Dreaming of hazy, sun-dappled summers on the Amalfi Coast? So is mural artist Nastia Gladushchenko, whose work features on Saarde’s first brand collaboration: a limited-edition beach towel called Where the Blossoms Meet the Sea.
Part of the Sydney home and fashion label’s broader collection Terra di Mare, the towel is inspired
by the Italian coastline, referencing sun umbrellas, wavy seaweed, orange branches and fishing equipment. Its lush woven textures are produced on a jacquard loom from 100 per cent Turkish cotton in rich terracotta tones, delicate blush pinks and deep blues.
Getting the collaboration made was a work of kismet says Saarde co-founder Verity Kizek, who runs the label with husband Shenol. The couple spotted Gladushchenko’s “really bold, vibrant” murals near their Sydney home and talked about a possible collaboration. Then came the idea for Terra di Mare.
“The whole vision for the spring/summer collection was about nostalgic European summer holidays by the sea,” Verity says. “I feel like we were all dreaming about that while we were stuck here for so long – I definitely was. Really laidback vibes, just enjoying the food and the water and those quiet beautiful times.”
What the couple didn’t know before approaching Gladushchenko was the Blue Mountains-based artist has her own history with the Med. She and her partner, a Belgian national, used to spend the northern summers photographing weddings in places like Praiano, Tellaro and Positano.
“I had a bunch of photos of beautiful, outrageous scenes for inspiration,” Gladushchenko says. “I loved the brief of European summer. That beautiful atmosphere and converting that into something a bit more tangible.”
Used to working on a massive scale with commissioned mural painting (Sydneysiders can see some of her public works on Wells Road, Newtown, and Oxford Street, Paddington), Gladushchenko says she enjoys the idea of her designs adorning something much smaller, more intimate and more tactile.
She describes her artistic style as “minimalist botanicals”, which Verity and Shenol knew would translate to jacquard weaving. “Bold, graphic works” in a tiny colour palette work best, Verity explains, and the design must be reversible since it shows on both sides.
“It’s not as easy as just picking the colours on your computer screen,” Shenol says. Liaising with Turkish makers, his mission was to help translate Gladushchenko’s design into the final product as faithfully as possible.
Still, the artist knew her artwork would go through revisions and she was ready for Saarde’s producers to do their stuff. “I had to be really open and embrace whatever the artisans thought would work best,” Gladushchenko says. “I'm really, really happy with the result – it's quite different from what I designed in some ways, but also captures the essence of it.”
Verity and Shenol established Saarde as a brand in 2018, but it comes after years of sourcing and working with artisans and small-time producers in central Turkey. The country is Shenol’s homeland, and the couple lived together in Istanbul for a time. Now they design in Sydney and produce their textiles in Turkey – including clothing, rugs and bed linen – which join homewares from Morocco, India and Tunisia in the Saarde collection.
While Istanbul sits on the Bosphorous rather than the Med, Verity says it shares “that warm culture and that joy for life” the couple want to bring back to Australia with Saarde. “We’re sort of obsessed with that,” she says.
The Saarde x Nastia Gladushchenko Where the Blossoms Meet the Sea towel is available from December 1 at selected stockists and online. And according to Shenol, there are more Saarde collaborations to come. “I thrive on how much I can engage my business with people,” he says. “Our goal is to bring more of an Australian touch to everything we do, and we’ll definitely bring more collaborations into the range.”
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