Spindle brooches and designer ceramics: products from the Komi Republic at the Department Store of the National Centre RUSSIA

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The Komi Republic Week has begun at the National Centre RUSSIA. The Department Store features regional brands that reinterpret northern identity through authorial design, the use of local materials, and a contemporary rethinking of folk motifs, combining Komi heritage with modern aesthetics and the language of contemporary art.

A vivid expression of national identity can be seen in the jewellery created by the Kuezeli studio of Anna Shabalina. The core of the collection consists of spindle brooches — miniature wooden "trees" inspired by the traditional Komi spindle, one of the key female symbols. Anna transfers motifs of Upper Vychegda painting onto these small adornments: solar rosettes, protective symbols, and ornamental edging reminiscent of the carved stem of an old spindle. Each brooch is hand-painted and conceived as a personal talisman and a symbol of continuity — from mother to daughter, from grandmother to granddaughter.

Natural themes resonate strongly in the "berry" jewellery by Inna Shishchuk. Her necklaces, bracelets, and earrings resemble twigs strewn with blueberries, raspberries, or cloudberries. They look as though the berries were gathered across the tundra. In reality, the pieces are made from polymer clay tinted with pastel pigments. This technique requires great skill and patience, but ensures that every piece is distinctive and truly one of a kind.

Nearby, visitors can discover ceramics by the Skvöt workshop from Syktyvkar. These works exist at the intersection of archaic tradition and futurism: their forms resemble artefacts freshly unearthed from northern soil, while the decoration reveals echoes of the Permian animal style, imagery from Komi mythology, and even characters of the national alphabet. The artists experiment with hand-building, the potter’s wheel, and complex firing techniques, achieving a distinctive "elemental trace" on the surface. Their works have already been recognised at major contemporary ceramics festivals and ethnographic souvenir contests.

In addition, the Department Store RUSSIA presents other distinctive regional brands. Dymov Keramika demonstrates how ancient clay tableware can become contemporary design objects, featuring restrained forms, unconventional glazes, and author collections created by artists specifically for the brand. Jewellery by KINGDOM OF GLASS combines stained-glass techniques with natural Baltic amber: inside pendants and brooches are "fragments of the Baltic" — sand, seaweed, and amber chips — transformed into personal stories fused within glass.