Other

Family craft TOMICA MARICA came to be in 1965. The tradition was started by grandfather Filip who was an apprentice of the famous Zagreb licitar Novak. Having mastered the trade, he ventured into running his own craft.

The small confectionery shop Jakšić is an indispensible part of Zagreb’s dessert scene. This is a place adored by locals who always come back for more, while tourists come with the specific aim of getting the best traditional sweets and desserts. The Jakšić family has been in the confectionery business since 1936 thanks to the current owner’s grandfather.

Artist Vlasta Pastuović Aleksić today owns a craft involved in artistic creation and giving visual arts lessons. Her paintings and original jewellery are her means of livelihood. In addition to that, she gives group drawing and painting classes, as well as individual lessons. How did it all get started?

If you go to Mlinovi 2 in Zagreb, you’ll find an unique and unusual profession. Franka Vatovac Tomičić belongs to the third generation of a family that produces handmade candles. Franka’s grandparents started the craft in 1937 and this is one the few candlemaking crafts that have managed to stay in business to this very day.

Creative Goran Maretić heads the souvenir maker section at the Zagreb Craftsmen Association. He makes miniatures in cans and they are his signature product. Goran made his first drums back in elementary school and his penchant for making ship and airplane models suggested that his love of handicraft would endure.

Fountain pen repairmen is probably the most romantic profession you’ve ever heard of. Owner Vlasta Keranović, who took over the business after her husband passed away, tells us that this is the oldest fountain pen shop and service in Europe.

Sanja Paprenjak is the project initiator and owns the Paprenjak brand. The novel “Zlatarevo zlato” (The Goldsmith’s Gold) inspired her to start her own business in 1997. Every day Magda “Paprenjača” would paprenjak biscuits in front of the church in order to provide for her family.

Nenad Ružić is a member of the third generation of master craftsmen working at Ilinić Crafts, a shop founded in 1929. Before World War I, it specialized only in sales, and then up to 1990 only in repairs. Now in their charming little shop in Zagreb’s Zvonimirova Street they provide the following services: repairing, restoring, and selling pianos and upright pianos.