When I was little I saw a film about Latgalian ceramics and to this day I still remember the scene with a little boy playing svilpaunieks. 20 years later I, already as a potter, saw the film again and recognised my teacher – the little boy with the whistle. Let the svilpaunieks bring you array of pleasant surprises!

Ancient Latvians used svilpaunieks in spring to shoo away the bad and call the good birds to help with the crop harvest in the autumn. Let the song of svilpaunieks blow away your worries and bring in luck and happiness not only in spring but in every day of your life!

"People love being close to birds because they remind them what it was like in paradise," the artist Kurts Fridrihsons once beautifully said. New owner of the bird, be happy with the bird in your pocket!

I dedicated this svilpaunieks to my little daughter Anna. I feel inspired by ducks as they symbolise freedom. They can swim the waters, walk the earth and fly high up in the sky. I wish everyone to let the positive thoughts from the duckling bring back the joyful memories of the mischievous world of our childhood.