HANDMADE CRAFTS - GUARDIANS OF TRADITION AND CUSTOMS

MRKONJIĆ GRAD, MAY 3 /SRNA/ - Guardians of the traditions and customs of the Mrkonjić region continue today, through their work and creativity, to preserve from oblivion what their ancestors left them as heritage. One of them is Desanka Pešević from Mrkonjić Grad, who is engaged in making handmade crafts.

As a young girl in her native village of Sanica near Ključ, beneath Mount Grmeč, Desanka became interested in handicrafts by watching her grandmother, mother, and other women knit, embroider, sew, and weave. "Already in the third grade of elementary school, my grandmother taught me how to knit, while my mother and aunt showed me how to weave on a loom, or how to make a carrying bag. Later, with my mother's help, I learned embroidery, and after I got married, I began crocheting and sewing," Pešević told SRNA. She still enjoys making handmade crafts today because it relaxes her, and she is delighted whenever she sees what she has created. "I am happy that people still love handmade crafts, respect tradition and customs, and appreciate the effort and work invested, because for everything to look authentic and beautiful, it sometimes takes a lot of time, patience, and sacrifice," Pešević said. She added that she gives many of her handmade creations to relatives and friends, while some she manages to sell in Mrkonjić, neighboring municipalities, and some even find their way abroad. Pešević noted that people in the Mrkonjić region and beyond know that she makes handmade crafts, but that she has recently also started showcasing her work on the social network Facebook. "I generally know how to do all kinds of handicrafts - I crochet, knit, embroider, weave, sew - and whatever I imagine, I can create. I am especially proud of my knitted socks for folk dancers, which I make with different motifs, striving to preserve the spirit of tradition through patterns," Pešević explained. She also pointed out that she makes other parts of traditional folk costumes as well. According to her, she has also started knitting traditional woolen socks with unusual messages, patterns, and other motifs, mostly requested by people living abroad. With the arrival of spring, she moves her exhibition stand to Balkana near Mrkonjić Grad, where she displays everything she creates.