Just a little more and the most magical andthe long-awaited evening of the year. Haven't you had time to buy gifts for your loved ones yet? Or do you want to treat yourself to a present? We found 11 of the most creative craftsmen who will make the gifts of your dreams How pleasant is the pre-New Year's bustle when it comes to gifts! You can visit many beautiful shops, the windows of which are full of bright garlands, shiny tinsel and other eye-catching decor. You simply don't have enough time to go shopping, or you don't like events of this kind at all? Especially for you, we didn't just walk through the boutiques, but found 11 self-taught craftsmen who know how to turn ordinary fabric, wool, yarn, plush and wood into cute toys filled with love and "soul". These products will become a worthy decoration of the interior, and will give you and your loved ones a sea of positivity.
1. Knitted Kiss decor
Knitted Christmas trees, snowmen and large interiorcones are the works of Karina Shashuro. Just a few years ago, she could not even imagine that she would be engaged in handicrafts and bring interesting ideas to life. At that time, she worked as a broker in a large foreign company. But in 2013, her life changed dramatically, and she decided to devote herself to creativity. Today, she knits from yarn, using printed material for volume, and dreams of decorating boutique windows. Karina Shashuro, hand-made master: - I dream of working on the design of shop windows and spaces in the style of knitted objects, because I believe that this topic is not fully explored and is very fertile. A huge knitted muffin would look great in a pastry shop window, a rain of knitted tulips would be appropriate for a flower shop for the spring season… It is known that knitted decor can make a space more cozy, so why not give yourself and your interior a little warmth on a winter evening? Where to see and buy:
- Instagram: @knittedkiss
- Shops: fabika.ru, Department store "Tsvetnoy", chain stores "Respublika".
2. Cute angels from "Mommy's House"
In search of interesting works we came acrossorganization "Mamin Domik" and its director Arina Seravkina. This is a charity shelter for young mothers who have found themselves in a difficult life situation. There is a workshop where girls create toys that are great for decorating the interior. These are delicate textile angels, teddy bears, and wonderful dolls. Some of the most striking works are wooden products in the form of guardian angels, sheep and bears. They can safely be hung on a New Year's tree or presented to a loved one as a gift. Where to see and buy:
- Community in Facebook: "Mom's house".
3. Each toy has its own story: products by Anastasia Nikitina
This craftswoman doesn't just create toys, she makes themanimates them by inventing their destiny, history, habits and character. Here are some of them. The story of the toy "Elephant Hedgehog": "I'm tired of being soft - I want to be prickly like a hedgehog," - the elephant decided one day and began to wear needles. A hedgehog who lived in a nearby pile of leaves gave him his old fur coat. The story of the toy "Mole": "The mole had long lived in an abandoned apple orchard, since it did not like the dust and gloom of attics and old rooms. In the mornings, it wandered along the winding paths between the roots, and at sunset it climbed to the highest branch and saw off the setting sun." Anastasia came to the world of creativity from the world of economics. Numbers, statistics, piles of papers - the girl quickly realized that this was not her and decided to devote herself to creating toys. The craftswoman sews them using the teddy technology from viscose, mohair, artificial fur, and stuffs them with sawdust and wool. The wings and paws are on a cotter pin fastening. Such a "living" toy can enliven the interior or give a smile to a loved one. Where to see and buy:
- Vkontakte group:
- "Masters Fair":
4. Bird Paradise by Galina Barmicheva
While many needlewomen prefercreate bears, bunnies or angels, Galina Barmicheva makes interior toys in the form of birds. Moreover, all of them are made in life-size, and at the same time look very realistic. Galina has been working in the technique of wool felting for more than six years. Before that, she was fond of beads, sewing soft toys, modeling dolls from baked plastic. All this today helps her work in her main direction. Galina Barmicheva, craftswoman: - When creating interior toys, I use unspun sheep wool and copper wire for the frame. I make eyes and beaks by hand from baked plastic. And such a simple set of materials with the help of felting needles can be turned into an animal, a bird, and a portrait doll. Imagine how surprised your guests will be when they see such a bird on your Christmas tree. And it is not necessary to place the toy on the New Year tree, you can decorate with a couple of bullfinches or tits, for example, a windowsill or your favorite chest of drawers. Where to look and buy:
- Blog:
- Website:
- Vkontakte group:
5. In harmony with the interior: decorating studio Ug-art home design
Interior and gift toys made of natural materialsmaterials are made in the Ug-art home design decorating studio under the guidance of interior designer and stylist-decorator Yulia Gerasimova. When creating all products, the studio follows several rules:
- toys necessarily harmonize with objects from collections of home textiles;
- all toys are made from 100% natural materials. Including from Designers guild, Kobe and flax fabrics from Belgium, Lithuania, Italy, France;
- combining textures and materials, for example, combining flax of different texture and colors with cotton, velvet, ribbons and lace;
- the creation of toys that are able to give a heartfelt mood.
These little hares, bears, owls and otherscute creatures can become integral pieces of interior design, especially if they match it in color or style. Where to see and buy: Website: Facebook community:
6. Snowmen from the creative center Arts & Crafts
Wonderful snow-white snowmen are capablebecome an ideal addition to a winter and especially New Year's interior. Such unusual decor is created by the masters of the creative center Arts & Crafts. Snowmen are made of fleece, according to the pattern of the Norwegian artist Tone Finnanger, and each of them has its own unique image, for example, snowmen-ballerinas in tulle skirts or snowmen-music lovers in headphones. These products will be a memorable gift for people of creative professions. Why such unusual images - for seemingly ordinary snowmen? Perhaps because the creative center, in addition to making toys, organizes master classes, holidays and photo sessions. Where to see and buy: Website: Community on Facebook:
7. Knitted animals by Nadezhda Barabanova
Red dachshund traveler with a bigsuitcase, a sad hedgehog looking for sunbeams in the gloomy sky, a furry deer waiting for Christmas - all these are the characters created by Nadezhda Barabanova. The craftswoman crochets them from natural yarn. And her great love for animals helps her create such realistic and soulful toys - Nadezhda has two cats and four dogs. Knitted animals will not only bring coziness to the interior, but also give real warmth, for example, if you come from the cold, then taking such a furry friend in your hands, you will warm up faster! Nadezhda Barabanova, craftswoman: - The first time I picked up a crochet hook was in December 2012. Before that, I had not knitted for about 20 years. When I was a child, my grandmother taught me to knit, but that was a long time ago. But, as it turned out, my hands remember this science. I learned everything myself (I am still constantly learning), watched video tutorials on the basics on the Internet, read publications by masters, collected clippings and articles. Many thanks to the masters who share their little secrets and tricks. I take ideas for toys "from my head", that is, I do not knit according to other people's patterns and images. I try to come up with something of my own. I just sit down, take a hook with yarn and knit, sometimes I don't even know what the end result will be. Sometimes I knit according to my sketches. In order not to forget the images that come to mind, I make sketches. For example, this is how the dachshund Sonya with a large suitcase was born… Where to see and buy: "Masters Fair": Vkontakte group:
8. SonyaBears Personalized Toy Studio
Teddy bears, teddy bears and more teddy bears!This studio is a real find for lovers of teddy bears. Although besides them, you can also find spectacular elephants and hedgehogs here. They are great for decorating the interior, and it is also nice to give them to children or just friends who are always young at heart. All the toys are created by designer Sonya Koroleva. She calls her products "children" and says that each of them has a piece of her soul. Where to see and buy: "Masters Fair": Website:
9. "Mishkin House" by Irina Rusetskaya
Since we're talking about bears, we can'tpass by a studio called "Mishkin Dom". This is the workshop of the Belarusian needlewoman Irina Rusetskaya, who has an architectural education. In 2010, she sewed her first toy as a gift for her daughter, and she liked it so much that she decided not to stop. In four years, her products have flown all over the world, and today they can be found in Israel, France, the USA, Georgia, Belarus and Russia. Irina works in the teddy technique, creating miniature animals that are very similar to real ones. Her toys participate in international creative exhibitions and fairs. Despite the fact that Irina's workshop is called "Mishkin Dom" (since the needlewoman started with bears), today she also makes other representatives of the animal world, for example, owls, foxes, hippos, bees and others. Where to see and buy: Website: Blog:
10. Microbeasts by Nicole
There lives in Moscow a craftswoman who is famous inthe world of needlewomen like Nicole Duke. She creates miniature animals. Their size does not exceed 5-7 centimeters, so they easily fit in the palm of your hand. You can decorate a New Year's tree with such babies or, having collected a whole collection of mini-animals, put them in a decorative basket. Where to see and buy:
- "Masters Fair":
11. Wooden sheep by Inga Azhgirey
Painted sheep, bears, deer, hares made of plywoodand wood are the work of the craftswoman Inga Azhgirey. She has long been passionate about creativity, which is why she decided to get an education as a miniature artist, but she became interested in making toys not so long ago - just three years ago. Inga Azhgirey, designer: - I do interior design, I really like making graphics (markers, pens, pencils) and I love painting. I came to painting New Year's toys by chance. Three years ago, for the Life as a Miracle foundation (for which I conduct painting master classes), I made more than a hundred dragons for the Soulful Bazaar. They quickly and happily flew away to their new homes. Now, maintaining the tradition, I annually paint toys for the foundation for the fair. Now I am working on my website, which will soon present all my graphic and painted creativity (toys, bracelets, beads). Inga paints toys with acrylic, sometimes decorating them with voluminous metallized contours. For her toys, she creates exclusive patterns that are her own interpretation of Gorodets painting, which is Inga's great passion. Where to see and buy:
- Instagram: instagram.com/ingaazh
photos provided by the craftswomen
