CONVERSATION + PHOTO | Jole - the last "Mohican" among the furriers: From Belgrade to Thessaloniki, you have neither a turkey nor a furrier! We were famous in the world for our lamb skins, and now we have lost both our traditions and ourselves
From Belgrade to Thessaloniki, you have neither a turkey nor a fur coat…
In recent decades, artisans have become increasingly rare, far from the public eye, and handicrafts have become inferior to serial work. However, while we are rehabilitating from the attack of the "artificial", the small craftsmen raise their heads above the water again, to breathe some air. Will we be able to experience the romance of handicrafts again and the special and unique products offered to us by the forgotten craftsmen with the new time? We believe that we will remember them, and we will still look for them.
Our interlocutor Jole told us about the "Maria" fur shop, which was named after the grandmother and the grandmother's granddaughter. Fur has a tradition of over 90 years! In Skopje, on the other hand, they have had a shop in the Turkish Bazaar since 1965.
- In 1973, when Kapan an opened, thanks to the socialism of Dragoljub Stavrev, Strahil Gigov, Blagoj Popov, Kapan An made it a home for endangered craftsmen, so we became part of that circle. In '92 -3, the late Nada Gligorova came to correct the fur she was wearing. Togan Kapan an was held, there was a bar, fashion shows were made… It was a long time ago. That is the past, and we, in '93, went out here, out of where we are, to this place - Jole remembers.
Is Furry a Part of Your Family Tradition?
- This is a family tradition from our grandfather who is still healthy and alive and turned 98 years old. He has been working in this craft for 10 years, not to exaggerate, from 1932-33.
What is your experience working with such expensive and specific materials?
- They are not as expensive as they are very hot. At the time, lamb fur was made and those masters were called turkeys, from the lamb fur we slowly went to the noble fur. Especially in Macedonia, when at the time there was harmful game like fox, jackal, marten and many other animals, warm clothes were made or decoration of coats, warm accessories for the head, protection from sinuses and many other things…
