Walking in Mahmutlar on art alley where local craftsmen sell their hand-made stuff, I stumbled upon a stand, which stood out from the others by its unusual exhibits.
Usually, this kind of markets sell necklaces, bracelets, wooden souvenirs, knitting, lamps made out of gourd and other hand made stuff. The stand, which caught my attention, offered bags made from records. Yes, real bags made out of real LPs of all sizes.
One of the craftsmen told me that the idea of using the old records for something new crossed his mind after he saw his friend in Istanbul throws a box of unknown artists’ records. «Vinyl records is an attribute of our past, our parents’ youth. If people keep the records of famous groups and artists as souvenirs and sometimes even listen to them, the LPs of classical music and forgotten singers are simply thrown away. However, this is a great stuff and a field for imagination and creativity. So, I decided to give them a second chance and use for something else. I made a bag for my girlfriend and she was delighted. Nobody else had such an original accessory that attracted attention at parties, and functional at the same time. Soon, our friends also wanted to have the bags, but everybody wanted them to be unique and original, too. So, I had to make up some other models. Now we offer our bags to tourists. You can be sure that your friends will not have the same one. Even if it is the same model, the materials and the colors will be different, and the records, definitely, will never be the same.
The craftsmen complained that their business might soon come to an end, as it becomes difficult to find vinyl records. «Finding records is becoming increasingly difficult. Many friends, seeing our bags, say that a month ago they threw a whole box of records. ‘If we knew that one can use them for making such interesting things!’, the say.» They added half-jokingly, that if each tourist brought them at least a couple of plates, it would be great. Why not? I offered to give a discount to anyone who brings them plates: say, $1 for two plates. If this idea does not seem absurd to you, you are going on holiday to Mahmutlar, if you have the unwanted records and if it will not be a trouble for you to bring a few pieces, you can contact me or bring them to an art alley in Mahmutlar.
In my opinion, the prices for bags are quite acceptable. Especially considering that it is a handmade stuff, and besides, an exclusive «limited edition». Small bags cost 30 lira ($ 20), the bigger ones — 35, 40, 50 TL, etc. The most expensive bag is a phone-bag (80 lire, or $ 53).
The art alley is located on Barbaros Street in the center of Mahmutlar next to park behind Petrol Office and is open every evening till late at night. There you can find many interesting handmade things, buy souvenirs to you friends, see various craftwork items and estimate Turkish creativity.
