“Bulgarian Symbols” – Our Brand New Merchandise Line

Exciting news! Our organisation, the 365 Association, is always up for a new challenge. In 2019 we set 3 new, ambitious goals in front of ourselves – to open up a new interactive space dedicated to the last stages of the communist regime in Bulgaria – The Red Flat, to create a new walking tour, which tells the story of the Bulgarian Jewish community  – Sofia Jewish Tour and to also initiate a new line of merchandise that lays out some of our favorite Bulgarian symbols.

Bulgarian Symbols

The idea of creating our own merchandise is something that we have been discussing for the past few years. As tour guides we are best at presenting Bulgaria’s symbols and landmarks on the streets of Sofia and Plovdiv. We felt that 2019 is the right moment for us to start working on another ambitious project. It is now time to eternalize these moments. And by that we mean giving you the opportunity to take them back home with you. Being a non-governmental organization we always believed we need to develop sustainable initiatives in the sector of tourism, culture and education. And of course, we wanted our merchandise to reflect just that. 

This is why we decided to work closely with 5 young and talented Bulgarian designers. Their task was to present their own vision of the country and its symbols. All 5 of them had approximately 2 months to brainstorm, create a concept, visualize and finish their illustrations. We are happy to announce that they are now ready! And of course, we are more than excited to present them to you all. Subsequently, we hope that this will turn into a travelling art exhibition which will spread the symbols of Bulgaria all around the globe.

The Designers

We partnered up with – Zina Nedelcheva, Vyara Boyadjieva, Mira Miroslavova, Viktoria Paeva and Kaya Kolishka. Briefly put, this is how we came up with 5 wonderful illustrations incorporating different Bulgarian symbols in a modern yet timeless way. In the coming weeks, we are going to present all 5 authors and their work through individual interviews. This way they will further clarify the idea behind each illustartion, their motivation to work on this project and the overall concept. We will be reaveling all the designs one by one on a weekly basis. Stay tuned!

All illustrations are printed on black and white, organic cotton T-shirts in different sizes. They can now be viewed and purchased exclusively at our Urban Culture Hub – Gifted in downtown Sofia – 24 Ivan Denkgolu St