Cultural Heritage and Textiles Tours
22-28 May 2025 / 12-18 June 2025 / 18-24 September 2025 /9-15 October 2025
I invite you on a one‐week journey to discover the multicultural diversity and beauty of the Țara Silvaniei ( region in Transylvania, Romania).
Through this experience, you will learn more about an area that is less frequented by tourists but represents a deep, heartfelt heritage for us who live here.
Our appreciation for the local cultural elements and the work of the women who came before us led us to establish a collection of textiles and traditional folk costumes representative to this region. This is how our project was born.
In the following years, my mother, Maria Fițiu, began creating murune (traditional adornments), and many elderly women who had stored their dowries in attics started persuading their children and grandchildren to recognize the value of their heritage and to treat it with greater care.
Many of these women have rediscovered the joy of sewing in their later years, and now spend their winters creating pieces for their children and grandchildren. These skilled women are passing on their knowledge to the younger generations, ensuring that traditional sewing and embroidery techniques continue to live.
Throughout the trip, we will explore traditional textiles, embroidery, wooden churches, traditional houses and dowry rooms that tell personal life stories. You’ll also discover the charm of the county’s iconic tiny blue cottages, savor delicious local cuisine, and visit centuries-old painted wooden churches that serve as monuments to the region’s deep cultural roots.
I will introduce you to the places and people that hold special meaning for me. You will meet local elders—women eager to share their life stories and traditions, invite you into their homes, and show you their treasured textiles and dowry chests. These encounters will be immersive experiences, where you will have the opportunity to participate in hands-on workshops, learning traditional embroidery and stitching techniques.
A special highlight will be our visit to several wooden churches, many of which date back centuries. We will be accompanied by a local guide and professor, who will provide insights into the history and cultural significance of these sacred places. These churches are not only architectural marvels but also repositories of collective memory. Although no longer in use, these churches continue to serve as an important link between past and present.
Hands-on Embroidery Workshops
Previous participants in this tour have greatly appreciated the hands-on nature of the activities, especially the practical aspects of the workshops. Based on their feedback, I have decided to dedicate an entire day to sewing and embroidery workshops. You’ll have the chance to learn directly from skilled artisans and take home the knowledge of these traditional techniques.
A Personal Experience
This tour is designed to foster genuine connections between you and the local community. I believe that meaningful travel is not about the number of places you visit, but about the depth of your experiences. To ensure that each participant has a truly personalized experience, I am offering only three spots on this tour. The small group size will allow us to connect more deeply with one another and the people we meet along the way.
I’m excited to share this journey with you and look forward to welcoming you to my village. Please don’t hesitate to contact me for further details.
Accommodation & Dining
For most of the tour, you will stay in a beautifully restored traditional house built in 1903 and in a dedicated bedroom in our workshop building. Renovated in 2015, the rooms are adorned with textiles and furniture from my grandmother’s dowry, creating a cozy, nostalgic atmosphere. Each morning, we will gather in the kitchen to prepare breakfast together, using fresh, local ingredients sourced from the village market or nearby farms. For lunch and dinner, we’ll be treated to traditional meals prepared by the socăcițe, skilled local women known for their ability to cook large quantities of food for weddings, funerals, and other important events. Their dishes will give you a true taste of Sălaj’s rich culinary heritage.
1 / SCHEDULE - 22-28 May 2025 / 18-24 September 2025 -
Day 1:
We will meet in Cluj-Napoca and travel together to Sălaj
Walk in the village
Welcome dinner with traditional live music
Day 2:
Presentation of the local traditional costume and crafts
Visit our ethnographic collection
Visit the women in the village, their dowry rooms and personal textiles collections
Day 3:
Stitching workshop
Traditional embroidery workshop
Embroidery on sheepskin workshop
Day 4:
Visit three wooden churches in Sălaj County
Visit a reformed church with coffed ceiling
Day 5:
Visit an etnographic collection of textiles
Visit a personal textiles collection and a traditional blue house
Weaving demonstration
Day 6:
Visit the multicultural local market
Baking together a traditional cheese and herbs bread, guided by my grandmother
Ceramic decoration workshop
Day 7:
Slow morning in the garden and library
Visit a Hungarian dowry room from Țara Călatei (Kalotaszeg)
Return to Cluj-Napoca
2 / SCHEDULE - 12-18 June 2025 / 9-15 October 2025
Day 1:
We will meet in Cluj-Napoca and travel together to Sălaj
Presentation of the local traditional costume and crafts
Visit our ethnographic collection
Welcome dinner with traditional live music
Day 2:
Visit a woman from the village to show us her dowry chest and textiles
Visit Negreni / Feketău antique & flea market
Day 3:
Stitching workshop
Traditional embroidery workshop
Embroidery on sheepskin workshop
Day 4:
Visit three wooden churches in Sălaj County
Visit a reformed church with coffed ceiling
Day 5:
Visit an ethnographic collection of textiles
Visit a personal textiles collection and a traditional blue house
Weaving demonstration
Day 6:
Visit the multicultural local market
Baking together a traditional cheese and herbs bread, guided by my grandmother
Ceramic decoration workshop
Day 7:
Slow morning in the garden and library
Visit a Hungarian dowry room from Țara Călatei (Kalotaszeg)
Return to Cluj-Napoca
What We Offer
Accommodation for the entire trip
Transport during the 6 days
Lunch and dinner, including ingredients for breakfast
Workshop materials
A local guide
Activities, workshops and visits
English translation
Access to our library and workspace
Not included:
Transport to & from Cluj-Napoca before and after the tour
Travel & health insurance
Shipping of the ceramic item resulting the workshop (aprox. 2-4 weeks after)
Dates:
22-28 May 2025 - Last place available for one person/ a couple in a room with a double bed
12-18 June 2025 - Last place available for one person/ a couple in a room with a double bed
18-24 September 2025
9-15 October 2025
Your contribution:
€1600 per person - single room
€1500 per person - double room
25% discount for the last 2 spots available for May and June ( final price: 1100 euro)
Accommodation Details:
Stay in a 120-year-old traditional house in Marin, Sălaj
1 room with a double bed
1 room with 2 single beds
Shared kitchen and bathroom with the three-person group
To register, please fill in THIS FORM (click here)
For more details, please don’t hesitate to write us: office.madeinsat@gmail.com
TESTIMONIALS
“Participating in the tour was a unique opportunity for me to discover Sălaj, new ethnographic areas and to meet people who keep traditions and crafts alive. Every moment, from visits to the homes of the locals, access to their lives, objects and stories, to the workshops of embroidery, lacemaking, pottery or the tour of the wooden churches, seen from a new perspective, was a fascinating foray into the cultural heritage of the region.
It was not just a glimpse into the past, but also a change of attitude: I went with the thought that I would connect spiritually with a culture and be part, even for a few days, of a way of life that is slowly but surely disappearing. However, I left knowing that we all have the opportunity to actively contribute to preserving local traditions and cultural richness, by exposing them, documenting them and then promoting them (I know for sure that I will use the sewing techniques learned here for a quilt in the future).
It's something you can't easily replicate on your own, you effortlessly access a type of experience where time dilates and you manage to use every moment meaningfully and enjoy authentic connections, both between participants and organizers (thank you), and with people in the community.”
- Mădălina, participant of the oct 2024 tour
”Meet lots of interesting talented people and indulge yourself in Romanian rural life and culture. If you are interested in embroidery, weaving, spinning etc, and traditional skills and you would like to eat Romanian home cooked food, this is a fabulous opportunity. I was inspired and energised by my tour, every day was full of interest.”
- Rose, participant of the oct 2024 tour
