Perelic visits artist and cabinet maker Ilias Lefas in his light and eclectic Kreuzberg apartment. The feeling of having entered a separate universe, or a form of time capsule strikes us as we marvel over one tastefully curated collection after the next. His home is filled with books, magazines and records, a wardrobe to die for and silverware, porcelain and crystal to make the most posh grandmother envious, yet is perfectly tidy and meticulously organised. With a sense of awe, we move through his space, carefully letting our fingers caress surfaces of exquisite velvet, marble, wood, leather, ivory. Our wool blankets slide right in, and a few get to stay.
Dena Yago, a friend of the Perelic team, made a beautiful solo exhibition at New York Gallery, Eli Ping Frances Perkins using Perelic wool rugs to make sculptures and installations.
The rugs were hand woven on traditional looms at our family-run mill in Sliven, Bulgaria using methods originating from the Rhodope Mountains. After the rugs are woven, they are washed in machines powered by river water to make them softer and stronger. In New York, Dena worked with natural-dyer Cara Piazza to color the rugs using annatto seeds, ground madder roots, iron fillings, oak gall tannin extract, onionskins, rust, and weld.
See more images of Dena’s exhibition here.