So I am well aware that it has been a little while since my last post. Sorry about that. Things have gotten a little wild around here. We moved into our new place and are getting settled nicely. It's the perfect size for just the 2 of us, and Joey when he FINALLY gets here! Matt is motoring around beautifully now on his bike! And I have started to ride out at the barn and am spending lots of time there. So needless to say, life is happening!
A few weeks ago, some of the boys down at work wanted to go to the Cyprus Ralley (cars!!) and I was not interested in the slightest. Thankfully, some of the other wives were not to thrilled about it either sowe decided to go to a little town called Lefkara. This town is famous for it's lace and sliver-wares. They even have a pattern that is recognized by UNESCO and Leonardo da Vinci came here to request a pattern that is now on display in Milan! Cool huh? This town was very lovely and as we left, Jamie, who has lived here for 3 years and has traveled extensively said "this is the most authentic experience with Cypriot people I've had while living here!" How wild is that!! Let me explain why....
This is Marina from Marguerit! She works at a co-op with something like 9 other ladies who live in the village. They hand make the lace into table cloths, runners, hankies, little bags, tiny potpourri pillows, you name it! As we wandered by her shop she told us to come in and she'd show us how they made the lace; she even said " you don't have to buy in order for me to show you." We talked with her for over an hour while she showed us the different patterns and explained how they made each one. She also explained the differences in the threads and linen used and how to tell the difference. And also why the prices are so steep-we're not paying for the end product really, we pay for the time invested. Some pieces can take months to complete and that is with several different ladies working on it at different stages. Technically there are 5 different patterns that are created here. She even told us that if we came back she would teach us how to make the lace! Of course we'd start out at the 8 year old level ;) She said that the women in the village are taught how to make the lace by their mothers and grandmothers-it's a family enterprise! Each generation teaches the next which I can only imagine requires tons of patience! She also gave us a restaurant suggestion and she did not lead us astray! Oh man was that food amazing!! I will definitely be going back to it again!
Here Marina is hard at work making a table cloth!
She's proud of her work!
After lunch, we met this guy! His family was one of the first to export the Lefkara lace; he claimed his great great, great, grandmother was one the first to take the lace to Alexandria so sell to the wealthy Egyptians! But here we learned more about the silver-smithing. He explained about the different types of silver used and how it is made. When a piece has a lot of filigree, it is so similar to the delicate lace patterns used on the cloths. He was very nice and charming to talk with-we learned a lot too. His family traveled throughout Europe to sell their wares and their first shop that opened really was in Liverpool-I think Matt and I may need to find it while we're there ;) He spoke to us as though we were his friends-it was really nice.
Now this lady-she was going in for the sale! Jamie ended up getting a beautiful (Onyx I think) earring and necklace set and a ring for a bargain price! The lady would just keep telling her "Don't think! Yes or No! Money comes and goes! Yes or No!" It was funny to watch. However, this lady also gave us lots of history from her family-they owned the shop and produced the silver products there. She definitely was very chatty! She had some very beautiful and unique things in her shop which is a huge reason Jamie was drawn in. It will be interesting to see what else she has to offer when we go back again-hopefully new things in store!
Beautiful little hillside town-you can see the sea!!
So Jamie said it was so authentic because people actually talked to us and cared to hear what we had to say! Sadly, a lot of the Cypriots don't care to hear you or know you so it was nice to have a conversation with some who were just super friendly! The first two definitely did not try to push and sell their wares on us either-we bought because we knew the story and history behind them and what they do. All of us walked away from the town happy that we had such a lovely day and had learned so much!
