TatovaHata – is a project, origins of which
begin with my childhood, held in the picturesque town of Bolekhiv in the west
of Ukraine, where the Carpathian Mountains are born. And now I’m far away from
my home in The Foggy Albion, in the United Kingdom, I'm putting it into action.
Trying to protect my family from the war that broke into my country, I got a chance to start a new life in the United Kingdom - a country whose people supported Ukraine from the first days of the war, supported Ukrainians who lost their habitual lives one February morning, their relatives, their homes, their plans and dreams...
Finding myself far away from home, for the first time, not by choice, not traveling as usual – I realized how much power our home and our land give us. I started looking everywhere for things and symbols that will remind me of my picturesque Ukraine.
We spent our evenings in the family circle, recalling all of our traditions and trying to give them new meanings. This is the moment I remembered how it was back in the 80s of the last century, when my father (who, unfortunately, passed away last year because of Covid) set up a small family workshop where the souvenirs from wood were made. He was at work during the day, and when he came home at night, our house came to life. My father made real miracles out of wood - carved caskets, carved plates, candleholders, and we – my Mom, me and my little sister – were his assistants in this magical performance.
As a result, these memories and my homesickness gave rise to thoughts that I can help everyone who left home, fill their life with handmade souvenirs from Ukraine, made with respect to all our cultural traditions. So, by doing this I will be able to show the British how rich and many-sided is the cultural heritage of Ukraine, to present the whole identity of Ukrainian folk handicrafts. Our people have demonstrated their many-sided talents in such crafts as pottery, ceramics, weaving, glassblowing, blacksmithing, carpet weaving, wood carving, cooperage, stonelayering for centuries. Masterpieces of pottery of the times of Trypillya are known far beyond Ukraine.
We named our small family company “Dad’s home”. Because this is a place where we can always return to childhood. A place full of warmth and parental care. The place that smells like mom’s pie and the smell of fresh wood that Dad’s doing his magic on again. A place where there are always many interesting toys, books, family stories and interesting legends.
TatovaHata – here you can always find souvenirs that were exclusively handmade by Ukrainian masters, who put a little bit of their soul into the creation. There will always be goods made of ceramics, wood, glass, leather as well as carved and painted ones. We do our best to introduce you to our cultural traditions through folk handicrafts from every region of Ukraine.