Altar - candles for waxplay; a candle that I made myself; plaster cast of the nipple; a tarot card that I took out of the deck on one important day in Moscow; poster; stand for incense (gift of friends); epoxy stand; sunset lamp
I started collecting the altar several years ago in Moscow. There appear important significant things that remind me of people, events, places. And they give me strength and a feeling of home wherever I am. I brought some things from Moscow to Yerevan (where I lived for 10 months), some from Yerevan to Washington, where I live now.
I thought about what would help me emotionally not drown in emotions and maintain a routine that calms

I do speedcubing and this is part of my life, a hobby that I wanted to continue after emigration so that it would not be interrupted with departure

This is a gift from a good friend that reminds me of him. And because of the red and white blotches, eudialyte is called "tears and blood of the Saami" or Lappish blood (according to other legends, this is the blood of the enemies of the Saami), and for me this is a reminder of the pain that conquests bring. This is some piece of the familiar world (a few stones from the collection usually stood on my desktop), a reminder of variability and constancy, and that I can influence something, at least a little. And about responsibility for your life and your actions. That a piece of home is always with me

This nightstand gives me a feeling of being at home. A thing chosen with great love, in addition, it is important what exactly I store in it

My pillow-cat is from home, she is over 17 years old. I don't go to bed without her, she's always with me

Crochet and thread is my antistress. In any situation in which much is not known, it is an illusion of control. You can always create whatever you want. Actions with a predetermined result are reassuring

A notebook for sketching and writing that was given to me by a very close friend. We haven't seen each other since September 2022, this notebook is a piece of good memories

Photos with friends, presented as a send-off, a business card with a picture taken by me, cards with important words, a piece of wrapping paper with wishes.
The first thing I do when I arrive at a new place, I hang them on the wall, because they give a feeling of home and comfort, every time I pass by and cling to my gaze

This is a tea can from the apartment of my close friends who went to Argentina. And I took it with me to Tbilisi

Photo camera 2001 year for 1k RUB

All life in one bunch of keys.
Here is the key to the house where I grew up, the key to the house and the gate in the village of Susat, from my apartment in Rostov where I left, and for my bicycle

The record player was given to me by friends for my birthday in 2022. I managed to collect a small selection of records. And when the question of moving arose, I thought that this part of my life should go with me. The rest can be restored but this is a piece of love

Before leaving, I folded what was on my dressing table. These crystals were given to me on a trip to Yaroslavl, I remember how I chose them. If I didn’t take them with me, then I would have to give them to someone, but they are mine

To paraphrase Winnie the Pooh, everything is either there or not, and a tape measure is a very important item. Here - to cut the door so that it closes, there - to attach the shelf.
People without a tape measure are generally divided into those who have a diamond eye, they can do it anyway, as well as those whom you definitely wouldn’t trust with your shelf, what can we say about the door

In September 2020, when my husband and I put the tiles in our kitchen, these pieces of tile we cut out for the outlet.
Reminds me of home, of course

This mug with musical cats was a gift from my brother's wife. I studied and worked in different cities of Russia. This mug has been with me in all the orchestras where I have worked. She accompanies me through my life

For the New Year 2022, my boyfriend's mom gave me this toy among other other presents. She is a doctor and patients often give her gifts. I drew attention to this toy, and my boyfriend's mom decided to give it to me.
Reminds me of Petersburg, of my boyfriend's family, with whom I have an excellent relationship

My colleague made this box for me in 2015, when we had a difficult project, a blockage at work, and I thought that nothing would help me. In "Clinic" series was scene where JD poured a box full of kittens on a patient. I don’t know if my collegue Lisa watched the series, but she took my quote literally and the box appeared on my desk the next morning.

The box says "Open In case of an existential crisis"
It was simply impossible not to take it into a new life

As a reminder that everything in life does not happen at all by chance.
This notebook is about 12 years old, I started it in my first year at the institute, when I suddenly chose Serbian as a foreign language

6-7 years ago my friend worked in a tea house, I went to chat with her, and she held a small tea ceremony for me. Then I got this little bowl. She lay so well in the palm of my hand, I immediately felt like a very my subject. I didn't want to be separated from this bowl. A friend said that I could just take her with me. It was wonderful.
I took her on a kayaking trip along Ladoga and drank tea sitting on a giant boulder or in the forest on a carpet of pine needles. The curve, the texture, the weight, the warmth when the tea is inside, everything about it creates a feeling of home, which you carry around like a snail

So that there is someone to hug on dark nights) Many emigrants embrace from loneliness, although this did not threaten me, because my friend left and lives with me. But sometimes at night you want to hug someone soft and dear. When you are sick, when you feel bad from thoughts, when it is cold, an old friend comes to the rescue

I bought this flashlight when I went to my first music festival in the forest, so I learned that there are things more important than a sleeping bag. Packing my house for emigration, put it in a bag without hesitation

This map fell into the lining of a suitcase back in 2018, and was discovered by accident only in 2022, when this suitcase had already been with me for several months in emigration in Georgia

These are my colleague's shorts. Together we have made a difficult journey from Russia to Egypt. By a lucky chance, we managed to buy a tour to a five-star hotel in Sharm El Sheikh for Adult with children on the fourth day of mobilization and a day and a half before departure. He left the hotel a day early and forgot his shorts on the bedside table. We flew to different countries, but we continue to communicate.
I hope to return them. Personally

This is the hope for the continuation of interrupted grandiose plans. Expecting things to be the same, but a little different

We took a certain amount of dishes with us, it's good that we were traveling by car. We like this cup, we took the most beautiful or the best we had

This is a kite, I ride it. I bought it in the spring of 2020 from the hands of another kiter, he bought a new one for himself, and this one sold me. I can not live normally without kitesurfing

I took it because it's a cool grounding practice

It has always been on my desktop. I work from home, I took it with me and put it in a new place to create a working mood

Unconscious. Found, flying half the world

I found this kettle in my grandmother's kitchen cabinet in her small apartment, it seems to be specially compressed for that minimal living space, tiny kitchen, low ceilings.
It immediately reminds of many things - about the good and the sad, about what I wanted to leave, and what I wanted never to leave

These socks were given to me by my mother just before I left, already on my way to the airport. Socks at the time saved my mother and helped her not to freeze. Although the winters in Turkey are not at all harsh, the socks helped me too. They keep me warm when I feel sad about being separated from my family

I bought this chime in a small music store in St. Petersburg, where they sell unusual musical instruments. Then a second chime appeared, which my husband gave me.
It calms me down a lot, enchanting sounds and vibrations, I also always take it with me to the bath

I gave it to my husband when he broke his arm and could not put on his shoes as usual. I took with me only those things that evoke emotions and memories

I just love this seagull, it's cool.
I bought it in the USA for one dollar (or two, I don’t remember exactly)

We moved with the child. Therefore, we have a lot of strange objects. One of them is a disco ball.
Daughter loves to listen to music and arrange small raves

When I lived in a dormitory, one of the girls-neighbors gave it to me. Then the hedgehog was mustachless. Then I graduated from the university, moved out of the dormitory and took the hedgehog. That same year I got a cat. And after some time, we began to find fallen cat whiskers. So the hedgehog became mustachioed.
We brought a cat with us, but what about a cat without a mustachioed hedgehog?:)

My whole life is in this book, this is my memory, my past

Because that's how I like to spend my free time

This is the material thing that makes the space in which it appears conditional "home". This is such an island of comfort among moving from place to place

Pink neon was an attribute of my parties that I did in Moscow and I used it at my house for a long time. Because I hate ceiling lighting, I always used pink neon at home, it was the light of the house.
It is often dark in Moscow and pink neon was my salvation to a good mood

This item cannot be used in any way, it is only a memory keeper: it reminds me of family and something unshakable that we can carry with us through time.
My mother is from Arkhangelsk, and this toy was brought by one of the familiar sailors, of whom there were many ... from somewhere across the sea. This toy "lived" in Arkhangelsk for a long time, I only saw it when I visited my grandparents for the summer, after the death of my grandfather, I brought it to Moscow. My wife Nastya fixed it, and now Sailor lives with us...and shakes his head again)

My husband's grandmother collects thyme in front of her house in Donetsk, Rostov region. When he moved from Rostov to Moscow, his mother sent him such a thyme as a parcel. Since then, every time we came home, we asked to take thyme with us. In 2020, it was a hot summer and all the grass was burned. We rarely ran out of stock, so we were especially happy with the big bag that we received as a gift in May 2022

Probably because this is probably the only favorite thing that I have since childhood, and for me this picture and even the rabbit itself on it symbolize a stronghold of calm and comfort

A family heirloom and a piece of the Motherland, and it is also very beautiful

Brought computer parts with me. I collected such guts in the kitchen, it works
I took it for fun and work

I could not accept the fact that I might never see this drawing again. It seemed to me that if I didn’t take it, I would be betraying my sister

A part of my life. Daily cozy ritual. I have made coffee in it for many good people. First I took it with me to Spain, then I lived in Egypt, then I returned to Moscow, now here it pleases me in the mornings in Turkey

A check from McDonald's for Royal de Luxe Combo with Potato Wedges, shortly before flying to Turkey.
Found a check in my jacket pocket in my eighth month in Turkey

I have March 22. We got married right after the war started.
I don't take it off, this is my guideline, I left country without my wife

Presented for the new 1998 year of the tiger, I was 5 years old then
I often take this tiger with me on trips. This is part of a warm, safe childhood where there was love and acceptance. In addition, I am a creative person, fantasies from childhood are intertwined with adult creativity

I bought this candlestick in the spring of 22, already knowing that I would be leaving, I could not refuse myself. I thought that then it would most likely go with me