Happiness can be hearing birdsong in the morning, walking barefoot on dewy grass or seeing wheat swaying in the breeze. The droopy heads of peonies after rain, buzzing bees weaving their way through blades of grass, a babbling brook or the honey aroma of pears in the orchard.
The happy group – Saša, Mitja and their Pia and Vid – curiously follow the web of nature around us and the stories told by our environment. They link these narratives and memories with the timeless art of screen printing and contemporary design, bringing a feeling of tradition, authenticity, and heart with their unique textile products to our homes, and making us happy too.
The stories told by Jagababa
Jagababa is the family brand of Saša Drobnič Škrjanec and Mitja Škrjanec, who through carefully thought-out design with a hint of playfulness and magic translate local stories into first-rate cotton and linen items for use in the kitchen, dining room, bedroom, or garden, or on a sunlit balcony.
Years ago, they remodelled the old house of Mitja’s grandmother at Lobček near Grosuplje and added a modern design studio, a thoughtful interpretation of the traditional barn of the Dolenjska region, surrounded by greenery that fills the soul and inspires creativity. In this studio, Saša skilfully moves a blade across the silkscreen to decorate fabric for tablecloths, aprons, napkins, kitchen towels, and bread bags, as well as bedspreads, lampshades and deck chairs with carefully conceived designs and graphic patterns, tapping into childhood memories from the countryside and the local environment.
Each design is a small tribute to cultural heritage, nature, tradition or a memory of the past. A speckled hen, like the ones that used to walk around the farmyard. A long fern leaf, hiding seeds with magic power. Whimsical peonies, which brightened the garden where granny in her dotted headscarf picked flowers for her vase. A lark in the rowan tree on a grey winter afternoon. Golden wheat bordering a path to a stream, once full of fish. Meadow flowers, busy bees, valued Krško polje pigs, queen potica and fat pears. A graphically revamped pattern from granny’s embroidered Easter napkin and the traditional truta mora, a floral motif that is used to decorate the faces of houses to protect the home from dark forces.
The couple selects the stories, which actually all of us carry inside, and then Mitja translates them into a screen design. His prefers those from old French botanical books, which also inspire his work as a landscape architect – and sometimes their designs are a collaboration with the illustrator Anže Hren. They work with studio Mumino to transfer the patterns to somewhat old-fashioned but extremely effective wooden screens. Saša then spreads out the fabric on a large terrazzo counter in the studio, moves the screens across it and draws new combinations of motifs and secondary patterns with acrylic dyes. The devil – no! Jagababa is in the details. In the dextrous fingers of local seamstresses that Saša sometimes cycles to with textiles in her backpack. In the small old-fashioned irons that granny used for pressing shirt collars and now serve as the perfect weights. In the day-long drying of fabrics and careful heating in a press to ensure the durability of the products.
From the press to the table, bedroom and garden
The Škrjanec family likes to spread a large printed tablecloth over a big table on the lawn, with family and friends gathered around. They sleep the sleep of the righteous in soft fern-printed bed linen, dreaming magical dreams. On a warm day, they relax in polka-dot deck chairs, sipping coffee and watching the blossoming garden and lush grass. When packing bundles of products, they gratefully celebrate fruitful collaborations and friendships with local artists and, in particular, restaurant owners. The first restaurants to brighten their tables with Jagababa products included Gostilna Mihovec and Gostilna Pri Kuklju, and their added value was also recognised at Kmetija Urška, Šenkova domačija, Gostilna Starman, Špacapanova hiša, Gostilna Kunst, Almavista, Čolnarna Trboje, Trubarjeva domačija, Klinec farm, and Čilčevi farm, among others. Their products are also sold at Ika shop, at Mladinska knjiga bookshops on Čopova and Trubarjeva streets and at Konzorcij, at the Ethnographic Museum, Babushka boutique, Rifuzl, Mok’ca, LePotica and across Slovenia.
What else has Jagababa got to say?
The future looks bright. There will be more brainstorming of ideas and new motifs, perhaps designed (and thus preserved in the collective memory) with the aid of the youngest family members, Pia and Vid. More studio open-door days, when curious visitors come to Lobček, and perhaps participation in a creative trades fair. Maybe a screen-printing workshop, following the example of the successful cooking workshops with recipes from Saša’s cookery books Dishes From a Bowl and Homemade Pasta. More joy is received from close contact with pristine nature, inquisitive exploration and connecting with good people who appreciate effort and fine ideas.
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MMM stories is a series of online articles introducing unique local shops, small producers, farmers, and restaurants from Ljubljana and the surroundings.
Photos: Suzan Gabrijan
