PasParTou at the Dumbo Arts Festival 2014

Last weekend, PasParTou was invited to participate in the Little Poland Gallery at the Dumbo Arts Festival.  The gallery was run by the Polish Consulate in New York in order to showcase items either made in Poland or by Polish designers and artists.  We graciously accepted the consulate's invitation and set up a table for the two day show located at 160 Water Street in the heart of DUMBO.

Owner Gosia Rojek showing our collection of items to Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka, Polish Consul General

We decided to bring with us the works of many different Polish artists and designers.  We exhibited the beautiful jewelry of designers Marcin Zaremski and Marcin Gronkowski.  We also displayed a collection of Polish pottery otherwise known as Boleslawiec.  Visitors who came by our booth loved the small bowls and spoons as well as our collection of tea bag holders.

Exhibition of Polish Pottery

In our store, we feature a beautiful line of Polish whimsical kitchen textiles with various patterns on them.  We brought those down to DUMBO as well with us and they were a hit just as they are in our store in Cobble Hill.

Selection of whimsical kitchen linens

Finally we brought a beautiful collection of handmade and artist signed glass pieces from Velt Gallery.  These along with our personally designed Brooklyn t-shirts finished out our display nicely.

PasParTou designed Brooklyn t-shirts

Overall, we had a sucessful first experience at the Dumbo Arts Festival.  Not only did we get to exhibit and display our beautiful Polish made and inspired items, but we also got to catch up with a good friend of ours, the Polish Consul General.

Owner Gosia Rojek with Polish Consul General Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka

All participants of Little Poland Gallery with Polish Consul General Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka

Boleslawiec (more commonly known as Polish Ceramics)

Selection of Boleslawiec displayed outside our store in Shelter Island

In September of 2013, we took a trip to Poland to meet with some of our current vendors and also to scope out some new ones.  We were getting a great response about our selection of Polish ceramics known as Boleslawiec so we decided to take the four hour drive to the town where these beautiful ceramics are made.

This pottery is not only stunningly beautiful but also has a rich history behind it.  The region where Boleslawiec is made is located on the Polish/German Border and was not under Polish control until after World War II.  Before the war, the factories were run by Germans in a region named Brunslau.  After the war, the factories changed their managements and continued to manufacture the ceramics in the same styles as the Germans.  The region was renamed Boleslawiec. 

Example of a pattern of German origin

What makes the pottery so unique is that it is made from a certain type of clay that is only found in the Boleslawiec region.  This clay gives the pottery the unique characteristics that make it both durable, to withstand baking, and useful for serving.  The popularity of the pottery has greatly increased in recent years leading to an increase in the number of factories making pottery using the clay found in Boleslawiec.  

While we were visiting Boleslawiec, we got to go and see two of the beautiful factories in the town.  They were busy producing very beautiful patterns as well as the traditional and signature ones.  As we went looking through the factory stores, we noticed that these factories had included more unique lines of floral patterns.  These patterns are called UNIKAT patterns and generally belong to a certain artist.  These patterns also tend to be a bit more on the expensive side.  

The great thing about Boleslawiec is that it is oven safe, freezer safe, microwave safe, and dishwasher safe. This makes them easy to use and easy to clean.  We swear by them, our kitchen is full of them, and we have been collecting the Boleslawiec pottery for the last thirty years.   

We continue to have a great response to our Boleslawiec collection at all three of our stores!  Come by and chat with us about the ceramics and get excited as we are about to place another large order!