Handmade jewelry, clothes and unique handbags made of natural materials, exquisite home accessories, colorful toys and masterly knitting were only some of the items presented at the latest edition of the traditional Handmade Festival held in the National Palace of Culture in Sofia. This time the event was named Code Autumn.

Bulgarian actress, singer and writer Vanya Shtereva is the main motive power of the event. Handmade items are among Vanya Shtereva's biggest temptations. Here is what she told Radio Bulgaria about the Handmade Festival:

“The Handmade Festival is organized four times a year. It is named Code Love, Code Summer, Code Autumn and Code Christmas. Code Summer and Code Autumn festivals are directed mainly to connoisseurs. They present designers' collections and new jewelry collections corresponding to the season. The CEO of the National Palace of Culture Miroslav Borshosh came up with the idea of the festival.”

Vanya Shtereva's handmade items attract huge visitors' interest. They are so exquisite and colorful and have interesting shapes. Actress Shtereva told us how she entered the world of handmade items:

“This was my first occupation. I was making handmade items before I started my music career. I and a friend of mine used to collect waste materials from a linen factory. We used to make dolls and we were selling them quite successfully. When I joined the theatre academy I studied acting initially and then I graduated drama acting. We used to make our own dolls there as well. Dolls have been part of my whole life. Now I prefer to make jewelry and clothes instead. When people do something seriously and have the ambition to develop in a certain field, they should devote entirely to that occupation. Handmade items make me happy.”

How strong the interest towards that type of art is?

“It has been developing very intensively. There are two types of authors of handmade items. The first ones are professionals who work only in that field. They put a lot of efforts into their job and make good photos of their items. The second category includes people who make the so-called do it yourself items such as people who collect cones for instance and decorate them later. We are trying to work mainly with the first type of artists. We want to show at that festival original and personal ideas, instead of ones copied from the Internet. I thought that the selection of the latest festival was not so successful, because many of the artists are still on holiday and were replaced by new and unknown authors. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The next festival will be named Code Christmas and will be held between December 1 and 6. Many authors make beautiful decorations. That is why we decided to organize the festival a bit earlier this year, before people buy their Christmas decorations, because our artists make wonderful Christmas toys.”

Denitsa Desheva is one of the participants at the Handmade Festival. She works professionally with glass and ceramics. Denitsa presents her sheer jewelry made of glass and silver, as well as some small decorations.

“I present my small items at that festival. I started to make handmade jewelry at the university first. I like to work with flat glass and my items resemble stained glass in silver frames. They are gauzy and look like a window which refracts light and changes colors. My items are expensive, because they are handmade. Unfortunately, only few people can afford to buy them. In my view, fans of handmade items should by all means visit the Handmade Festival at the National Palace of Culture."

English version: Kostadin Atanasov