Life according to Kawa

A showroom-sized shop devoted to Croatian-made artisan and designer products, Life According to Kawa is just what you need after being bored to desperation by the mugs, fridge magnets and plastic dragons of the regular gift shops. The title comes from the Kawaguchis, the Croatian-Canadian couple who turned a garage just outside the Old Town into a friendly store filled with the kind of well-designed products they might want to own themselves. It covers the whole gamut of local fashion accessories, domestic design and deli food; a broad slew of price ranges ensuring that there’s something to suit all aspirations. To give you some idea of the range: there are Sapunoteka soaps and cosmetics made from local plants and herbs; gourmet salt from the Pag salt pans; coffee beans from Croatian roasters Cogito; teas by Rijeka-based blenders Samovar; sunglasses by Sherrif & Cherry; earrings and necklaces by Iva Stojković; Levin-Coco’s shirts and bags; and Pepiere’s slim backpacks made from woven cornstalks and leather flaps. Kawa’s own-design T-shirts run the gamut from the witty and ironic to the playfully grotesque – whatever it says on the chest, it will be different from the usual souvenir-fodder available elsewhere.