The name comes from the gunia, the thick woollen cloak once worn by Carpathian shepherds. The brand works the same way that garment did: it takes something rooted in village life and makes it useful again. Plates, jugs, sugar bowls and teapots are painted with the animals, flowers and saints of Ukrainian folk painting, drawn with a lightness that feels completely modern.
A table full of characters
Every collection reads like a story from a village fair. There is Riabchyk, the speckled hen, on cups and a teapot crowned in gold. There is Kittess, a cat with a bow, on vases and wine buckets. There are goats on plates, and even a goat that holds a candle.
Folk art, not as a museum piece, but as something you use every morning.
From the table to the wardrobe
The house also dresses people: soft scarves, knit cardigans and a classic plakhta skirt, the wrapped skirt of Ukrainian tradition, cut for city life. Its book with Assouline, Naive My Love, gathers Ukrainian folk art of the twentieth century into one volume.
Small objects, full of character
The animals travel from ceramics into jewellery. Riabchyk becomes a tiny dog pendant in gold-plated silver and burgundy enamel. The silver Yahnusok brings a heart, a bow and a little bird together in one piece, drawing on the Ukrainian dukach tradition. The scale changes, but the playful detail remains.
A collar of beads, a cup of stories
An ivory Kryza spreads across the shoulders like a lace collar, but its pattern is made of beads. The form draws on the jewellery of Lemkivshchyna. Back at the table, GUNIA's cup and saucer with Assouline carries painted white birds and touches of gold. Two very different objects, each with enough detail to invite a second look.
