Montenegro’s best handmade articles tend to be the edible kind (sadly Njeguški sir and pršut don’t ship too well) but there are a few rather nice souvenirs and handicrafts made locally.
Nomad Life Home
Nomad Life Home is a charming and beautiful little store in Podgorica that stocks handmade products made by artisans in Montenegro. They have homewares, candles, cushions, soaps, greetings cards and much more. They also offer a range of ceramic workshops from time to time where you can make your own clay creations.
You can visit the store by appointment or order online at Nomad Life Home.
Handmade Cold Porcelain Flowers
Ekaterina Selezneva – a talented artist based in Montenegro – creates hyper-realistic flowers from cold porcelain clay. Every single petal, leaf, and stem is sculpted by hand, then carefully painted and tinted to achieve a lifelike result. They are really beautiful – they look as real as dried or preserved real flowers, but are actually fully handcrafted pieces.
Ekaterina can recreate virtually any flower species, in any size, from a tiny delicate snowdrop to a large lush bunch of peonies, making her work perfect for indoor decor gifts that will never wilt or fade.
See the handmade flowers from Selezneva Ekaterina or follow her on Instagram @cold_porcelain_flowers
Cvijet Lovćena
Cvijet Lovćena (Flowers of Lovćen) creates necklace charms in the shape of flowers native to the coastal mountain and natural area of Lovćen.
See the flower necklaces from Cvijet Lovćena on their Instagram.
Olcinium
Olcinium sells delicious olive oil from their own trees, and olive wood handicrafts from their cellar door in Valdanos, near Ulcinj. They have grown olives for centuries and make tables, platters, cheese boards, and other decorations.
See Olcinium’s olive wood products on their Instagram.
Znuggle
Znuggle creates handcrafted soft toys in northern Montenegro. These toys are amazing as every part is made locally and by hand, from beginning to end. The ladies from Znuggle collect and spin the wool from their own sheep, dye the wool with local plants and colours, and then crochet the wool into these charming toys and dolls.
Buy handmade organic toys at Znuggle.me.
Enjoy! The art and craft industry in Montenegro is still developing and I hope to add more to this list in future.
Please note that cvijet means one single flower, not flowers, which is cvijeće. I am not being difficult, I just read that you are learning the language, therefore I wish to correct you with entirely friendly intentions. I would expect to be corrected in the same manner, and I sometimes still am, when conversing with a native speaker of English.
Hi Kate, great list of wonderful handmade products from Montenegro – thank you for sharing! I’d love to suggest adding one more local artisan to the guide: Ekaterina Selezneva, a talented craftswoman who creates beautiful flowers and plant figures from cold porcelain clay. her site is https://www.cold-porcelain-flowers.com/ . Her work is not only artistic and unique, but she has also made pieces for the Museum of Natural History in Podgorica, which reflects her connection to Montenegro’s nature and culture. I think a short paragraph about her and what she makes would be a lovely addition to this post and could inspire visitors who appreciate handcrafted art.