In the year 1991, a devastating earthquake struck Racha, leaving Naniko at the tender age of 10 months. Miraculously, her older sister managed to rescue her from their collapsing house. By 1994, homeless and unemployed, the family left Oni and resettled in Tbilisi. Being the youngest in the family, Naniko engaged in various activities to entertain herself in their small apartment without disturbing the other members.
During a school lesson on embroidery, Naniko found her ideal pastime, though she lacked the necessary threads due to financial constraints. A Greek woman in the neighborhood, touched by Naniko's determination, generously shared her precious Moulin embroidery threads. This gesture fueled Naniko's passion for needlework. Around the age of 10, during a brief visit to Racha, Naniko learned to make bracelets with beads from a neighbor. Back in Tbilisi, she transformed her favorite pastime into a small business. With funds collected from selling cookies at school, she bought threads and beads, crafted various products, and sold them with the help of friends and neighbors. This cycle continued, with Naniko reinvesting her earnings into buying materials.
Despite being unable to fulfill her dream of studying at an art academy, Naniko enrolled in business administration at the insistence of her family. Nevertheless, she found an outlet by selecting applied art as a secondary profession, focusing on vitreous enamel at the university. Over time, Naniko explored various crafts and enrolled in folk craft courses, attending weekends filled with activities like Khevsuri cross embroidery, sock knitting, tapestry, blacksmithing, jewelry making, clay sculpting, and woodworking. These experiences revitalized her spirit, especially during folk song performances by girls dressed in traditional Racha uniforms.
Under the guidance of Eliso Arabuli, Naniko learned cross embroidery, Khevsuruli colors, and ornaments. Mastering the embroidery technique, she began incorporating it into jewelry, participating in exhibitions and festivals. In 2015, an enamel specialist invited her to collaborate on sculpting vitreous for a planned exhibition, providing an opportunity to immerse herself in her miniature world.
Eventually, Naniko's passion led her to work in Oni, where she encountered unsuitable conditions for permanent living. Despite the challenges, her heart yearned to return to the place where her world awaited, surrounded by fellow inhabitants— “elves” from Zemo Racha with magical hands and visions in the workshop called "Edena." Balancing her work at the bank, Naniko became an "Edena" trainer, sharing her knowledge and experience with other women. Dreaming of her own workshop, Naniko won a Caritas project, enabling her to establish a small vitreous enamel workshop.
As time passed, she met and married a respectable gentlemen from Racha, and together they welcomed a daughter named Nita.Naniko realized that the miniature world in the enchanting nature of Zemo Racha extended beyond the forests, mountains, and fields. Inspired by the beauty of wildflowers, she envisioned turning them into delicacies. During forest walks, she felt a mystical connection with tiny, practically imperceptible elements, such as colorful flowers, leaves, branches, and cones. They seemed to implore her for magic—to make them immortal. Uncertain of the spell or technique, Naniko sought to understand the forest dwellers and their request.
Surviving the earthquake, learning magical activities from the best masters, returning and marrying in Zemo Racha—was it all a mere coincidence, or did Naniko find happiness in the miniature world by chance? With her artistry, she bestowed eternal life upon those transformed into jewels, bringing not just beauty but also the immortality of the spirit of the Racha forests. Naniko emerged as a forest nymph from Zemo Racha, weaving magic into the very fabric of her homeland.
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