Following in My Father’s Footsteps: Together We Create Unique Works

In this rainy month, there’s nothing better than opening our platform and reading all the stories about the local heroes who make tourism meaningful. As we like to say, all the products and services that attract foreign tourists to Macedonia are created by people with interesting stories.

The Kajak.mk team is confident that during 2021 they will succeed in promoting many local heroes whom the public has yet to hear about, but who, in our opinion, deserve attention.

Today, we will share the story of Lidija Tanaskoska, a woman who three years ago worked in a shop but decided to follow in her father’s footsteps and learn the craft he practiced.

Lidija describes herself to Kajak.mk as a positive and communicative person who loves outdoor activities, especially those by the water. Her love for nature inspired her to start creating various wooden birdhouses using materials she collects while hiking.

Her father is a longtime craftsman who makes different wooden objects. He comes from the mountainous village of Plake, where he inherited the craft from his ancestors.

Lidija firmly believes that to create various wooden decorations, all you need is to be in love with nature. The materials she uses to craft wooden birdhouses are gathered from the outdoors and mostly include dry forest fruits, pine cones, acorns, dry branches, and reeds washed up on the lakeshore.

Her father, on the other hand, focuses on what is most in demand in the domestic market, starting with axe handles and various household items designed to resemble traditional tools from the past. Among his highlights are women’s looms, soil cultivation tools, bread containers, and the traditional “sač” for baking bread and “gjomleze.”

For Lidija, the most important thing is that the materials are natural — starting from wood, all the way to stones from the river and the surrounding area. She says that anyone who goes hiking can pick up something from the ground to create a unique decoration.

She is happy that after so many years, she is finally doing what fulfills her. She says that the craft can be learned if you have the desire and willpower. Every handmade creation made with love and dedication is something valuable to her. The work is slow, precise, and requires patience, but at the end of the day, it’s all worth it.

The pandemic prevented them from selling their products to the tourists visiting Ohrid, but she hopes that this year she will have the chance to showcase her handmade creations in several souvenir shops in Ohrid’s old bazaar, and that these will find their way to tourists who truly appreciate handcrafted work.