Craftisi Winter Charity Fair Held at Catharsis

TBILISI - A charity Christmas market featuring handmade crafts was held at Catharsis Tbilisi yesterday. Stands were overflowing with wool toys, handmade soaps and shampoos, Christmas decorations, handmade Christmas cards, accessories, and cookies.

The idea for the exhibition was born in a community of women living here in Tbilisi. Initially only wanting to share their experiences with arts and crafts, they a Facebook group for themselves. That group, though, named Craftisi – from “Crafts” and “Tbilisi”, soon took off in popularity. It now has over 3000 members. The artists decided to begin exhibiting their work, resulting in their very first handcrafts market. They dedicated that to their love of cats and called “Catmopena”; this went on to be followed by a smaller, but equally successful, Easter charity fair.

“This is our first winter fair, in collaboration with Catharsis Center- and it’s proved successful," said Anna Kubecova, organizer and Craftisi founder. "Half of the income from the fair goes to a humanitarian organization supporting socially deprived and unprotected groups.  It’s our third event already with Catharsis; we had a beautiful Easter fair, and we’re planning to do it again next year. I think it’s a great chance for more people to learn about the wonderful work Catharsis does.”

International humanitarian Center Catharsis was founded in 1990 as a social support center for the socially deprived, homeless, and elderly, with six branches operating in towns and rural regions across Georgia. 

By Nino Gugunishvili