Guculiya is a project that bridges Ukrainian tradition and contemporary design. We revive the nearly lost technique of black-smoked pottery and give new resonance to ancient symbols and archetypes. For me, this creative work is an emotional act of revival and an inner anchor in times of war — a way to preserve memory and reveal a living Ukrainian culture to the world.

The uniqueness of black-smoked pottery lies in its firing process: clay is fired at 970°C using firewood of specific types. Under these conditions, the clay oxidizes and acquires a deep black color with a metallic sheen. Each piece is unique, created without the use of any pigments. While our ancestors once fired in earthen kilns, today we work with electric ones. This technique was nearly lost during the Soviet regime: by the 1980s, in Havariv, the village where it originated, only a handful of masters remained. Preserving and popularizing this craft has become our mission. It is also symbolic that we continue to work with clay brought from Sloviansk just before the outbreak of heavy fighting.

Every Guculiya piece is a search for balance between meaning and minimalist form — a modern aesthetic born from ancient archetypes and protective symbols.

The VYRII collection is a series of guardian candlesticks, inspired by the ancient image of vyrii — the space beyond the horizon where souls and birds take flight. Each shape carries a symbol: the Berehynia (protectress), the Tree of Life, the Trisuthia (threefold unity), and Ancestral Memory. Together, they are a contemporary interpretation of archaic forms, preserving cultural continuity and carrying faith in goodness and the strength of lineage.

In the WHISPER collection, the jug and teapot embody a dialogue between Carpathian nature and the Japanese tea ceremony, building a bridge between two cultures.

The candlesticks Grain and Rollers are a reflection on harvest rituals and traditions, reinterpreting Trypillian symbolism of the sown field, fertility, and rebirth.

My work is a search through the sands of history, an attempt to uncover our true culture, which reveals itself in every new creation. It materializes in clay and becomes part of everyday life. This is the remarkable power of design and creativity — to speak the language of symbols and objects about what is essential and profound.