Fancy shmancy
Today, we’re going a little off the beaten path. Recently, due primarily to my Pinterest addiction, I’ve been seeing a lot of Turkish-inspired design. It seems kılıms are about as hip as you can get (unless you count the Hudson Bay Blanket and those damn “Keep Calm” signs.) It was fun to see a new take on traditional typical Turkish housewares:
I love my cezve, apart from my kılım, it is my favorite thing that I picked up in Turkey. Though, mine is the more traditional copper-plated one (picked it up in Edirne for 2TL… what what!) I ran out of coffee not too long ago, but luckily stumbled on Turkuaz, my friendly Turkish grocer, located just around the corner from the Gulen culture center. (He his wife makes fresh yaprak sarma, kısır, and borek… but that’s another story entirely.)
I was curious who thought it was a good idea to re-invent the wheel, and, as it turns out, these folks are pretty damn creative. Here are some çay bardaklar.
And some rakı bardaklar
… though I wonder if the creators get the Jesus fish reference (I’m sure it’s meant to refer to the fish eaten with rakı…) I do love the afiyet olsun though.
It seems this is a little shop run out of Ayvalık, the creative pair Tulya and Fırat are designers, and do this on the side. So, if any of you find yourself in Ayvalık any time soon, please pick me up a few of these!
. . now these are a really attractive alternative to the usual stuff. Well worth the diversion to find them.
I’m a fan of the çay bardaklar – looks like a much more functional vessel for a piping hot apple tea.