North House Folk School

Vassa Yakymets is a queer textile crafter and doctoral researcher with a focus on Eastern European culture and crafts. Their work is rooted in their heritage from the Prykarpattia region of Western Ukraine and experiences within diasporic communities. Vassa further draws from their mother's guidance, who taught them needlework from a young age. Their crafts include embroidering vyshyvanky (blouses) and making silyanky (beaded necklaces) along with crochet and nalbinding. In addition to crafting, their current PhD research at the University of Eastern Finland examines queering and other adaptations of folk dress in Ukraine and beyond. Vassa's life is otherwise dominated by their two cats, Lali and Laila.