{"id":17765,"date":"2026-09-17T09:38:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T07:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/?p=17765"},"modified":"2026-09-17T10:34:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T08:34:08","slug":"ozera-the-original-placemat-born-from-the-idea-of-an-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/ozera-the-original-placemat-born-from-the-idea-of-an-island\/","title":{"rendered":"Ozera, the original placemat born from the idea of an island"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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During lockdown in Brussels, Val\u00e9rie Barkowski was bored at the table. Placemats, tablecloths: always the same, nothing ever moving. She opened her notebook and drew an island. Ozera was born like that\u2014an original placemat to be composed.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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An idea born during Covid<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Three meals a day, at home, without moving, without going out: Covid gave Val\u00e9rie Barkowski all the time she never had to think about her table. The same period saw the birth of Hana napkins\u2014one pattern per person, to stop mixing up napkins and filling the laundry basket too quickly.<\/p>

\u201cThis idea came from a suddenly unbridled creativity, the kind you discover when you are forced to stop<\/em>. I was thinking a lot about table linen since we had all the time in the world to cook, set beautiful tables, and spend hours putting the world to rights. I needed the moments spent at the table to be playful; the sets, napkins, and tablecloths bored me. So I made a sketch in my large notebook; the idea of islands was born. I looked for a name: I thought of ‘island’ in Russian, but I was mistaken; ‘ozera’ means lake. I kept the name, because it also looks like a lake, but also like the puddles I used to jump in as a child.\u201d<\/em><\/p>

The same period also saw the birth of 54+1<\/a>, a book of portraits improvised with whatever she had on hand: a paperclip, a leek, a wilting peony. Ozera was born from the same reflex: composing with constraint rather than submitting to it. A collection idea, new products, a new way of composing a table\u2014all born out of necessity. Usually, one changes accessories to vary a table: a napkin ring, a table runner. Val\u00e9rie Barkowski wanted to change the base itself, not just dress it differently.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Ozera\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\u00a9Manon de Clercq<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Ozera, an original placemat to be freely composed<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Ozera moves away from the classic placemat shape. It resembles a landscape, or a play of forms, placed on the table – a designer placemat<\/strong> with no right angles or parallel edges. On the e-shop, the model exists in two sizes. The small format measures 49 cm wide by 39 cm high at the longest point, the scale of a classic individual original placemat<\/strong>. The large format measures 76 cm by 63 cm at the longest point: designed for two, facing each other, the same piece shared between two guests. And if you visit Marrakech, at the V.Barkowski store you will find more shapes, enough to compose the most creative tables.<\/p>\n

Each piece is made of two layers of fabric sewn together, giving it a beautiful hold once laid flat.<\/p>\n

Several pieces mixed together, small and large, form an original centerpiece<\/strong>: they scatter across the table like islands on a map, in a random manner. The assembly can be modulated infinitely – repeated identically or recomposed at each meal, with this handmade table linen<\/strong>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Raw cotton, in ecru or bleached<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Ozera is made of raw cotton, available in two bases: ecru or bleached.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Three finishes for the same original placemat<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\"Ozera
Ozera - NOON Collection <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Ozera
Ozera - NIL Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"OZERA
Ozera - FULL Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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NIL and NOON already exist in the house, in bed and table linen. With Ozera, it is the first time they dress a piece with an irregular silhouette, each of these three finishes keeping its own color palette.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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NIL, a twisted thread all around<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A twisted thread borders the perimeter of the piece. The classic NIL placemat and the NIL napkin each have a ball at each corner; Ozera, having no corners, has none\u2014only the twisted thread remains.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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NOON, scattered Fez embroidery<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A Fez embroidery<\/strong> motif, scattered freely over the surface. Plain or multicolored colors.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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FULL, an automatic writing style drawing<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A drawing that covers the entire surface, in a scribble spirit, like automatic writing. This freehand gesture joins that found in other creations of the house, such as DOTS on bed linen. Plain colors only.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Ozera\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\u00a9Manon de Clercq<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Ozera and HANA, the same way of playing at the table<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Ozera joins the HANA napkins in the collection, born from the same reflection on a more playful and customizable art of the table. Like Ozera, HANA is one pattern per person, designed so that napkins are no longer mixed up\u2014the same starting point, at the same time, during lockdown. <\/p>

Like the rest of the house’s collections, Ozera is made by the Val\u00e9rie Barkowski workshop in Marrakech, where artisans embroider and craft each product one by one.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Custom-made and care<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Custom-made remains possible upon request, on a case-by-case basis. Ozera’s free and irregular shapes lend themselves less easily to systematic measurement adjustments than the geometric pieces of classic bed or table linen, but size variations can be studied with the workshop. Contact: sales@valeriebarkowski.com.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Caring for an original raw cotton placemat<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Wash at 40\u00b0C on a delicate cycle, without mixing with very dark laundry. Machine drying is not a problem, but air drying is preferable to maintain the fabric’s hold. Iron at a low temperature. Fabric softeners should be avoided: they alter the cotton’s ability to absorb.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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FAQ<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What is the delivery time for this custom-made original placemat?<\/strong><\/p>

Generally allow 2 to 4 weeks, as for the other made-to-order pieces of the house.<\/p>

How to order a custom color?<\/strong><\/p>

Refer to our custom color chart, or send us a Pantone reference, a photo of paint or fabric: we then look for the closest color in our thread library for this custom handmade table linen<\/strong>.<\/p>

Is the FULL pattern unique for each piece, or reproducible?<\/strong><\/p>

Both at once. Each piece is made entirely by hand, without a template, which makes it unique; but the workshop’s expertise also allows it to be reproduced in several copies.<\/p>

Do I have to come to Marrakech to discover all the Ozera models?<\/strong><\/p>

Ozera pieces from the NOON and NIL collections are available online<\/a>, but other models in limited series (other finishes, other formats) are only sold in the Marrakech boutique, never put online: the traveler’s privilege.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Ozera\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\u00a9Manon de Clercq<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Conclusion<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Ozera opens up all possibilities when it comes time to set the table. This original placemat<\/strong>, born from a sketchbook during Covid, is composed, recomposed, and matches the HANA napkins, but also the classic NIL and NOON placemats from the collection. Ozera thus joins the rest of the collections crafted at the Val\u00e9rie Barkowski workshop in Marrakech, where each piece of handmade table linen<\/strong> proudly bears the gesture that created it.<\/p>

Discover the Nil placemat<\/a> <\/p>

Discover the Val\u00e9rie Barkowski workshop in Marrakech<\/a> <\/p> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During lockdown in Brussels, Val\u00e9rie Barkowski was bored at the table. Placemats, tablecloths: always the same, nothing ever moving. She opened her notebook and drew an island. Ozera was born like that\u2014an original placemat to be composed. An idea born during Covid Three meals a day, at home, without moving, without going out: Covid gave …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17770,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[230],"tags":[588,590,589,587],"class_list":["post-17765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-across-our-collections","tag-designer-placemat","tag-fez-embroidery","tag-handmade-table-linen","tag-original-centerpiece"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Ozera-le-set-de-table-original-signe-Valerie-Barkowski-3.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17765"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17769,"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17765\/revisions\/17769"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}