She is the daughter of a furrier and trained at the furrier school in Dobšiná, with practice under the master furrier Vojtech Ditta in Nová Baňa, who also collaborated with ÚĽUV in the early 1970s. After finishing school in 1980, she was employed in custom furrier work, which was later discontinued in the early 1990s. Alongside her job, she also...
She is the daughter of a furrier and trained at the furrier school in Dobšiná, with practice under the master furrier Vojtech Ditta in Nová Baňa, who also collaborated with ÚĽUV in the early 1970s. After finishing school in 1980, she was employed in custom furrier work, which was later discontinued in the early 1990s. Alongside her job, she also completed a secondary fashion school. She got involved in traditional furrier work while working as a sanitary worker, when she was approached by the furrier master Mikuláš Šufliarsky from Detva. During numerous visits made with her husband to him in Detva, he gradually initiated her into the secrets of traditional furrier production, and her acquired knowledge combined with her vocational education made her a top-notch furrier.
As she herself says, each region had a different fur type in the past, which is why she strives to faithfully preserve their exemplary richness and diversity, as well as traditional work methods. She is driven primarily by a love for the traditional craft and the awareness that there are few furriers in our country today. She also finds satisfaction in helping people preserve a part of their folk costume. Many times, she reconstructs fur pieces that have fallen apart, showing only stitch marks. She can determine the fur pattern by eye and also adapts the size of ornaments by eye, thanks to her rich practical furrier experience.
From a young age, she knew how to make furs, a skill she also taught her husband, who now handles this part of their shared furrier work. Of course, according to the customer’s wishes, she can also sew a coat from purchased furs, which are especially better dyed compared to those they make themselves. They have no issues with a supply of furs. Today, sheep breeders burn them – therefore they can select based on how well the skin is tightened, or they even pull the wool themselves. Her husband processes the skins in formic acid. During the production of sheepskin, whether from sheep or their own goat breeding, she leaves the skins in a lime solution for an additional 3-4 days after cleaning.
She would like to preserve the furrier craft for future generations and is willing to train potential enthusiasts from villages – to explain cutting techniques, show ornamental decorations, basic stitches… She showcases her craft a few times a year at large craft fairs, especially at the Masters’ Days of ÚĽUV, the Radvanský Fair in Banská Bystrica, as well as at EĽRO in Kežmarok and Folklore Festivities under Poľana in Detva.