Zivko Radenkov

Zivko Radenkov takes great pride in his work. A woodworker and master craftsman, Zivko refers to himself as an artist, and that he is. The Loop in Tremont, a still relatively new N.E. Ohio coffee shop/art gallery/record store, has carved a nice niche for itself, attracts Cleveland’s creative scene. Right now it’s given Zivko its entire wall. How did this happen? He recently opened up and shared his story with me.

“I make cutting boards for the holidays as gifts,” says Zivko. “Brandy from Loop purchased a few along with some other folks. One day she approached me and asked if I’d be interested in a cutting board show as a change of pace for Loop.

“After some thought, I said, ‘OK,’ even though I had reservations about this. People have a knack to label someone with a title, thus, the cutting board guy. I took it upon myself to make some other objects to pull myself out of that scenario. So I only had a wall to fill and thought to make decorative mirrors. That’s as close to furniture as I could get.

“I believe Brandy had reservations about the mirrors but, with all due respect, I went about it anyways. I only had a few weeks to start and finish enough work to fill that wall. Seven days a week, an average of sixteen hours a day. It was tough. Interesting how this all fell into place because I feel that Brandy with her proposal for a show… [well] that triggered me into a new flow of ideas. Meaning mirrors which I’ve not done before. Serendipity.”