15"
Pine
ROMANIA

Mr. Pop from the village of Breb in Maramures makes this spindle. Something of a national treasure, he produces very few things now. We were lucky to catch him when we did. Late at night we took a moonlit walk to his farm through the muddy streets and backyards of the village. Ioana, who was our translator and from the village, guided us as we would guide someone through Soho, but this was in the dark and corners were trees, haystacks and corn bins. It was magical. A spindle is used to spin wool into yarn. The decoration near the end makes me think of an Everlasting Gobstopper. When you rotate it between your hands, as if you are spinning wool, it makes a slight clicking sound, Mr. Pop said he did that to keep the women awake while spinning. In the long winters, this is what you might do all day up north. Marco is still trying to determine how the Gobstopper was put together. Mr. Pop said if Marco can solve the puzzle, he can come back and he'll teach him everything he knows.