Mustafa Coşkun, a resident of Konya's Seydişehir district, started learning the art of tel kırma (a traditional Turkish wire embroidery) at the age of 73, inspired by his wife.
Arife Sultan Coşkun, a 64-year-old homemaker, attended various courses at the public education center, including machine embroidery, sewing, and ribbon embroidery.
Coşkun practiced what she learned in the tel kırma course that started last year, but she found the intricate work too tiring on her eyes and said she would not be able to continue with the course. Mustafa Coşkun, a retired worker, picked up the cloth, silver thread, and needle where his wife had left off and asked her to show him what she had learned in the course.
The next day, Mustafa Coşkun's embroidery work, shown by his wife Arife Sultan Coşkun to the course instructor, received much admiration. Over the course of a year, he created a variety of items, including tablecloths, bags, and necklaces.
Coşkun shared that he embroidered 3-5 patterns on the sample his wife brought home from the tel kırma course, saying, “I asked my wife to show me how it’s done. I tried one and thought, ‘This is simple,’ so I started working on it carefully. The instructor really liked my work and said, ‘Your husband can continue,’ and sent me more patterns. This is how I’ve been spending my free time.”
Coşkun, "Making tel kırma relaxes me. They say, 'Music is the food of the soul,' and I lose track of time while doing tel kırma. I am someone who really enjoys delicate work. Being able to do this at my age feels like a miracle for everyone."
