“DOTA”

Handcrafts were once inseparably linked to long winter evenings, when darkness prevailed over light. By the warm glow of candlelight, women skillfully and sensitively created unique items – home decorations, garments, tablecloths, and bedding. These weren’t just moments of making, but also of conversation, laughter, and connection. The scent of beeswax, the warmth of home, and the soft rustle of thread brought magic to the long nights.

Many of these creations found their place in a dowry chest – a precious part of a bride’s trousseau, reflecting care, diligence, and the skills she carried into her new life. A dowry wasn’t just a collection of practical items, but a quiet testimony to time, devotion, and the hands that crafted them with love.

With the Dota collection, I aim to revive this forgotten tenderness and craftsmanship, weaving the past into the present, and restoring value to handmade work that carries stories – stories of women, home, and time.
Let us again recognize the worth of the countless hours poured into delicate lace doilies – not merely as decoration, but as expressions of emotion, patience, and the inner worlds of the women who made them.

The garments in this collection are made from organic cotton and adorned with a selection of vintage lace doilies, which I’ve collected over the years from flea markets and dusty home drawers. I wanted to give them new meaning, new life – perhaps even greater appreciation, now that they embellish modern summer clothing. Each piece of lace is hand-sewn, carefully placed, and where needed – gently mended, so it can continue to live on in the present.

*pomakni se navzdol za slovensko besedilo

Ročna dela so bila nekoč neločljivo povezana z dolgimi zimskimi večeri, ko je tema prevladovala nad svetlobo. Ob toplem sijaju sveč so ženske z občutkom in spretnostjo ustvarjale unikatne izdelke – okrasje za dom, oblačila, prte in posteljnino. To niso bili le trenutki ustvarjanja, temveč tudi priložnosti za pogovor, smeh in povezovanje. Vonj čebeljega voska, toplina doma in tih šelest niti so tiste čarobne podrobnosti, ki so oživljale dolge večere.

Mnogo teh mojstrovin je nekoč pristalo v skrinji za doto – kot dragocen del nevestine popotnice, ki je izražala skrbnost, pridnost in veščine, s katerimi je stopala v novo življenjsko poglavje. Dota ni bila le zbirka uporabnih predmetov, temveč tiho pričevanje o času, predanosti in rokah, ki so ustvarjale z ljubeznijo.

S kolekcijo Dota želim znova obuditi to pozabljeno nežnost in mojstrstvo, preplesti preteklost s sedanjostjo in ponovno dati pomen ročnemu delu, ki nosi zgodbo – zgodbo žensk, doma in časa.

Naj nas znova prevzame spoštovanje do ur in ur, vloženih v izdelavo čipkastih prtičkov, ki niso bili nikoli le okras, temveč izraz občutka, potrpežljivosti in notranjega sveta žensk, ki so jih ustvarjale.

Oblačila iz kolekcije so izdelana iz organskega bombaža in okrašena z izborom starih čipkastih prtičkov, ki sem jih dolga leta zbirala na bolšjih sejmih in v zaprašenih domačih omarah. Želela sem jim dati nov pomen, novo življenje – morda tudi večjo cenjenost, saj zdaj kot unikatni detajli krasijo sodobna poletna oblačila. Vsaka čipka je ročno našita, skrbno postavljena, in kjer je bilo potrebno – nežno zakrpana, da lahko živi naprej v današnjem času.