Elena Beňušová
“Luby”, split smooth bentwood plates, used to be popular in the Slovak folk cultural tradition. “Lubové koše” – baskets made from split smooth bentwood plates were working tools widely used for everyday work and are used in their original appearance till today. They are produced in several Orava regions till today. New shapes and forms of the products from “luby” have been introduced and are widely used.
Ján Čuporák from the village Podbiel has been a local basket maker, producing baskets from “luby” for fifty years. He learnt the craft from his grandfather. Čuporák usually makes his baskets from steamed hazel, not from raw hazel. Raw hazel is hard to process. Čuporák makes various basket shapes for own household, however, he usually makes baskets upon request of domestic and foreign clients. Among the most popular items are larger and smaller baskets, fireplace baskets, mushroom baskets, umbrella baskets, and table or computer baskets.