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Ten Thousand Villages - Mountain Lake

Ten Thousand Villages will showcase a variety of hand crafted imports such as: onyx, wood carvings, bamboo, baskets, instruments and ceramics.

For more information, visit their website.

Anya's Russion Folk Art

We sell Russian matroshka dolls (aka stacking or nesting dolls) which are hand painted and signed by the artist. Although the first doll may have come from China or Japan, the wood carvers of Russia began making them around a hundred years ago.

The word "matre" means mother, and the word has been associated with "Mother Russia" or motherland. They are made of birch wood and are hand turned on the turning lathe. In Soviet times they were made and painted in factories in assembly line style, but since the break-uo of the former Soviet Union, they are mostly made by artists working out of their homes. There are as many varieties as there are regions and artists in Russia. The styles vary in size and kind, and include animal themes, religious themes, fairy tales and folk stories, classical museum quality, and the traditional styles still found in some regions of Russia.

We also sell "Finift" jewelry, (meaning shining stone) which is hand painted enamel set into brass covered silver which is intricately woven into delicate patterns. This technique and method of design was used as early as the 11th Century in Kievan Rus. The pieces are unique and beautiful!