Comparing yourself with others is, generally, considered non-productive since each person is different, exceptional in their own way. But if urge to compare is stronger than ever, change the subject: compare the boots (they wouldn’t mind…). The boots that are beautifully decorated and carry the wisdom and warmth of generations through ethnic designs and intensive crafting! The boots that excite with all the attention to the owner, when worn! Look at the boots created with several leather crafting technologies and, definitely, with the purpose to impress (and keep an evil eye away).

These boots are crafted with three technologies of applying the leather ornaments: inlay, overlay and mosaic. Inlay and overlay attach colorful leather elements using the machine. Leather mosaic attaches the simplistic decorative cutout pieces from the inside of the boot by hand-stitching. The Tatar leather mosaic is the most complex, intricate and manual labour-intesive. The boots created with the Tatar leather mosaic technology is called shchiteq (shchiteqler for plural) in the Tatar language, the language of the Tatar people, the people who have been mastering the Art of Tatar Leather Mosaic for centuries.

If you want to learn the art of Tatar Leather Mosaic, there are several online resources:

• UniqueLeatherMosaic.com (in English),
• “Kazan zhoyu” (Kazan stitch) documentary on demand (in Tatar, Russian),
• Master-class by Aigel Salakh (in Tatar, Russian),
• Video by journalist Iskander Gyilezhev  (in Tatar),
• Electronic interpretation of seminal book by Liliya Sattarova (in Russian).

 QulEse and Bulgari offer master classes in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russian Federation.

If you are interested in custom-made shchiteqler, email to uniqueleathermosaic at gmail.com.