Blue Teddy's Bazaar: Suzanis and Kilims!

Hey hey hey!

As I mentioned a few weeks back there are several talented artists and decor sources that I want to share with you... well here goes the first...

Blue Teddy's Bazaar is a shop from the online community of artists called Etsy that sells vintage hand woven kilims and suzanis from Central Asia. The curator of this lovely bazaar full of vibrant tribal textiles, throws and rugs lives in York, England and her name is Rhonda - a creative soul with a degree in Art and Design specializing in ceramics. Rhonda has a great love for many creative things, particularly home decor, woven fabrics, crafted goods, wood and British, American and French retro style. It's no wonder she is drawn to the unique beauty and craftsmanship of kilims and suzanis! In fact, in her profile she says "...these treasures from the East can transform your home or your office, bringing it drama, colour, ambience and cosiness, regardless of whether you live in a spacious loft, a flat, a normal house or a country mansion." Well, that about sums it up - I couldn't have said it better myself Rhonda!

In case you don't know, a suzani is a hand-stitched/embroidered textile made in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries - its name derives from the Persian word Suzan, which means needle. A Kilim (or Kelim) is considered a woven tapestry or rug originating anywhere from the Balkans to Pakistan, and can be purely decorative or used as a prayer rug.

After dedicating a whole week of blog posts to suzanis in 2010, dubbed "Suzani and Ikat Week," I'm sure you've noticed how much I love ethnic textiles! Suzanis and kilims have a way of adding endless character and eclectic global vibes to any space! With that said, scroll on for some of my favorite suzanis and kilims (mostly suzani's, hehe) from Rhonda's beautiful store and be sure to drop by Blue Teddy's Bazaar and check out the rest of her inventory from Kurdistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan - she's adding new treasures all the time! For more posts and information on suzanis and kilims please see the related post links below.... Have a wonderful afternoon!

Related blog posts:
Suzani and Ikat Week
Suzani in Detail
Suzani and Ikat: Tables, Chairs, Sofas and Beds
Bokja Design: Suzani + Furniture + Heaven!
Pakobel, Inc. Handmade Rugs and Tapestries from the East
Ikat and Suzani Pillows
All posts labeled suzani
All posts labeled kilim
All posts labeled ethnic textiles




(Also pictured in detail in image at beginning of post)
This is my favorite suzani in the shop, gorgeous colors!
Suzani from Uzbekistan

Suzani from Uzbekistan

Suzani from Shakhrisabz, Uzbekistan



Suzani from Boysun, Uzbekistan
This one is so fun!!



Suzani from Boysun, Uzbekistan


Suzani from Boysun, Uzbekistan



Suzani from Kosan, Uzbekistan


Another stunningly vibrant and amazing Suzani from Uzbekistan!


And now, for my two favorite kilims on Blue Teddy's Bazaar....

Another beautiful kilim design from Maimana, Afghanistan...


Great colors and a pretty ikat design!! This one hails from Afghanistan....


(All images sourced via Blue Teddy's Bazaar Etsy shop with permission from store owner, please do not use images without permission, contact Rhonda through her Etsy shop.)

Suzani Christmas Stockings!

*SHRIEKS!*

Well well well, look what I just saw over at Apartment Therapy!  These Christmas/holiday stockings by Circa Trade, crafted from actual vintage Uzbek Suzanis!!  At $75 bucks a pop they're pretty pricey, but you can always use them as inspiration to sew your own!

If you don't already know by now, I have a passionate love for Suzanis!  Haha... In the past I have done many posts about them, their history and where you can get your very own, check out those posts here. 

(All images via the Circa Trade website)

Pakobel Inc.: Suzani Auctions

 This post is for all my fellow Suzani lovers!!

As I've discussed in several previous posts, one of my good friends from college runs his family carpet business called Pakobel Inc./Pakobel Rugs and they have a great Ebay store!  Just the other day I won two auctions for gorgeous suzanis, read about that here!  So, I thought I'd put together a quick little post with all of the suzani's currently up for the bidding just in case any of my readers are interested....

Below you will find image collages for all of Pakobel's current authentic hand-embroidered suzani's from Uzbekistan showing the full suzani and detail images.  To visit the full auction listing for an item, simply click on the description below the image to be redirected.  All auctions start at $40 with free shipping and handling, please note  some suzanis may not be new but are always in great condition, every auction gives specific description details so be sure to read the listing carefully!  I hope you find something you love... oh yeah, and good luck bidding!

(P.S. - if you don't know what a suzani is or if you want to see more examples of a suzani check out this post and these posts or just read Wikipedia's description)

7' x 5' foot hand-embroidered Uzbek Suzani

8' x 4' foot hand-embroidered Uzbek Suzani

12' x 2' foot hand-embroidered Uzbek Suzani

7' x 4' foot hand-embroidered Uzbek Suzani

17' x 2' foot hand-embroidered Uzbek Suzani

6' x 4' foot hand-embroidered Uzbek Suzani

13' x 2' foot hand-embroidered Uzbek Suzani Runner

(All images in this post courtesy of  Pakobel, Inc. Ebay Store)

My New Suzanis!!!

Good Morning Monday!

Ooops, I did it again....  I scored two more gorgeous Suzanis from my friend's Ebay store, Pakobel Rugs!  

Well, just take a look at these beauties, could you have resisted!?   

This authentic Uzbek Suzani has stunning hand-embroidered circular floral designs in vibrant turquoise, red, pink and black on a yellow fabric..... Downright gorgeous! (9' x 5')

 

 Aaaaand.... the other winner is....

 Another genuine Uzbek Suzani with circular floral patterns in pink, yellow, turquoise and blue on a gray fabric (8' x 5')

And sadly, I wanted this Suzani too but I lost the bid war!  Grrrr!  Oh well, it wasn't meant to be, but let's admire it for a moment anyway.......  ;)

(All images via Pakobel Rugs Ebay Store)

A Bohemian Ensemble

No doubt, I'm a Bohemian/Hippy/Gypsy at heart, whatever you may call it, it's part of my dreams, my style and my way of living life. There's something about the anything goes look that appeals to me, the mix of ethnic textiles, patterns, colors and accessories speaks to me like no other style or fashion. It's just sexy people! :)

For me, to be bohemian means to have the courage to live life the way you want. I hope you can draw influence from this new batch of images, take from it what you will and from there make it your own.

If you love where this post is going check out: Hippies, Bohemians, Gypsies... and Fashion!

Wacky Janis... gotta love her and those feathers...

Here are some great images out of a 2007 Vanity Fair spread titled "Janis Lives!"
(photographs by Craig McDean)

Funkilicious love!

One can never have enough rings <3>

"You got to get it while you can!" - Janis Joplin

Here's some eye candy from a 1992 Vogue magazine piece called "Gypsy Soul"...

Oh look, isn't this that Misha Barton girl?
Ooooh....pretty peacock feathers :)

I absolutely love this image.... so cool...

Love the fashion, but this girl looks like such a drama queen, hehe....

Gorgeous textiles...

Look! Another gypsy caravan! But this is a photo shoot fake one since we all know gypsies would never care to iron their clothes.... ;)

I like this model, she looks so pretty in all her Native American like get-ups....

And for last, doesn't she look chic? Minus that cigarette, she is rockin' the look!

If you enjoyed these images you might want to check out my other post: Hippies, Bohemians, Gypsies... and Fashion!

(All images via a Google key word image search and WeHeartIt)