New masters: A furrier from childhood

New masters: A furrier from childhood

Tomáš Mikolaj

Anna Suchá continued the fur-making traditions of her family and of her native town, Nová Baňa. Her father was a furrier, her brother also learnt the trade, and Vojtech Ditte also worked in the town. At the end of the 1970s, she did her work experience with him, when the fur-making school in Dobšiná which she attended allowed her to gain experience under this master. After finishing school, she worked in a made-to-measure furrier’s shop in Nová Baňa. However, in the early 1990s production in the business was closed down and she needed to look for other work. She found employment as a carer in a care home, and remained here until her recent retirement. However, she did not abandon fur-making even in this job, although she moved from fashion clothing to folk clothing, influenced by the Detva master Mikuláš Šufliarsky (1912 – 2005). Her husband and her travelled to visit him many times, and she gradually discovered the mysteries of traditional fur-making, typical for Slovakia’s rural areas. In 2020, Anna Suchá was awarded the title of Master of Folk Art Production for traditional fur-making.

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