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Luba Perchyshyn

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Luba Perchyshyn
Люба Перчишин
A young white woman with dark hair in braids across the crown of her head.
Luba Perchyshyn, from a 1946 newspaper.
Born
Luba Mary Procai

(1923-10-10)October 10, 1923
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
DiedSeptember 7, 2020(2020-09-07) (aged 96)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Occupation(s)Businesswoman, folk artist
Years active1940s to 2010s
Known forPysanky eggs, classes, tools, books, and kits

Luba Perchyshyn[a] (October 10, 1923 – September 7, 2020, born Luba Mary Procai) was an American businesswoman and crafter who promoted the art of pysanky, Ukrainian decorated eggs.

Early life

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Luba Procai was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of Marie Sokol and Anthony B. Procai. Both of her parents were Ukrainian immigrants.[1][2]

Career

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In 1947, Perchyshyn and her mother started a Ukrainian gift shop, selling traditional embroidery, tapestries, and ceramics, as well as books. They started from home, but soon moved into a storefront on Hennepin Avenue,[3] where Luba Perchyshyn began assembling kits for making pysanky, intricately decorated eggs made with a wax-resist technique.[4] Another family member, Luba's sister Johanna Luciow, joined the business in 1958.[5]

In time, the pysanky classes, kits, tools, and other supplies became the shop's signature items.[6][7] Perchyshyn demonstrated the process on television, on videos, and at cultural events.[8][9] The Ukrainian Gift Shop was featured in a National Geographic article in 1972, and Perchyshyn's decorated eggs were featured in a 1976 short documentary about pysanky by Slavko Nowytski.[1][4]

Perchyshyn co-authored several books, including Ukrainian Easter Eggs and How We Make Them (1979),[10][11] and The Ukrainian Design Book (1999).[12] Perchyshyn's eggs were admired and sold internationally,[13] and were included in White House holiday decorations and events.[5][14][15]

Personal life and legacy

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Luba Procai married Elko Perchyshyn in 1943, while he was serving in World War II. They had children, Natalie and Elko.[16] Luba Perchyshyn was widowed in 1986, and she died in 2020, aged 96 years.[17]

Marie Sokol Procai died in 1994,[18] and Johanna Procai Luciow died in 1998;[19] the Perchyshyn family continued the business, which remains in operation as of 2020.[1] Her granddaughter Ally Perchyshyn continues to teach pysanky classes in Minneapolis.[20]

Notes

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  1. ^ Ukrainian: Люба Перчишин, romanized: Liuba Perchyshyn

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Our Family". Ukrainian Gift Shop. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  2. ^ "Mrs. Anthony Procai and her daughter, Mrs. Luba Perchyshyn". Star Tribune. 1946-11-01. p. 17. Retrieved 2020-09-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Try Foreign Gift Shops for those Last-Minute Buys". The Minneapolis Star. 1962-12-18. p. 32. Retrieved 2020-09-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b Morgan-Wilde, R. C. (1985-04-07). "Elegant Eggs". Tallahassee Democrat. p. 57. Retrieved 2020-09-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b Jackson, Sharyn (2015-04-08). "Mother Hen, continued". Star Tribune. pp. E10. Retrieved 2020-09-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Norrish, Dick (1977-04-02). "Make an Easter 'Pysanky'". The Edwardsville Intelligencer. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-09-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Ukrainian Easter Eggs". Star Tribune. 1948-05-02. p. 133. Retrieved 2020-09-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Demonstration". The Minneapolis Star. 1963-04-06. p. 11. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  9. ^ "Television Highlights". St. Cloud Times. 1966-03-25. p. 22. Retrieved 2020-09-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Decorated Easter eggs celebrated the sun". The Town Talk. 1993-04-02. p. 27. Retrieved 2020-09-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Ukrainian Easter eggs and how we make them. Kmit, Ann. Minneapolis: Ukrainian Gift Shop. 1979. ISBN 0-9602502-0-4. OCLC 5051682.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. ^ Ukrainian design book : book 1. Perchyshyn, Natalie. (2nd ed.). Minneapolis, MN: Ukrainian Gift Shop. 1986. ISBN 0-9602502-4-7. OCLC 13380001.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  13. ^ "A Ukrainian Easter Egg from the Midwest of USA". Рукотвори. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  14. ^ Jackson, Sharyn (2015-04-08). "Mother Hen". Star Tribune. pp. E1. Retrieved 2020-09-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "1996 Egg Artists". Clinton White House Archives. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  16. ^ "Egg-sacting Work". Star Tribune. 1968-04-05. p. 21. Retrieved 2020-09-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Obituary for Luba Perchyshyn". Star Tribune. September 9, 2020. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  18. ^ "Obituary for Procai Marie S. (Aged 96)". Star Tribune. 1994-04-15. p. 28. Retrieved 2020-09-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Luciow (death notice)". Star Tribune. 1998-03-07. p. 29. Retrieved 2020-09-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Classes". Ukrainian American Community Center. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
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