Hi. I suspect you're late some 20 years. Or at least 5 years ;). There used to be lot of „craft goods“, but now those producers have turned into tough designers or serious businessmen, or moved out to UK, Italy or Paris, and those who left here do not need any publicity. People who want to find something „different“ (like you do) have to hunt them up. So here are few tips, as if i was in your place. First of all, we don't look for, but wait for – i.e. wait for the fair. There are 4 main dates (i.e. weekends) per year: the shrovetide, the St. Casimir's day (mainly in Vilnius, but also in Kaunas), Kaunas City Days (in May), and The State's Day (i.e. weekend around July 6, but the main fair take place in Kernave, and it is a bit medieval, so to say).

If you can't wait, you can check the market place, the one in Kaunas (quite crappy) is near the bus station – closer to the train station. Perhaps you've been there, and perhaps you wasn't impressed, and of course it is not the best place to look for the „well-made, specifically only found locally goods“, but anyway – it is the place where one have a chance to find some-thing. The right time for that is early saturday morning. Though no guarantee. BTW, that market will be closed for the reconstruction, just nobody knows the date so far.

Perhaps the most suitable spot to you is the „artistic“ part of Kaunas Old Town. You have to look for „dailes galerija“ or „dailes salonas“ (or ask to tell you where it's possible to find another/more „dailės galerija“). Start your hunt from the „artistic“ part of Vilniaus str., i.e. the part closer to the Town Hall, beyond the underground passway. Walk towards the town hall square up to the square itself, and check the small street Valanciaus g. at the corner (also check out other small streets around). There should be small shops and galleries. Some galleries may be „genuine“ art galleries, but usually they are the „craft galleries“. I haven't been there since some 1999, so now everything is definitely changed (and changing), but this is the right place to look for the gifts and „different“ stuff. Also you can ask the shop-assistant or the owner to tell you specific tips to find what you're looking for.

And finally some concrete info (found occasionally by „googling“): „Tekstilininkų ir dailininkų gildija“, address M. Valanciaus str. 21 (for „textile items“); Dailės galerija, address Šv. Gertrūdos str. 56 (for linen items); „Baltic linen“, address Ateities av. 40, www.balticlinen.lt . Also you can try 2 slightly different malls (unlike „Maxima“ or „iki“ ones); „Urmo baze“ address Pramones av. 16 (eastern/industrial district of Kaunas), and „Mega“ address Islandijos av., 32 (new nothern commercial district, on the other side of Vilnius-Klaipeda road, not far from the airport, may be still unmarked on the city map). Their websites:

www.urmas.net

www.mega.lt

Though these 2 also are becomming „like anywhere else“, there is nothing to do, the best days are gone.

Regarding to the „stuff itself“ to buy, appart the amber, one can look for the linen and ceramics. The amber and linen already are the myths, one shouldn't look „for the amber“, but for the good jewellery gallery/shop. Another myth is about the „famous lithuanian linen“ - there were quite a lot of linen mills in the past. All of them became bankrupt since some 1990, except the last one. That one is bankrupt now. All linen is from abroad.

Ceramics is good, there was a famous ceramics mill „Jiesia“ in Kaunas, www.jiesia.lt

Recently it is bakrupt, and all stuff made by Jiesia is pretty scarce. Though lithuanian ceramics is cool, you can check it out in the galleries in the Old Town, or ask the staff specifically.

Thanks.

Helpful information and more interesting than the tourist board! I have a better idea where to look now; the ceramics sound interesting.

I heard Ireland stopped manufacturing linen as well, so it's a shame about losing it in Lithuania. I also read somewhere that a lot of the amber is poorer quality from abroad. Do you think this is true?

„...a lot of the amber is poorer quality from abroad...“

I'm not an expert. But „lithuanian amber“ is some sort of the myth, actually. The only genuine lithuanian amber is those pieces washed out by the sea. And they come from Prussia anyway. I.e. from Kaliningrad area. All „industrial“ amber is from the Kaliningrad amber mines. And even archeological data doesn't show that it was very popular in the past, there are some pendants and amulets found, but mostly the silver, bronze and copper were used. The main lithuanian contribution is not the amber itself, but the skills and mastery of the lithuanian jewellers. I'd say, that lithuanian ceramics, jewellery, and perhaps the leather, are the branches which deserves the highest respect. The tastes, of course, are different, the fashions changes, but the genuine originality, peculiarity and technical quality never lose its value, and all that should be said about lithuanian ceramics and jewellery. As for the quality, there is a simple rule: all so-called souvenires and other kitchy stuff are made from poorer quality amber, and serious manufacturers use the better quality amber. But I wouldn't concern too much about the quality of amber itself: the quality as such depends on the whole, there may be the masterpiece made of quite ordinary raw material. Eg. like this example: ambergallery.lt/images/siuolaikiniai_papuosa…

, its main value depends on the author's fantasy and skills.

So, one should know the name of concrete jeweller, or address of his studio. But i suspect they don't need publicity, so it's not that easy ;).

So here are few links to have some impression:

http://www.litamber.lt/

- can't say anything, the company is situated in Marijampolė town.

http://www.amberlt.com/

- this amber master produces slightly „folk'ish“ stuff, quite interesting; his studio is situated in small town of Kartena, near Palanga.

http://www.napoleonas.com/

- this company is rather cool IMHO, it is situated in Siauliai town.

www.baltic.amber.museum/english/apie_mus.htm

- this jeweller is tough (some links on the wbsite don't work), also you can read about the real and fake amber, click „museum“, then chose „real or not“.

And here IMO is genuine art:

daulius.w3.lt/daulius/…juvelyrika.html

- scroll down at the left for more examples; click „kontaktai“ for contacts.

And here is another link, it may be interesting:

http://www.aleta.lt/

- click „products“ for the photos, there is nothing special, but you'll have the impression about „lithuanian folk style“, well some may be „pseudo-folk“, but generally it reflects genuine patterns of traditional and not kitchy decoration, rather ascetic. Address Draugystes str. 14A, Kaunas.

Also, perhaps it would be interesting to read this (about the black ceramics):

www.ceramist.lt/main.php?id=1000790&lang=1