the Story of Étoile Polaris

Hello, I am Barış,
I have a profound passion for the past…
A time when everything moved more slowly, when designing required patience, and printing was done with manual equipment.
The charm of old prints, antique objects, and archiving brings me pleasure!

I love to deep dive into illustrated, colorful designs, as well as fashion, nature, and botanical books—especially those featuring Japanese woodcuts, Art Deco fashion, and Art Nouveau decorative illustrations from plates and magazines, primarily from the 19th and early 20th centuries <3

This passion drives me to curate art collections from these archives and bring them to your homes. The illustrations, prints, paintings, sketches, and engravings are carefully selected from the digital archives of historical libraries, museums, such as the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, as well as auction sites like Catawiki, antique bookshops, and more…
(I am also working on building my own archive, both digital and physical.)

The artworks are scanned from original sources and are in the public domain. Visible dust and scratches are removed by hand, and most of the time, the colors are left unaltered to preserve the original spirit.

I am appreciative of the artists who have lived, inspired, and shaped my store, paving the way for today’s art, including:
E.Grasset, A.Sipkema, M.P.Verneuil, O.Koson, A.Mucha, G.Barbier, Theo van Hoytema, S.Hall, M.S.Merian and many more…

To further deepen my understanding of these artists and the eras I am passionate about, I took several courses from January to June of 2023:
“Art in 19th Century Europe” & “Art in 20th Century Europe” from the Victoria and Albert Museum
“Visual and Literary Culture in Nineteenth Century Japan” from The University of Tokyo
My main goal is to respect their artistry, while curating and designing in a way that honors their creative legacies.

Through my Etsy shop, I am excited to share my journey from the archives to daylight in creative and meaningful ways.
I’m so glad to welcome you here!

Curated & Designed for You ♡︎

A.Barış Öndül,
Izmir, Turkey

(formerly Étoile Polairee & Earth Planners, since November 2020)