Turkish artisan creates over 5,000 kitre dolls in 15 years

Starting kitre doll making 15 years ago on a friend’s suggestion, Kestane has produced over 5,000 kitre dolls in the workshop she opened.

Türkan Kestane told AA that she has been continuing her kitre doll work without interruption since 2010, when she opened her workshop with the support of Niksar Municipality, CE Report quotes Anadolu Agency.

Explaining that she started this path because she wanted to create something in her own name, Kestane said:

“I was interested in painting before. I transformed that interest into a three-dimensional form through dolls. Making kitre dolls is a job that requires patience. Because I love doing it, it doesn’t feel difficult. The process of making a doll takes a long time. The dolls can be staged or regional. People bring photos or drawings for custom orders. By looking at the picture, I can make the doll in the composition they want. For example, I can create a miniature version of a working environment or objects exactly as they are.”

Kitre: cotton shaped with plant glue

Kestane explained that kitre is the sticky material obtained from the essence of the keven plant:

“We use this glue together with cotton to make dolls or human figures. We can also create animal figures. In other words, it is cotton shaped with glue.”

Türkan Kestane said that she has sent the kitre dolls she makes not only to Istanbul, Eskişehir, and İzmir but also abroad.

She added that she makes custom kitre dolls based on orders and ships them to given addresses by cargo. Kestane noted that the prices of the kitre dolls vary depending on the design, special clothing increases the cost, but an average kitre doll is priced between 500 and 1500 lira.