Maltese Crafts And Hobbies You Should Totally Get Immersed In This Summer
Malta is a land riddled with mesmerising beauty. When tourists come here, they fall in love with our country, and for very good reasons too. Apart from having picturesque countryside and amazing weather, we also have ethereal crafts.
Although some of them have been slowly losing popularity over the past couple of decades, Maltese crafts seriously need to be honed and loved, and here’s why.
1. Bizzilla
This cute nanna hobby is one of the most endearing activities ever. Back in the day it was mostly practiced by noblewomen who totally made gloves and cool tablecloths with this wonderful skill.
Eventually as time went by lace became the livelihood of many Maltese women, until it kind of died out in the past few years.
2. Filigree
A very delicate craft not suitable for those with super shaky hands, filigree is a great way to create tiny and ornate stuff.
The filigree-ers(?) make this tiny fairy-like ornaments using threads of silver or gold to fashion jewellery, ornaments and Maltese crosses, of course.
3. Glassblowing
Blown glass is a favourite among tourists who visit our island. Nobody leaves our land without taking with them a piece of heavily-coloured ornamental glass.
People make trophies, gifts, candle holders, lamps, statues and pretty much anything you can imagine. These pieces are generally super colourful and extremely easy to break.
4. Ganutell
Another nanna love, ganutell is a delicate craft which consists of creating beautiful tiny flowers using wire and really tiny materials.
Sometimes these flowers are also made of clay, ribbons, seeds, shells, fabric and even wool. This craft has died down a bit throughout the ages, but is said to be a very rewarding and meditative experience.
5. Pottery
Pottery has been our thing since forever. Maybe it’s the abundance of clay on the island or just the sheer fun of re-enacting that Ghost scene with Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. We don’t know.
Odd ceramic bits and bobs are found in almost every house on the island, both modern and even in houses which are now museums. Ceramics served as both decorative and functional ornaments throughout our history.
It seems like our love for pottery has remained a steady constant in time.
6. Arloġġi
These adorable clocks known as tal-lira have mysterious origins, as nobody is sure where the hell they really came from.
They date back to around the 17th century and were mostly owned by clerics and upper class people. They were used both as a decorative object and actual clocks.
These wooden masterpieces are still popular to this day and are generally made by carpenters, gilder-painters and clock-makers. Each one of these guys has their own function in the creation of this lustrous clock. Go teamwork.
7. Wicker
This is an old fishing culture craft which was generally used in seaside villages for both catching fish and storing them.
Reeds and bamboo are easily found on our island. The strength and durability of the material makes it popular due to the fact that it does not get terribly affected by sun damage. Hence why so many houses use them as door protection.
8. Tberfil
Malta’s very own typeface has made a comeback recently, thankfully. This hand-painted lettering is an extremely intricate hobby which was mostly seen on the good yellow busses and old shopfronts.
Some karozzini still carry about this lovely decorative font on their pimped up bodies.
Do you know anyone who likes Maltese crafts? Tag them in the comments below
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