„COJOCĂRITUL”

What is „cojocăritul” and how does it translate into

English?
„Cojocăritul” dosen’t have a well-defined translation in English but the
most used term for the activity of this job is sheepskin craft and the
person that crafts is called the furrier (in Romanian: `cojocar`).
Sheepskin craft is one of the most important specialized peasant
practices in the Bran-Moieciu area of Romania and is a fundamental
element of folk culture. It is a craft firmly linked to one of the most
important basic occupations, namely animal husbandry, especially of
sheep. The sheepskin coat, the basic product of this craft practice, is a
coat made of lamb’s fur, integrated within the traditional folk wearing.
Traditionally, the coats were decorated with a variety of techniques:
leather applications, embroidery made of wool, fine wool, metallic gold or
silver yarn, beads, sequins and glass with an important aesthetic value.
Traditional forms of sheepskin craft have diluted over time as a result of
social and technological influences. Recent practices have adapted to
current trends in fashion, meeting the varied requirements regarding
both the usefulness of clothing products and their aesthetics
(chromatics, compositional and decorative dimension).
How is this made?
In the context of the processing of animal skins and fur, the sheepskin
craft is closely related to other crafts. Preparing skins for making coats
involves more operations. One of these is the skin tanning that refers to
skin depilation and to give the impermeability and flexibility required for
body molding. Once the skins have been well stretched, they are treated
with the tanning solution obtained by using one of the methods
described above. Modern technology is not used. It’s all natural! The
next step is dyeing. The mineral substances used for dyeing are iron
sulphate (for gray to dark black tones), potassium and caustic soda (for
brown) or potassium bichromate (for black and white tones).
"I have been working as a furrier for over 40 years, now I am retired and
I try to take this activity as far as I can. We make shells only to order;
people come to me, bring the skins, take them from scratch, tan them,
then sew them. For those who don't have skins, I'll find them. I only
process sheepskin and lambskin, calfskin items no longer work, no
longer worn. In the summer I tan them, I work in the tannery for 10 days,
I dry them for a week, I finish them for tailoring. To tan a skin must be
softened, shaved from the remains of meat and fat, degreased, washed
thoroughly with water and detergent. Six-seven skins are used for a
coat, plus two for the lining. Tanning is done according to the classic
procedure, it is worked in bran, with very little chemical addition, it is
worked organically, it is not toxic. The skins are also soaked in a solution
of potassium dichromate to give them impermeability, if it rains the skin
does not stay wet on humans. The skins of young animals are smooth
and uniform in thickness, being the most recommended. If they differ in
thickness, these are visible defects, sometimes the thickness can be
equalized by shaving and grinding, sometimes not. After neutralization,
they are dyed with synthetic dyes because they are very resistant over
time in terms of keeping the original color or pigments unaltered. The
skin is completely dyed in the bathroom, then dried, made of the fold, it
is a whole technology, it is not really easy to make a coat. Light, bright
colors highlight the natural flaws and flaws of the skin. I generally use
white leather and only at the customer's request painted leather, white
fur being traditional in our area. If the customer says he likes the garnish,
I put the garnish of fox, lamb, marten, goat. In winter only basket; after
the cold, the skins can no longer be tanned because they are difficult to
dry ", Ion Liuţă, a sheepskin crafter, told us.
HISTORY AND PRICE
One of the periods of maximum crafts productivity and effervescence
before 1989 was the second half of the 1970s and the 1980s, when the
fashion of the “Alain Delon '' coat type was introduced in Romania. This
type of coat was worn for the first time by the French actor Alain Delon in
the film “Rocco and his brothers'' and it was made of suede leather, had
lapels of lamb fur and was very warm. The orders were numerous and
the clients came from different counties of the country. Today, the
demands for such clothing have dropped significantly. Orders often are
for short and simple sheepskin coats, without elements of traditional
aesthetics, and the main clients are friends and acquaintances. Tourists
generally do not have an interest in purchasing such a product.
The price of a coat varies between 300-500 LEI, depending on the size,
model, whether or not it has a lining. Jackets and bonnets are priced
starting at 250 LEI. In his youth, the 65 year old furrier had at least 200-
300 customers a year, some even ordered two coats for the family and
worked 18 hours a day to honor all orders, often with the help of his wife.