Mr Piotr Mentel comes from Stryszawa, which is a well-known toy-making centre. The emergence of the now-famous Stryszawa birds is associated with Teofil Mentel (1876–1944), one of Mr Piotr’s ancestors. His grandparents, Stefania (1923–2005) and Julian (1923–1995), as well as his parents, Antonina (born 1958) and Tadeusz (1955–2005), also contributed to the fact that Piotr began acquiring the skills of making wooden toys based on local traditions from an early age.
As he says:
“The beginnings were difficult, because my father hid the knives from us so that we would not carve and would pursue something else in life, as he believed that we would not achieve anything through this work. My grandmother Stefania, on the other hand, needed wooden eggs for nests and asked me and my brother Andrzej for help. That was our first contact with a knife and wood. Over time, we began helping our father with nailing, assembling and gluing, and we also brought him birch branches.
I have many stories, because I travelled with my mother and grandmother to fairs (in Kazimierz Dolny, Kraków, Zakopane, Żywiec and Gdańsk), and these are my best memories – those were our holidays. Colourful stalls, music, singing, meetings. It was always a great experience when my grandmother returned from a fair, and we waited for her, sometimes even until midnight, to see when she would come back and bring us something sweet or a souvenir. When my grandmother entered the house, she would spread out the scarf in the hallway, with ice cream and small change inside, and we would rush towards it with joy. Once, we even waited for Christmas Eve dinner until my grandmother returned, so that we could sit down at the table with her.”
Today, like his ancestors before him, he creates colourful birds, horses and carriages, merry-go-rounds, klepoki and Christmas nativity scenes. His children, Natalia, Zuzia and Miłosz, accompany him in his work and at fairs. Additionally, Zuzia took part in the Master–Apprentice project of the National Institute of Culture and Rural Heritage, where she carved and painted toys.
Thanks to this, the traditional patterns of the Mentel family, dating back around 130 years, are still alive. The toys are made from white pine, lime, spruce and sycamore wood, and are handcrafted using a gnyp (a shoemaker’s knife).
Mr Piotr is a member of the Stowarzyszenie Twórców Ludowych (Beskid branch – as chairman) and LGD Podbabiogórze. In 2021, he received first prize in the “Oblicza Frasobliwego” competition organised by the Zakopane Cultural Centre – Czerwony Dwór Centre of Native Culture in Zakopane.
Żywiec–Sucha Beskidzka toy-making was inscribed on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2016.
Photo: Tomasz Bylina
