Podushka Chetki - Wood & Animal Horn Editions

Posushka Chetki - Wood & Animal Horn Editions

Delving deeper into a hobby often means exploring the roots, and thereby gaining a deep appreciation for traditional forms. Our Podushka chetki exemplify this, with design cues taken from traditional Eastern European chetki. The Pudushka chetki feature rounder, chunkier feeling beads compared to our sportier Remeshoks. The name translates to “pillow” in reference to the comfortably rounded plumpness of the bead shape. The character of this design is similar in spirit to our tradcore begleri series. They have a much more traditional look and feel than our other models, and while they are not as nimble as more contemporary designs, they pay homage to the roots and will give players a chance to appreciate the features that have made chetki a daily companion for so many across Eastern Europe over the years. And as we do, we've put our own special touches into the design, making it recognizably Aroundsquare, while still channeling some traditional design language.

This design, in fact, was purpose built for a handmade manufacturing process. Most of our products are produced by precision CNC machining, with the results being highly uniform. For this project, we wanted to return to a more manual approach that would both honour the traditional roots of the craft, while at the same time highlighting the organic beauty of the natural materials we're using. We have always had a deep respect and appreciation for genuine hand-work, and we took opportunity to design a thicker and more forgiving shape that would embrace the slight irregularities that occur during hand work. The results are beautiful, and the slight differences in the individual beads fits very nicely with the natural grain and feel of the material. 

The beads themselves are generously rounded for easy movement and high comfort during play, including bead counting. In addition, we've sized up the thickness of the lengthy end beads a little bit in order to give them a bit more heft, and a bit more "catch" on the fingers, in order to keep them anchored in the hand during play. And of course, with longevity and easy maintenance in mind, we've strung these up on our 1.2mm kevlar cord.

Green Sandlewood

The green sandalwood edition of the Podushkas has pronounced grain patterns and colour variation, with zig zagging grain along the middle pieces. The weight of a set of green sandlewood Podushka Chetki is around 31g.

Black & White Ebony

The new black and white ebony have the stunning contrasted grain patterns that the material is famous for. It's slightly lighter than the green sandalwood, making it a tad snappier and just as clacky. Connoisseurs will find it does not carry quite as much momentum as the green sandalwood, but the tradeoff is that it responds slightly easier to tension, so if you like that chetki feeling of snapping between positions and re-trapping the other end, this set may be for you. The weight of a set of Black&White Ebony Podushka Chetki is around 26g.

Details: 

• Material: 
  • Green Sandlewood (~31g)
    
  • Black and White Ebony (~26g)
• Components:
  • 13x middle stripe beads; 2x end plates
  • strung up on 1.2mm Kevlar Cord

Notes on the Sheep Horn Material

The sheep horn material has a hard, hefty feel, despite still being fairly light weight. The machine finish gives a lovely texture, reminiscent of a lightly sandblasted metal. The hardness of the material results in high-toned and very crisp sounding clack during play.

Note that since the beads are handmade, some small variations are to be expected. Additionally, since they are machine finished, some machining lines are to be expected. Please be aware that the holes in the long end beads are drilled from opposite sides, and due to the translucency of the material, the point where these holes meet will be visible, and in most cases there is a slight zig or zag at that connection point. We felt it important to share these notes up front, but feel strongly that these points do not detract from the beauty or feel of the beads, and generally just add to the overall traditional feeling of the sets.

The sheep horn is relatively even in colouration, with just slight differences in tone. The beads are quite translucent and catch the light beautifully, but as with their colour, there is some variation in opacity between individual beads. It’s known for its durability and crisp feel.. harder and less porous than wood or bone, and with a beautiful and distinctive range of translucency and colour variations.

Details: 

• Material: 
  • Sheep Horn (~31.2g)
    
• Components:
  • 13x middle stripe beads; 2x end plates
  • strung up on 1.2mm Kevlar Cord

Note that the holes on the end beads are drilled from opposite ends, meaning that there is a visible joint if you look hard enough at the interior of the sheep horn beads--doesn't affect the play at all, but just remember that they are handmade--that's a big part of their charm--and not to expect the precision uniformity of CNC machining. 

Our September 2024 Launch Preview video below dives deep on these guys, and provides some ideas for the types of usage and manipulations possible with them