Lace Jewelry: The Secret Language Of Oya And How Ylvia Asal Is Keeping Anatolian Cultures And Arts Alive

Ylvia Asal was born an artist. Ever since she was a young child, growing up in the Black Sea area of Turkey, she has been creating. Her favorite art form being Oya lace, an ancient (we’re talking B.C.) craft of hand-making unique lace edges (called “oya”) that adorn scarves, garments, linens, pillows and more. This Oya wasn’t just decorative, though, it was a secret language of Turkish women.

Turkish Coffee & Italian Cookies in the Lace Garden

I’m greeted by a warm smile from Ylvia as she makes me a cup of homemade Turkish coffee on a portable burner, and we chat in her art room located in the back of her shop, Anatolian Arts and Culture Studio. Her shop is located in downtown Haddonfield, New Jersey, just under 30 minutes from Center City Philadelphia. Being in Ylvia’s store is like a worldly treasure hunt. Each time you visit, you’ll find something new and curious at every corner. In her shop, you’ll find handmade and one-of-a-kind pieces. Lots of locally made textile art, fiber art, lace jewelry, bags, hats, shawls, embroidery pieces, “ebru” which is Turkish paper marbling, and tons of wall and wearable art. Most of the items are made by Ylvia herself, though she does carry other artists’ pottery and art as well. “I am happy to collaborate with other artists and friends. If somebody is interested to put their work in my shop, I am happy to collaborate!”  

For me, the star of the show was Ylvia’s Oya lace jewelry. Each piece has something special that sets it apart, no two designs are the same. Sadly, this craft is a dying art, and Ylvia has made it her mission to preserve and pass along the technique and beauty of Oya to the younger generations. “My first love is the lace. This beauty. It is amazing.”

It is thought that the Oya originated in Anatolia and then found its way to mainland Europe via a route through Greece and then Venice, Italy. “We are all connected,” Ylvia says, “Turkish or not. I don’t want to lose this art form. That is why I am teaching students who want to learn. Anybody can learn. I am willing to teach and looking for the students to carry this tradition to the future.”

Lace of Oya: The Secret Language of Turkish Women

Oya has a deeper meaning than simply being a decorative lace edging to adorn items, it was also used as a way for Turkish women to communicate. If a woman didn’t get along with their Mother-in-Law, there was Oya to reflect that. Oya could represent a happy relationship or an unhappy marriage; someone who was single, newly married, or looking for a partner. Different flower Oya could even tell you the age of the person wearing it.  Oya can be seen as a way Turkish women empowered themselves with this art language when they might have felt powerless with words.

“It is about the women of the past, not only the Turkish woman, but all women who were kept silent, quiet, not expressing themselves, not saying things in public. Who had to keep their voices quiet. They were always second and couldn’t share their feelings,” Ylvia explained. “Women could say something with her Oya. If she was sad, if she was happy, she can send a private message without saying anything at all. It was a way of communication. If she was celebrating something, if someone passed away, there is a different Oya for different things and emotions.”

I saw a beautiful pair of burnt orange and coral-beaded earrings surrounded by black lace of Oya. I asked Ylvia if they have a hidden meaning or message.

“I created that. That is my own Oya,” Ylvia tells me, “It’s my style. I am inspired by traditional Turkish Oya technique, but I am adding and removing something in my designs. For this, I can say ‘pumpkin’ and since I created it, if someone copies this design, it will be called ‘Pumpkin Oya’ because this is the ‘pumpkin’ time of year, and I am in the United States and we are in fall. We don’t have fall like this, with pumpkins, in Turkey. In Turkey there is tomato Oya, pepper Oya, fruit Oya. It is not only about what you are feeling, but what you are seeing, too.”

I learned that with Oya, everything represents a feeling or a memory. The Oya lace earrings of orange blossoms, strawberries, or lemons reminded me of charms you’d see on a bracelet or necklace. It’s the same concept, carrying with you meaningful and special mementos for yourself, or messages for others.

Lace Jewelry: Connecting Women Past & Present

This lace art that started in Turkey, made its way up and through Europe, found here today, in New Jersey and beyond. “We are all connected to that land and this lace goes back to everybody’s tradition in some way,” Ylvia tells me. Wearing the lace now, here in America, is connecting us to a much broader and deeper tradition of women in Turkey.  Ylvia wants everyone to feel at home in her space and to remember that we are all linked. “Everybody who comes to my shop, they say ‘oh my grandmother was doing similar things’ or ‘I feel at home here.’ Everybody who comes here remembers a memory, and that makes me so happy.”

Ylvia is passionate about carrying on the Anatolian cultures and traditions to younger generations, encouraging people to buy the lace jewelry and earrings as gifts for the younger girls and women in their lives, to tell them the story behind the jewelry, and showcase the uniqueness in each pair of earrings, as well as share the deep and profound art that empowered so many women over the centuries. If you are giving a gift, why not give a gift that has a story.

“Everything is always the same. I think my work is different and fun. Everything is the same, same, same. I trust my feeling, and my vision, and my taste. Get these lace earrings, go show your niece, your young generations, get them interested to learn. Get it, and show the young generation because this is almost lost art.” She offers classes in her studio and works with her students to find a schedule that suits them. Ylvia offers options from a one-day workshop to classes that span weeks, depending on her students’ desires. You can stop in her shop or email her to learn more.

Let’s Break Biscotti: What’s A Favorite Breakfast Memory?

Ylvia shares a favorite memory of a typical Sunday morning Turkish breakfast in her childhood home.
Saturday night, before going to bed, Ylvia’s mother would prepare the filling of ground beef, onion, parsley and black pepper. There was a special bakery a short walk to Ylvia’s house with a big oven, where you could see the fire from the outside. Ylvia remembers waking up at 6 or 7 am on Sunday morning, and the very first thing you do is go to the fridge and take the filling mixture to the bakery and join the long line of people. Every person in line brought their unique family’s recipe of filling to be made into Black Sea Pide, a type of boat-shaped Turkish filled flatbread. To have your pide made, you brought your own mixture, left it with the bakers who would fill the dough boats, bake it for you, and in an hour or so, you’d go and pick up your individual pide recipe and take it home to enjoy with your family and friends.

A sort of cultural communion of different people bringing their individual recipes, waiting as the bakers worked their magic, marrying each family’s unique homemade ingredients with the same dough. The fire in the clay and stone ovens cooked the pide, traditions and ancestral recipes floating and swirling in the air, creating one beautiful and connected aroma. When done baking, Ylvia would bring the pide back home to join her family at the breakfast table, and with ayran, a yogurt drink mixed with water and ice, the family would sit together and enjoy Sunday morning breakfast.

Community is the Heart of Ylvia’s Work

Ylvia is active in the community and has received numerous awards, including the New Jersey State Council on the Arts Heritage Fellowship Life-Time Achievement Award. Always welcoming friends, new and old, into her studio and shop and passionately sharing her art with any and all who are interested. She has created such an incredible community here in New Jersey. Seeing women and girls wearing Oya lace jewelry and earrings today, locally, connecting women of different countries, cultures, and centuries, is a pretty powerful image.

If you are looking for a small business to support for the holidays, any upcoming birthdays, or to take yourself, your friends, or kids to a fun art class and try something new, then definitely check out Anatolian Cultures and Arts and tell them Breaking Biscotti sent you! Stay tuned for a future visit with Ylvia where she will tell us all about making authentic Turkish coffee!

Let me know in the comments, have you visited her shop? Do you own any Oya lace? Thank you for reading and remember to slow down and take in some beauty today.