I am Milivoj Varga, I was born in Croatia, in Cakovec where I still live today, and I’m a husband and father. I finished the school of art in Varaždin – clothing and textile designer. After I finished college I was hired in a fashion factory where I worked for many years in insdustrial designs – casual style for women. I also met my wife there. Besides working in an industry, I have equipped myself with a small workshop at home where I could work on some other designs, because I couldn’t achieve it on my official workplace.
With my designs I have participated on many national and international fairs and shows where I achieved very high and noticed results.
I met Ivan Halec in his studio few years ago, in Slovenia, in Murska Sobota where he was born and where he lives. He is also a husband and a father but he also has the title of a grandfather. Ivan finished high school for chefs, later he enrolled the road traffic, but today he works as an economist. Since he was a kid he loved manual work, precisely knitting and crocheting, and his skills really surprised me. He has exhibited his artwork all over Slovenia and outside of borders of Slovenia.
Since we are from two defferent states, we can’t work together every day, so Ivan comes to my workshop in Croatia once a week. When every detail of the model is arranged we put everything together.
Currently we don't have any trading, exept on Etsy and all our works are exhibited in Ivan's studio in Slovenia. If you decide to come to Slovenia we will be glad if you could visit the studio in which you won't see just jewerly and accessories but real crocheted art works.
When the artist has that ‘wire for art’, he sees the world differently than other people, so even the most regular and uninteresting thing has some detail which inspires me and from which I can create some copletely new and different story.
There are endless ideas in my head which are keeping me to go on and when one piece isn’t done yet, the other, completely new piece is pushed. As a result of that, sometimes I know how to do several things at once. I want every piece of jewerly or accessories to be different that the piece before it.
When there’s an idea in my head I put it on a piece of paper, I draw the model and touch up every detail. After that I make patterns on a paper which I will cut out later. The following thing is a phone call or an e-mail to a friend in which we make a deal. He will make every necessary crocheted pieces or pieces made of thread, plastic, shoulderstraps, buckles etc. and I will make my part – sewing for the bag, or the hard part for jewerly – hooks and straps. When all the parts are ready, we are going to sew the bag and finish the piece.
What inspires you?
It would be easier to answer the question “What doesn’t inspires me?”.. I think that there isn’t a thing on this world that can’t give me some idea in my head, or can’t be my inspiration. I like nature, flowers, natural materials, and I also like antiques so I don’t throw anything because there is always something that can be done from that piece – sometnig new, modern and fresh. For example, you have an old bag or jewerly, but there is always something that you can take of, renew, reconstruct..but in most of the cases hey are just an inspiration for a new piece of jewerly or accessory.
What I would like, as the all artists do, is that every one of our creations finds its master, or find some studio or gallery in the world to call home.
I would also like to say to women and girls to be free to contact us, express some of your wishes and we will be glad to help you, to make a piece of a jewerly or accessory that you wish.
Each of our designs can be made in different colours and combinations and our years of working experience guarantees you a high quality product.
The thing I always do is making a complete story, connection from jewerly to accessories, and if you look in our shop everything is made in sets – earrings, necklace, belt and the bag. I plan to open one more shop with my wife, but there are some doubts about clothes, and I hope that, after about a month or two, the shop will be open.
Milivoj Varga.
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