A Flower–Loving Heart Behind 

Welcome to a place that waited more than fifteen years for its birth — and above all, for my courage.

For reasons I still don't fully understand, back in 2010 I found it much easier to believe that I could publish magazines for hobby sewists, teach sewing, and run a large community platform for sewists in the Czech Republic, than to believe I could truly follow my own art.
It may sound surprising, but when the first magazine was published, I had been sewing for less than a year. For the next three years, I created every single project for all the magazines for the very first time in my life. 

It was meant to be that way.

I went on to publish dozens of magazines (Marina Quilt, Love Bellet Fabrics, later Pepitta and Pepitta Folk Art), several books, more than one thousand step-by-step tutorials. I worked on behalf of an entire team of people and lived for years at the edge of survival. Today I understand that what I lacked most was trust in myself. I tried to prove my worth to the world through an almost absurd pace of work — while the soul that had once painted quietly began to starve.

What remained were small drawings on napkins, on the margins of sewing patterns, on fabric scraps. Oil paints, once set aside, were replaced by gouache — a medium that requires less space, less ventilation, and less time. Amid the relentless rhythm of sewing work, the first folk art paintings slowly emerged, deeply shaped by the world I was living in: embroidery, textiles, tapestries, and traditional patterns.

After several years, small commissions appeared. Eventually, the vision of PDF art lessons was born — a vision I carried for at least six more years without the courage to act on it, as often happens with adult dreams constrained by family budgets and responsibility.

Everything changed with a long illness. With a complete resignation from life. And finally, with a desire to survive myself.

A single determined spark lit a fire, and that fire gradually shaped this small world of mine — a world of illustrations that brought order, tenderness, grounding in the present, and a quiet hope for the future.

There is still somewhere to go, and at the same time, no need to rush.
There is something worth fighting for — without fighting against life itself.
There is time to live a beautiful life. This is what I try to pass on, above all, through my work — beyond painting itself.

If my art helps even a little to slow down the frightening speed of today's world, and if you find a sense of calm here for yourself, then it has fulfilled its purpose.

You are always warmly welcome here. 

— Ivana

If you wish to write to me directly, my email truly goes straight to my pocket: ivana.havelkova@gmail.com

May you feel inspired here — and always warmly welcome

A Small Glimpse into My Sewing Past