folklore dream at the ethnographic museum

The Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw may not have a lot of money but with the space they have, they put together a fantastic collection of Polish traditional artisanal folk crafts and costumes. I absolutely was astonished by the breadth of their collection-- they have everything from original tools, old photos and lithographs depicting folk costumes and traditions to traditional folk art like religious naive paintings on glass, craved wooden sculptures in a vast array of styles ( from kitschy to almost a danish modern clean cut look), cut outs and items made out of natural materials for special holiday events. I very much enjoyed seeing all the costumes for special events, especially the giant costumes made out of straw and, also, the beautiful paper flowers. Lastly, I would like to note that this museum has a great cafe and bookstore in the lobby. I really love their idea to have a motif and print in solid white of the Polish cut outs but, since it is only in white, it is looks incredibly modern. It is a very interesting tactic to draw new crowds into the museum and to have Poles come to fully appreciate their cultural folk traditions.