Little Projects Scary Beasts - chairs by Vasilica Isacescu and Nadja Zerunian, pillows by Wiener Times for Zestrea - Photo by Mark Glassner.

Little Projects Scary Beasts – chairs by Vasilica Isăcescu and Nadja Zerunian, pillows by Wiener Times for Zestrea – Photo by Mark Glassner.

Design, Crafts – At 5Vie design district Nadja Zerunian presents Little Monsters Scary Beasts, a capsule exhibition developed with Co/Rizom, the NGO she co-founded that supports artisans to re-connect to the global supply chain and generate livelihoods.

Little Projects Scary Beasts, CO:RIZOM - Courtesy of 5Vie.

Little Monsters Scary Beasts – Courtesy of 5Vie.

“I have been working with traditional artisans for many years and have seen how one by one had to give up their profession.” Nadja Zerunian told Archipanic. “They had been continuing their craft for generations and were desolate to be the last. I understood that I would not take that much to re-connect them to the market: creative input, a structured product and business development process, visibility and access to the market. So we founded Co/Rizom, a platform driving and funding production, promotion and distribution of the authentic, fair and sustainable product at scale.”

Little Projects Scary Beasts, CO:RIZOM - Courtesy of 5Vie.

Little Monsters Scary Beasts – Courtesy of 5Vie.

Nadja Zerunian created a collection of quirky seats based on traditional Transylvanian folk chairs in collaboration with Vasilica Isăcescu, a master artisan who shapes wood and keeps an ancient tradition alive. The seats are complemented by patchwork pillows in vintage local fabric designed by Wiener Times in collaboration with Zestrea, a team of weavers and embroiderers that have taken on a legacy on the verge of extinction.

Little Projects Scary Beasts - chairs by Vasilica Isacescu and Nadja Zerunian, pillows by Wiener Times for Zestrea - Photo by Mark Glassner.

Chairs by Vasilica Isăcescu and Nadja Zerunian, pillows by Wiener Times for Zestrea – Photo by Mark Glassner.

Marta Giardini teamed up with AMC, a group of female volunteer artisans using their objects as tools to reassert a local heritage that has been strongly associated with Southern Hungary, to create wonderous wall ornaments and lamps made of cattail. “The designs prove that with ingenuity and creativity one can find solutions to re-imagine an ancient craft and transport it into a contemporary environment.”

Little Projects Scary Beasts - AMC with Marta Giardini - Photo by Mark Glassner.

AMC with Marta Giardini – Photo by Mark Glassner.

Austrian design duo mischer’traxler worked with Mangala, a family workshop from Sarajevo run by Nermina Alic, the only daughter taking over to keep a family tradition alive and the only female coppersmith in Bosnia.

Little Projects Scary Beasts, CO:RIZOM - Copper vessels by mischer’traxler worked with Mangala - Photo by Mark Glassner.

Copper vessels by mischer’traxler worked with Mangala – Photo by Mark Glassner.

The exhibition also features a series of kilim carpets that Maddalena Casadei developed with NESA, an all-women enterprise from Zogaj in Albania. The women do weave not only the rugs but also process the local wool. They are the sole breadwinners of their families, living in an isolated area.

Little Projects Scary Beasts, CO:RIZOM - Making of Maddalena Casadei and NESA kilim carpets - Photo by Pauline Thurn and Taxis.

Making of Maddalena Casadei and NESA kilim carpets – Photo by Pauline Thurn and Taxis.

“I truly believe that we hold a powerful tool in our hand – by making objects accessible that are an investment into our own vision of a future.” Nadja Zerunian told Archipanic. “A future where we understand the value of objects & their makers. A future where fairness and respect are the norm.”

Little Projects Scary Beasts, CO:RIZOM - Courtesy of 5Vie.

Little Monsters Scary Beasts – Courtesy of 5Vie.

Photos: courtesy of Nadja Zerunian and 5Vie.