Gunia Project is home to beautiful ceramics, glassware, fashion and more, offering interiors lovers a joyful means of supporting Ukraine
(Picture: Gunia Project)Harrowing reports from the war in Ukraine have left many of us wondering what we can do to help. But happily, we’ve found a small but meaningful way that interiors lovers will jump at this Christmas – introducing Gunia Project, the home of beautiful artisanal homeware made by talented Ukrainian craftspeople and inspired by ethnic traditions. Dear Santa, we want it all.
Founded in 2017 by two jaded Ukrainian fashion executives, this soulful brand aims set to champion and preserve Ukraine’s rich cultural heritage by grounding time-worn skills and folklore in contemporary design, meaning all pieces could sit pretty in any modern home. Their signature palette? Think deep blue, powder pink and olive green.
Five years on, Maria Gavryliuk and Natasha Kamenska now work with more than 40 makers from 12 regions of Ukraine, who between them employ 11 different craft techniques. The results are chic and charming in equal measure; it’s little wonder that the Ukrainian president, Volodymr Zelenskyy, has often gifted Gunia Project pieces during international diplomatic visits, including a decorative pot to Pope Francis in 2020.
Gunia Project is named after the shaggy black or white sheep’s wool coats traditionally worn by the Hutsul people in Ukraine’s Carpathian mountains. Usually weighing up to four kilos to keep shepherds cosy while warding off evil, Maria and Natasha’s first launch was a lighter version designed for everyday urban wear (yes, the platform is a fashion mecca too; we have all the silk headscarves on our wishlist).
Sadly, however, since Russia invaded Ukraine last February, the founders’ mission to share their country’s joyful identity with the world has become more pressing. The war has had a disastrous impact on the livelihoods of Ukrainian artisans, with the Kyiv-based Gunia Project initially forced to stop production and close their showroom.
By May, they had found the resources to get back on track, and a curated edit of unique products is now available to buy online, starting from €60, with free international shipping. The hope is that these unique, playful pieces will become family heirlooms, enjoyed for generations to come.
“The Gunia brand started with the idea that something permanent should happen,” say Maria and Natasha. “Our project started out not as a business idea, but simply as short stories about what we really enjoyed and what was happening around us. We wanted to show everyone and tell them, ‘Look at this! Look how amazing Ukrainian culture is!’”
Dig into Gunia Project’s range and you’ll find an eclectic choice of ceramics, including plates, egg cups, butter dishes, sugar bowls and teapots, all handpainted with pastel illustrations in a naive folk art style.
Many feature Christian Orthodox iconography – think saints, angels and the Virgin Mary – but the dove motifs and ‘liberty, peace, freedom’ slogans of the Freedom collection nod towards Ukraine’s determination and resilience in its current political climate.
“Ð²Ð¾Ð»Ñ (reads as ‘volya’, Ukrainian for ‘freedom’) runs in our veins and is our national code,” say the founders, who have deliberately championed shades of blue and yellow, the colours of the Ukrainian flag, in these designs. “Ukraine is fighting for its peaceful life and prosperity. We believe that it’s always darkest before dawn, and after every nightmare comes the light.”
Gunia Project’s tempered glassware, too, is steeped in skill and dominated by striking bird shapes. It is made by master glassblower Taras Dzyndra, who learned his craft from his father and now enjoys working with colour and experimenting.
“The glass suggests which form will be best,” he says. “You want to do it one way but it leads you in the other direction. You can’t be afraid of making mistakes.”
Maria and Natasha echo this ethos. “Even when some of the works aren’t ‘perfect’, they are still beautiful to us,” they say. “Our artists know their materials deeply, so we listen to them.”
New for this Christmas is the Tiger collection, featuring primitive tigers lazily posing amid shimmering gold stars on an array of shiny pottery. Their country may be facing a terrible threat, but the Gunia Project team have kept their child-like imaginations alive throughout the crisis.
“Yes, the soul of every Ukrainian is wounded, we feel hurt and there will always be a part of us that does not recover,” say Maria and Natasha. “But what we do know is that our victory is inevitable, as no enemy can break our feeling of unity and pride in being Ukrainians.”
