Giorgi Katsitadze

Giorgi Katsitadze - Wooden Products

From childhood, I harbored a passion for working with wood, despite lacking any formal professional knowledge in the field. In 1982, while my uncle collaborated with a carpenter named Lavrenti Daushvili from Shkmeri, my intrigue for woodworking deepened. At the age of 21, I decided to craft cabinets at home, adorned with the distinctive Racha design that still stands the test of time. This is where my journey into woodcraft truly began, shares Giorgi Katsitadze.

A hydro-engineer by profession, Giorgi currently resides in the village Mukhli in the Ambrolauri Municipality. He has a self-built workshop where he breathes life into the Racha gene, creating unique wood carvings. Beyond furniture, his repertoire extends to household items, dishes, and souvenirs tailored for various purposes. Of particular importance to Giorgi is the preservation and rejuvenation of the traditional craft of making transparent curtains, known as "Chviruli," which are characteristic of Racha Oda House.

Giorgi meticulously selects precious local woods such as walnut, chestnut, oak, linden, ash-tree, and cypress for his creations. He employs environmentally friendly substances for external processing, ensuring the safety of health. What's remarkable is that his items are crafted using the "segmental" technology, infused with Georgian and ancient Greco-Egyptian influences. The production involves not only the expertise of a seasoned carpenter but also intricate mathematical calculations. Each product, crafted through this method, stands as a unique and irreplicable piece.

Apart from purchasing available items, Giorgi welcomes custom orders for items of desired designs and materials, ensuring a personalized touch to his exceptional woodcraft.

Ready-made works can be purchased online, as well as in Oni, Rustaveli St. Shop "Ethnoon" located at 15.

Second Life - "Kneeling Master"

After the well-known events of the 1990s in Tbilisi, Giorgi Katsitadze's profession - hydro-engineering - was no longer in demand. The country and its population were grappling for survival. Left unemployed in Tbilisi, Giorgi sought a way out. An acquaintance of his had a small wooden workshop that specialized in restoring old furniture, and, upon request, embellishing furniture in an antique style. Leveraging his existing experience, Giorgi was invited to join the workshop. It was there that he acquired the skill of carving and fully immersed himself in the artistic processing of wood. He worked in the workshop for about 5 years, and then, as a highly skilled craftsman, transitioned to work as a carpenter at the US Embassy, where he worked continuously for 16 years, albeit remotely. Throughout this time, he contemplated having his own workshop but lacked the time and space for it.

In 2021, during the pandemic, he decided to return to his native village and establish a carpentry workshop. With ample time on his hands, he conducted experiments, learned about various woodworking technologies online, and ventured into creating new pieces. Successfully employing "segmental" technology, Giorgi found that the diverse and unique wood materials of Racha expanded his imaginative possibilities and enhanced the beauty of his works. Thus, a new chapter in Giorgi's life unfolded.

His mornings now commence with labor in his self-built workshop: crafting sketches for objects of various purposes and designs. He envisions how the finished product, carved from different types of wood, will appear, contemplates how the fragments will come together, decides on the optimal material, and then begins the meticulous cutting process. Sometimes, the work engrosses him so completely that he loses track of time. The ultimate judge of the finished work is Giorgi himself - has he granted the wood a second life? Through this endeavor, he has become a "knee" master.