it for the 7 year since we first met.
Living in Albania is like living on a volcano. Nobody can predict when it will erupt and for how long. The last disastrous eruption was in 1997. There were more weapons available than people to carry them. We read and heard all kind of stories about it. And only Kujtim's movie "Magic Eye" gave us an image of how it really was. His second movie that we had a chance to watch, just confirmed our strong belief in his talent as a movie director. "Colonel Bunker" converted our irony towards the countless concrete bunkers bumping up as mushrooms all over the country, into an understanding of how it was to live in the time of "bunkerization".
The big eruption that we went through, was when Kujtim
called us and told that he and his students were wrestling with the police, which came and left barbed wire to block the main entrance to the school and separate school from a garden. Neither the building of the school, nor the garden belonged to the school, but Kujtim had brought them both to life and filled them with reason. It looked like some mysterious powers wanted the very same piece of land where the garden was. Ironically the first victim of those powers was an open air theater for screening the movies of the Annual International Human Rights Film Festival, which Kujtim had set up in Albania.
The powers wanted to cut ancient olive trees along with all the other trees and flowers of the garden. Kujtim resisted. He called people to come and to plant more trees in the garden. It took two years of living, teaching and acting behind the barbed wire before the court qualified the actions against the school as a crime and the wire was silently removed.
Nobody claimed the wire, and the students converted it into a contemporary monument celebrating their first joint victory over "bunkerization", as Kujtim calls everything that destroys his country. The garden is now as beautiful as ever, and the tree that I planted two years ago – a sign of protest and support – is growing up.
Sometimes Kujtim drives an old minibus called "Desire" to Tirana's restaurants in the suburbs with his wife Nora, their little dog and us on board. We eat and drink, and dream, giving each other the best gift of being together. Our scarf "Kujtim" we made for Kujtim's birthday, as a tangible expression of our intangible connection.
Scarf Trees for Bukuria
Bukuria in Albanian means beautiful. Our friend Bukuria is beautiful and she is an artist. She presented us her painting, which we called Trees. The Trees had the colors of all the seasons and colors that would look beautiful on a scarf. So, we designed the scarf the Trees for Bukuria and gave it to Bukuria as our gift made of her art. We wanted to please and to surprise her, and here she is: showing her art, opening our gift package, pulling the scarf out and finally putting it on.
- Was she nicely surprised? You may answer this question yourself
© Bukuria Gjonpali. Trees. Oil on paper.
Some people paint trees, some people plant trees,
all the people love trees and only very few people convert trees into the meanigful gifts.
Natural Silk Chiffon scarf
Trees for Bukuria by Triqita
Tie your tie with what you love
Our friend, knowing that we were going to the Greek National Archeological Museum, asked to greet his favorite Jockey of Artemision (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jockey_of_Artemision ) on his behalf. We did.
But the Jockey “asked” us to make a surprise to our friend on his behalf. And so we did. Now the Jockey is riding his horse on our silk tie. Triaita’s tie “Jockey of Artemision” is wating the Christmas time to become the exqisite and meaningful gift for our friend. It will definitely bring our friend’s love closer to his heart. Even the museum’s gift shop doesn’t have this most iconic image of the museum on a tie.
Natural Silk necktie Jockey of Artemision by Triqita. Collection For You Only
Italian community living in Tirana was our not only the most frequent customer, but also the most inspiring one. Italians have a special feeling of beauty, it is even better to say that they can’t resist against the power of beauty and exclusivity. Every their comment and desire leaded us to some new design.
One of our friends from this community had an uncle, who loved the flowers and was a flower breeder. For making him a Christmas gift she asked us to design a tie with flowers. And so we did. We had a photo of Hibiscus that we took in Palermo Botanical garden when we were discovering Sicily. And this hibiscus created the pattern of Hibiscus Tie, which became a part of For Flower Lovers Collection of Triqita
Natural Silk neck tie Hibiscus by Triqita. Collection For Flower Lovers
Name in Appreciation
The name of this scarf is “Dorota” Dorota is one of our devoted customers, who used to work in Albania. Dorota is Polish, has blue eyes and loves blue. She tryed on the scarf Tirana Blues - 1 and decided that it was too small for her style. She asked us to make it bigger. So we did. She got what she wanted, the scarf got her name Tirana-Dorota, and we got a new scarf design.
The right name for this tie should be Sokol, because we meant it to be a gift for Sokol Cunga. Sokol shared with us a lot of his time, passion and knowledge so that we don’t get lost in the world of one of the biggest Albanian treasures – the Ancient Manuscripts that are carefully preserved in the Albanian State Archive.
Sokol knows them and reads the texts inscribed by hand on the pages that no hands are allowed touch, and in a language that only a few people know.
We were mostly interested in the handmade decorations in the texts, and with Sokol’s help we discovered many unique and beautiful images, including a little headpiece from the Codex of Vlora no. 11, from the XII century AD, which we converted into a pattern for this tie.
But it wasn’t the only find. From the pictures of the book identified as the Codex of Berat no. 4, written by an anonymous scribe in the 12th century in Constantinople, we designed three scarves - Codex Red, Codex Gold and Codex Blue - which marked a new part of the Silk Road to Albania that Triqita have been paving for 8 years, and which we “built” with Sokol’s help.
For people we love
The set of a silk-satin scarf 90x90 cm and the tie with the name “Hide-and-Seek” was designed for our relatives on the occasion of visiting them. It was very easy to solve a difficult question of what kind of gift to bring. Our relatives are both pet lovers. And actually we designed the Hide-and-Seek scarf and tie from the little figurines of dogs and a cat that we found in their house at our previous visit.
The little black cat belongs to the Cat collection of Loree Pritchard from North Manchester, Indiana. Cats “live” there in all sizes, shapes and materials deriving from different times, styles and countries.
The white and red dogs are the “inhabitants” of the same collection. They are Loree’s favorite carvings made by her husband’s brother Jim Pritchard. Jim was a sculptor-amateur and dedicated so much love and patience to his little creations that they still warm up the hearts of everybody who received them from him .
To our complete and full satisfaction Lory and her husband were happy to get our gifts because they were connected to the things and people they loved, because they could wear them and feel exquisite, and because they could become a part of their Cat Collection, if nothing else.
