About Us

When they ask me how and when I started doing this work, they receive that classical reply; “While I was sewing dresses for my baby dolls when I was little.”

As being a daughter to a mother who was sewing dresses for herself and me while, at the same time, working in a bank, I first started collecting the unused fabric, built my own designs and created dresses for my dolls. However, this handcrafts curiosity in me wasn’t limited only to sewing. When my teacher told us to tell our mothers to weave a crochet pencil case for us, knowing that my mother didn’t know how to crochet, I remember that I unraveled a woolen pot holder when I returned home from school and I tried and learned how to crochet with a crochet hook that I’d borrowed from my grandmother, by unraveling, weaving and then unraveling again. I was just 6 when, during a school holiday, I learned tatting from a relative and knitting from that old neighboring lady. As an only child growing up by herself, it always made me happy to get myself busy with handcrafts in those times left over from school and homework. My mother’s colleagues at work still remember, with gigles, how I had sewn one of my mother’s friend’s waistcoat to the chair she was sitting on.

During my geological engineering education at the university, the way that I hand-knitted before the toughest exams made my friends think that I was “crazy” or something J But, for me, busying myself with handcrafts became the best method of ridding myself of stress at every possible situation. My interest in beginning patchwork happened more or less at these times during university. My retired mother began taking patchwork lessons and then I started “playing” with fabrics in my off-school/homework time.

I reply to those who tell me that I chose the wrong occupation as being a geological engineer, in the following way: Actually, handworks are the form of engineering itself. Classes that I took at the university, e.g. technical drawing, arithmetic and geometry, provides an important help at my patchworking technique.

As a consequence of my husband’s work assignment to Belgium from the capital, Ankara, in 2004, our moving to Belgium for one year created a great and very important opportunity for me to learn European way of quilting. In addition to all this, it is very unfortunate that I knew nothing about felt making, which is a very traditional Turkish art, and that I learned how to do it in Belgium. At the end of our one year in Belgium, I came back to Turkey; I established my company in 2006 as a handcrafts studio.

During all these years as a teacher, I prepared my students to compete at contests organized at festivals, organized exhibitions and held kermises to raise funds for several charities and welfare associations. All the events (competitions, exhibitions and awards) I attended are as follows:

In 2006, at National “Magic Hands” Competiton’s Traditional Felt Making category, my work titled “Equinox” won the first place. Right after this competition, Nako, one of Turkey’s largest hand knitting yarn companies, chose my designs to use in their promotional brochure.
In 2008, at Open European Quilt Championships’ Traditional Patchwork category, I became a finalist with my work titled “Magic of Memories and Seasons”.
In 2012, I held an end-of-term exhibition which was titled “A Felt Story”, for the felt making course and “From the Heart to the Needle ” for the patchwork and quilting course that was co-organized by Söke Municipality and District LLP and taught by myself.
In 2012, we participated as 3E Handcrafts and Design Studio group with my students and became finalists with a total of 5 pieces of our works at 1st Iliad Çanakkale Quilt Festival Patchwork Competition. I became an instructor for the patchwork workshop organized during the whole event.
In 2013, I held an end-of-term exhibition which was titled “From the Heart to the Needle -II”, for the patchwork course that was co-organized by Söke Municipality and District LLP and taught by myself.
In 2013, I held an end-of-term exhibition which was titled “A Felt Story-II”, for the felt making course that was co-organized by Söke Municipality and District LLP and taught by myself.
In 2013, I attended 4th International Quilting Festival organized by Municipality of Gölcük.
In 2013, I held an exhibition with 20 pieces of work with my 3E Handcrafts and Design Studio group at 2nd Iliad Çanakkale Quilt Festival. We became finalists with 5 pieces of our works at the Patchwork Competition.
In 2014, we participated as 3E Handcrafts and Design Studio group with my students and became finalists with a total of 5 pieces of our works at 3rd Iliad Çanakkale Quilt Festival Patchwork Competition. In Iliad theme Category I, with my work titled “Hekabe’s Nightmare”, and in Small Piece category my student Ms. Emel Guzel with her work titled “Tulip Garden (Lalezar)” won the first prize.
In 2015, due to the 100th year commemorations of Gallipoli Campaign, a very large patchwork with 2015 pieces needled by different artists was made. My group participated to this project with 22 pieces. I also participated in the final stage of the project when we stitched all 2015 pieces together and put the final patchwork up for its exhibition, which was also visited by the President of Turkey among other distinguished guests.
In 2015, I held an end-of-term exhibition which was titled “From the Heart to the Needle -III”, for the patchwork course that was co-organized by Söke Association For Supporting Contemporary Life and District LLP and taught by myself.
In 2015, at international Open European Quilt Championships that was held in the Netherlands, our two works titled “Efe” and “Tangled (Kördüğüm)” became finalists. And “Kördüğüm” which is made by my student Ms. Fatma Yıldırım won the second place in traditional patchwork category.
In 2016 through 2018, I held end-of-year exhibitions for the courses in Ahmet Piriştina, Bülent Ecevit and İsmail Cem Cultural Centers, that were organized by Karşıyaka Municipality Social Affairs division.
In 2016, we held an exhibition at 5th Iliad Çanakkale Quilt Festival where we showcased a total of 70 works of our group. A portion of our exhibition titled “Stop Child Abuse” was exhibited in Çanakkale City Museum for three months within the scope of social projects of Çanakkale City Council. Additionally, I became one of the instructors in the workshops that were organized during this event.
In 2016, I was appointed as a member of the selection committee for Traditional Hand Crafts Competition organized by Karesi Municipality in Balıkesir. I was responsible for traditional felt making category.
In 2017, on March 8, World Women’s Day, we held a joint exhibition titled “Stop Child Abuse” to which Çanakkale City Council Boreas Patchwork Group participated with their own works titled “End Violence against Women”.
In 2017 May, participation with 65-piece quilt exhibition in a panel organised with the support of “One more school is possible” Foundation where the Head of Istanbul University Forensic Medicine Department Prof. Sevki Sozen gave a talk titled “How to save our children from abuse”
In 2017, at 6th Iliad Çanakkale Quilt Festival Patchwork competiton I won the first prize in Iliad theme category with my work titled “Dilemma”. My student, Ms. Nevin Şen became finalist with her work titled “Honey”.
In 2018, on April 23rd National Sovereignty and Children's Day, I held my exhibition titled “Stop Child Abuse” also with works titled “End Violence against Women” from Çanakkale City Council Boreas Patchwork group.
In 2018, at 7th Iliad Çanakkale Quilt Festival patchwork competition, I acted as member responsible for Iliad theme category for the selection committee. And I became an instructor at the workshops organized during the festival.

About Us

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