Ukranian crochet hook + Etsy artists

The devastating news from Ukraine is uppermost in many people’s minds these days. A couple of years ago on Etsy (my favorite craft hub), I discovered Letto Workshop, a wonderful wood-working enterprise that’s run by Stanislav and Julie, a sweet Ukrainian couple who live in Melitopol. Their business started with making children’s furniture, and later they developed a passion for making small, wooden craft implements such as hooks, boxes, and cases. They use a variety of domestic and exotic woods in their crafts, such as hornbeam, apple, pear, ash, and many others.

I bought one of their gorgeous hand-tooled ergonomic crochet hooks (see it here), and planned to buy another just before the war broke out. They sent me a few messages about how they were doing, then soon after they paused their shop’s Etsy storefront and stopped messaging. I dearly hope Stan and Julie are ok.

PHOTOS: Ergonomic crochet hook by Letto Workshop, Melitopol, Ukraine. It’s a size G (4.00mm) in hand-tooled hornbeam and apricot wood. The hook came to me in a traditionally-decorated felt case, with a sweet written card.

I realized how many talented artists from Ukraine are on Etsy; several of their shops I had already “favorited.” Their lives, artistic passions, and livelihoods have been turned upside down. I want to support and share their work with people. Have a look, and try checking out Etsy for other artists that I didn’t share with you here – painters, embroiderers, knitters, toy makers, and many more.

Some of my favorites, in no particular order (some shops are selling digital items at the moment, so anyone can still support these artists):

Luiciola Dolls (Berdychiv, Ukraine) – specializes in adorable needle-felted animals and plants, and paintings (now in digital format)

Aradiya Toys (Kyiv, Ukraine) – charming amigurumi crochet patterns in digital format

Alisa Sonya (Zhytomyr, Ukraine) – stunning Irish crochet PDF patterns

Merite Watercolor (Kyiv, Ukraine) – beautiful watercolor landscapes, Ukrainian scenes, and floral paintings in digital format

Orchard of Dreams (Chyhyryn, Ukraine) – beautifully illustrated traditional recipes, including a sumptuous Lviv cheesecake

Letto Workshop (Melitopol, Ukraine) – stunning hand-tooled wooden crochet hooks and craft accessories, made with precious woods. SHOP UPDATE (Sept. 2022): Their Etsy shop is closed until further notice, so click the link to their new website.