“Manikins” make me look ahead. Knar Danielyan

“Nuni”, “Lolo”, “Tiki” ․․․ The favorite friends of the children of Artsakh are handmade rabbits, bears and cats, which together are called “Manikin”. Knar Danielyan founded the production of dolls in 2019 in Shushi.

 
They were going to celebrate the 1st anniversary of “Manikin’’. The war canceled all the plans, and it was left empty-handed, without a sewing machine and cloth.
 

In a conversation with WomenNet.am, Knar Danielyan told about her life in Shushi, her journey with “Manikin” and her goals after the war.

I am an economist by my first profession. After graduating, I decided that I should also be a professional painter, I got a qualification of pedagogue.  “Manikin” is a combination of my two professions.
 

I had a handicraft club in Shushi, where the children made various things, including dolls. The dolls were made by human hands and for human beings. Hence, that is where name “Manikin’’ comes. Later it turned into a doll production.
 

I had a business idea a long time ago, but I had the opportunity to develop it only in 2019, when “Marduk” was recognized as the “Best Business Program” by the Artsakh State Minister, and we received our first grant.

The fact that we have local products, one should not buy Turkish or Chinese, was already encouraging for the people of Artsakh. There were also Armenian-made dolls in the shops, but all the children played with the same dolls.
 

It is a completely different feeling when a child has his/her doll, which is different, unique.

As a result of the coverage through Facebook and Instagram pages, “Manikin” started to leave the borders of Artsakh. During the war, the interest in Artsakh increased, they wanted to know what Artsakh lives for, what the people of Artsakh do. “Manikin” dolls went abroad, to Russia, USA and other countries.

Life in Shushi was very beautiful. Culture, architecture, people ․․․ It was a completely different environment. You know, in Shushi everyone was an artist, from accountants to artists – everyone lived in art. There was not a week that there was no premiere of the play or the opening of an exhibition in the city. Concert tours were often organized.

We planned to release a collection of clothes for the 1st anniversary. The war canceled our plans, but I decided to implement that idea. The works are in progress. 

Frankly speaking, there was no need to find the strength to start the work of “Manikin” in Yerevan. When you create something out of nothing, it is not difficult to do it again.
 

I went that way thanks to the help of my family, kind people and a simple realization that if we are not strong, we will be destroyed.

Full text in Armenian