Zsuzsanna Kardos
I live in Cluj (Kolozsvár) but I am from Rimetea (Torockó). When I was little, my grandmother taught me to sew cross stitches in Torocko, but I was very bored. At 30, I concluded that I should sew the Torockó patterns to keep them and sew them until I had someone to learn from. I started with small tablecloths, one after the other, with small plates, peonies, lilies, and parsley and so I collected one after the other until I started with big tablecloths. In an arts camp, I came across the technique of sewing cross-stitch patterns on a bag, and then I thought why not a Torockó pattern, so I started to decorate bags, and other accessories. I even tried to cross-stitch on a Christmas globe. Since then I have made a lot of them and I have given them all as presents. I work as an accountant, it is hard and it takes a lot of my brain cells, but when I get home and I sit down to sew after half an hour I am already rested and I start to do other things. Not a day goes by that I don't sew in the morning and in the evening.
Since I first started I have sewn many different patterns from different collections. For me, it is very important that the pattern is accurate and that there are no mistakes in what I sew.
Ágnes Kovács
Hand Made is the name of my business, I am Ágnes Kovács, and my goal is to preserve traditional crafts. We make carpets, tablecloths, and clothes using only natural materials, (cotton, wool, linen ). The carpets are hand-woven, and the tablecloths are decorated with old weaving patterns and lace. For the clothes, we either re-sew old patterns or mix the old with the new to make them more wearable/comfortable.
Márta Rózsa
Since childhood, I have been doing handicrafts, knitting, and sewing. Weaving was an old dream. On the loom inherited from my grandmother, I managed to realize it. Now I work on four looms in my workshop. I create more modern things that attract the interest of young people. The main aim is creative recycling, giving new uses to worn-out, unused textiles. The accessories used are natural materials (wood, leather, cotton, metal...)
Antal Hajnal
I laid the foundation stones of Selected Bags in 2013, with the aim of making environmentalism fashionable and to prove that waste is valuable. I have chosen reusable paper as the basis for my innovative bags made from recycled materials, which I now combine with waste leather and textiles. In 2022, I won a professional challenge and competition and was named one of the best young creative designers at the country's biggest fashion event. Selected Bags is not just a brand, not just a name, but the message. We dare to be unique, be ourselves, to embrace our values and our style while feeling good about ourselves, protecting our environment, and supporting value creation. I hope that my credo, work, and perseverance are an example for the young generation.
Enikő Balog
I am founder and owner of Vera Green in Cluj. In our sewing workshop, we have been creating zero-waste / less waste textile products since 2018, fun patterned, washable and reusable, eco-friendly textiles to reduce household waste (bread bags, snack bags, lunch bags, face wash discs, book bags, baby bags, kitchen towels. In addition to the webshop, we have participated in several craft fairs, mainly for families with young children.
Noémi Moldován-Szeredai
I am a Unitarian minister and a herb lover, and the meeting of the two, two important parts of my life, is encompassed by the self-description "lavender minister." Connecting to nature is an integral part of connecting to the Divine, and both are necessary for the wholeness of the human spirit.
Under the brand name Lavanda Montana Transylania, we promote the products and the atmosphere of our organic lavender in Csekefalva, Harghita County, to the herb-loving community. We have been planting our almost one-hectare plantation for 11 years, so we are collecting and processing wild herbs and working intensively in lavender. Anyone who looks into our lives can see that we cultivate and love lavender, harvest, make essential oils, and a wide range of lavender products. We offer a wide range of products, mainly lavender products, lavender syrup, essential oils, natural cosmetics, cough syrups, tinctures, and goat's milk soaps.
Éva Végh
I am 54 years old, a self-employed craftsman, ethnographer, and teacher from Cluj. On my Facebook page, Manooda felt and more, you can see my previous works in felting, doll and puppet making, and products made with the nyargalás technique. “Nyargalás” is the traditional Kalotaszegi technique of sewing men's sleeves, the bujka. It is made using a foot-operated sewing machine with wool. I learned this from the master of bujka sewing in Türe and have been doing it for 4 years now with great pleasure, I gave up felting and puppet sewing for this reason. I also make traditional men's wear to order, but I also apply the pattern and technique to utensils, accessories, and jewelry. The electricity-free, traditional, and time-consuming way of making it is both a challenge and a gift in the fast-paced world of the 21st century.
Margit Lőrincz
My name is Margit Lőrincz, I was born in Korondon. It was through my husband and his family that I got into the craft of making ceramics. We have sold the ceramic objects we made at markets and fairs for many years. In the meantime, as a result of the demand, additional products appeared in our offer, which we initially distributed in the store opposite the Unitarian Church in Korond. Thanks to the expansion of our product range and partners, we started dealing with the wholesale trade of handicraft products, becoming a kind of junction between local producers and users. In the meantime, our family has expanded with 3 boys, who try to use new technologies to display our traditional motifs on the products we manufacture in an innovative way.