The National Tourism Organization of Serbia pays special attention to the promotion of our most creative souvenir manufacturers, who are represented at the “Souvenir Fair” held within the Belgrade International Tourism Fair and whose products are carefully selected to be sold at TOS’s souvenir shops at Republic Square in Belgrade and the Tourist Complex within Avala Tower.
With a wish to present to our readers the original souvenirs created at workshops throughout Serbia and whose authors are our famous artists and designers, we contacted Nataša Drulović, National Tourism Organization of Serbia’s souvenir program advisor, to edit this serial. She enthusiastically responded and for this edition, she selected five unique souvenir “manuscripts” to present.
Regional ornaments on silk
Laniakea is a domestic trademark that in a short time has become synonymous with an immortal fashion detail – scarves. The originator of the collection is Ana Reljin Ljubiša, a Belgrade fashion designer, who graduated from the Contemporary Dressing Department of the Belgrade Faculty of Applied Art and Design and earned her master’s degree at Milan Istituto Marangoni. According to her, scarves are an ideal form linking fashion, painting and illustration. Her scarves are made of the finest silk and each is handmade. One of the collections is inspired by ornaments of our region: kilim’s patterns, fresco details, fruit and flowers. The compositions are modern, and the colors follow modern trends. They are manufactured in smaller series, and the models ara available in several sizes – from mini-scarves to big ones, which can be worn as dresses, blouses, turbans, etc.
Digital mediaeval motifs
Šarenica’s souvenir program was created by Slađana Đenić, an art historian from Zemun, and Boško Popović, a graphic designer from Loznica. Slađana’s knowledged of Serbian mediaeval art and Boško’s skillfulness in computer drawing have blended and shaped a world of nice looking glass tablemats, magnets, pendants, bookmarks, etc. Souvenirs are made of wood, as the most precious natural material, and of plexiglass, which refracts and reflects light and gives colors a special note. Each souvenir has a package with the attached short story in Serbian and English about the monastery on whose frescoes the ornament is painted. The authors want their “colorful designs“ to find their place in people’s homes throughout the world, spreading the story about our great mediaeval legacies.
Chess sets with old Slavic gods
The ROD® art workshop designs and makes souvenirs inspired by the Serbian and Old Slavic mythologies. One of the most recognized products is the chess set – from the chess pieces to the chessboard – representing the gods and creatures of our mythology, namely: Perun, Svetovid, Veles, Dajbog, Mokoša, Svarog, etc. The chess set was created and made by the sculptor Jovan Petronijević, who is also broadly known for his sculptures inspired by the Neolithic Vinča Culture. There are several different chess sets, and each chess piece can be a unique national souvenir on its own since the mission set by the Workshop is exactly the revelation of the treasure of our ancient and insufficiently known mythology.
Hallmarks of cities in clay
The Littlesouvenirfactory trade mark was established by the visual artists Nina and Miodrag Stanković from Belgrade, relying on their long experience in the field of applied ceramics. They pulled their small creative team together, focused on designing and manufacturing souvenirs of high esthetical standards. Their motifs are mainly the landmarks of cities – fortresses, bridges, monuments, etc. Through colors and graphic design, they often also conjure up the atmosphere of a particular city. Printed items account for the smaller segment of design and production: badges, posters, postcards, etc., which were presented at the Belgrade Design Week, within the “100% Future Serbia” theme.
Little beauties and handsome boys
Bubica(pronounced /boobitsa/) is the Serbian word used out of love for nicely brought up, quiet children. Exactly such babies and children were an inspiration for starting a production line of the same name. The basic articles are cotton bodies and bibs for babies, as well as t-shirts for older children. All the products are made of pure, finest cotton, and printed on the water-base that protects children’s gentle skin. Bubica’s products are unique because they are printed in the Cyrillic script. So, you can buy clothes for showy daring little boys, those who easily get angry, those sweet little ones, a Belgrade girl, raving little beauties and handsome little boys, etc. The products have an original package and are a nice gift for some “sweet bubica”. Painter Jelena Mihajlović Simović is the author of the design.
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