Cultivating traditions nowadays is not easy. It is perhaps even harder to appeal to the modern consumer with old classics. Today, the family craft with added value is successfully developed by the sympathetic and clever Janka Žifčáková.
Leaving a stable job and developing own brand was not easy
Janka Žifčáková comes from Gemer. She has been working in marketing for many years, therefore she has always been close to the creative industry. At a certain point, her corporate job stopped fulfilling her and she decided to move herself and her creativity further. "At 39, I decided to make a life change. When I told my family I was going to continue with hand weaving, everyone around me thought I was crazy. I decided I wanted to create my own product and brand. I "bet on" a craft that has a 150-year tradition in my family and is worth making it more known," Janka Žifčáková, the founder of ZIVA Design Studio, opens the interview with a smile.
The beautifully illuminated studio is decorated with products from many different products, Photo: Tereza Šimončičová
At first she did not pay much attention to hand weaving
Janka has been in contact with different fabrics since childhood. From the textiles that were brought to her grandmother, she sewed clothes for dolls and herself. Both her grandmother and great-grandmother were involved in weaving.They left her beautiful looms with almost historical value in her studio. "My grandmother was a hand weaver for 50 years. She was a master of folk art production in ÚĽUV. She collaborated with designers and also processed textile waste from textile production plants in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. I was in preschool at that time and I remember that every time her big Avia brought new fabrics, it was a small holiday for my cousin Majka and me. I even left the after-school children club earlier because of that," says Janka.
Weaving on 150 year old looms is an experience, Photo: Tereza Šimončičová
If she wanted to continue to support the family treasure, she had to start from scratch
Janka is proof that everything is possible if you want it. When she decided to start her own business in a completely new field, she bought her own smaller looms and began to discover what they could do. She was attracted by the specific texture of the final product and also by the unlimited possibilities of self-realization. "I was looking for what would be interesting for me as a product and I found inspiration in the craft of my great grandmother and grandmother. I knew this path would not be easy and I often learned by trial and error. We've lived in the west for almost 20 years now, and even when I needed advice from my grandmother, communication via phone isn't ideal, you know."
Energetic and smiling Janka Žifčáková, Foto: zivadesign.sk
Grandmother's design samplers are an integral part of the studio
"The designers prepared samplers, which my grandmother used to make woven rugs or table linen. She had suggested colour spectrums of shades for a particular pattern, such as stripes and melier (when two or more colours/materials are twisted), rosemary (a kind of flower is formed, two cottons are taken, twisted once to one side, then to the other)," explains Janka.
Each piece of cloth combined with the energy of human hands a creates a unique product, Photo: Tereza Šimončičová
The added value of an old craft updated for today is recycling
For today's market, it is not enough to bring only a traditional product. ZIVA design connects tradition with recycling by processing old or waste textiles and denim. From the cut pieces, they weave new, unique and stylish accessories for the interior or exterior, literally breathing new life into old fabric. Old clothes don't just end up in overflowing landfills. Moreover, they beautify homes in which they are used for the next few years. However, each material is incorporated differently. "I've tried weaving denim, leather, cotton knit, and it fascinated me that a different texture forms each time. We all have lots of unwanted pieces of clothing at home that we don't use. People might just pass it to us because they like the idea we're developing, or they might have something made out of it. They can also recycle the fabric themselves through our workshops."
A wide range of materials can be used, Photo: Tereza Šimončičová
We will also recycle at Trnavská Brána
We will be creating, recycling and weaving at Trnavská Brána 2023 on 19th of August in the Weaving and Spinning Courtyard (Kreatívne centrum, Hlavná 17) from 13:00 to 19:00. "We will bring 6 baskets of cut fabric and show people that this is an option to recycle unwanted textiles in a creative way. Together we will create a 1-1.5 metre long rug," Jana Žifčáková concludes the interview.
