If you love the sea, its nuances and scents, tranquillity or noise it makes, then you have at least once stumbled upon the Instagram profile @malicovekk and @burabonaca. But even if you aren’t so eager for the sea, you have no doubt been touched by some nice word, thought which you will recognize yourselves in while visiting these very profiles. Jelena Čejović Vukčević “hides” behind them.
This photographer, born in Bar, who has long been in the sphere of marketing, launched her “Bura Bonaca” brand combining analogue photography, short stories and messages, as well as handcrafted objects aiming to present the beauty of Montenegrin nature and cultural heritage. Jelena’s “fantasy factory” makes picture postcards, objects with artistic prints, ceramics, accessories, personalized gifts... On each one of these, you will easily recognize Jelena’s design which makes her stand out from the others in this job, primarily through authenticity and creative skill.
Take the sea everywhere you go.
She acquired her formal education and the title of Master of International Law in Italy, at the “Roma 3” University. She then continued her development in a different direction –specialising as integral physical therapist (IPD Zagreb). She is fluent in English and Italian, which makes it easy for her to communicate and develop projects at the international level.
In her brief CV on www.burabonaca.com website, Jelena describes herself as “June child”, born in the Montenegrin littoral, “pushed” towards her current activities by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Being unable to be at the sea, which she considers integral part of her growing up and life, she made a series of sea-depicting photographs which she turned into gifts for her friends, with the message reading “I’m giving you the sea”, because she keeps thinking about presence at the sea, wishing for us to always live every moment, no matter what it is like. “I’m giving you the sea, even a storm is beautiful there. I’m giving you the sea, because it’s a safe harbour. Yours and mine” – says Jelena.
She already has impressive experience of a creative professional. She worked on the marketing campaigns for the “One&Only Resort”, “Chedi” Hotel, “Visa” and the Montenegro Investment Agency, as well as for some of the well-known magazines in the region and beyond: “Elle Serbia”, “Grazia”, “BURO”, “Journal” and “Marie Claire”. The best, apparently, he has kept for herself, so her brand “Bura Bonaca” has had more than 28.000 Instagram followers and 1.16 million views in only three months. Always with the message “Take the sea everywhere you go”.
During the interview for the “Cafe Montenegro”, Jelena revealed those small, yet important details, which have made her valuable and creative, but also a proud owner of one Montenegrin brand. We started with the question how and why her Instagram profiles @malicovekk and @bura.bonaca were created.
“It seems to me that @malicovekk has been here forever, like my little diary – a place for my thoughts, emotions and photographs. Over time, my profile matured just as I did: from my personal record, to the place where my life and work overlap more and more, since in my case one cannot do without the other”, she said.
On the other hand, the profile @bura.bonaca had a different “maturation” path.
“It was created during the COVID pandemic, at the moment when I needed a new place for creativity. I was encouraged by the one closest to me, and the name came naturally: bura (bora) and bonaca (calm sea) depict me best, as well as the sea I have in me. That profile joined the two terms even visually and has become home to a great part of my creativity. Essentially, both profiles are parts of me, scattered in the digital space”, she stressed.
Like many others, Jelena started her current job as a hobby. She said she had not expected it to become her occupation – at least not until she had listened to her reason.
“I graduated from the law school, took my master’s degree and I believed my numerous other hobbies would be pushed to the background, as small shelters after a serious job. However, my heart had always secretly hoped that art would not remain just as a hobby”, says Jelena.
She then described how and why everything has changed.
“Crucial moment was when I decided to stop living for other people's expectations and to start fending for myself – even if it meant that I would not always be accepted. This is when the changes started, slowly yet surely, since working on oneself is never an easy task. And when I rewind my life to my childhood I can see little Jelena, who already knew that she would be a versatile person: that she would be drawing, painting, photographing... And that it was not impossible to live a life with plenty of different occupations”, she remembered.
In one moment, Jelena’s love for travelling became an inspiration which she decided to share and transfer onto the others. She told us that “great journeys of my life begin in 2011”, when she started her law studies in Rome.
- This experience opened the door not only to new knowledge, but also to an entirely different world. Since then, as though I have never stopped travelling, both physically and spiritually. I have always shared my journeys, be it through words, photographs or small notes. Once it used to be a small circle of friends, while the audience is bigger now. Essentially, only the scale has changed – but the drive to note down and share the beauty of travelling has always been there in every sense”, she added.
The headline of the Jelena’s website www.burabonaca.com, which will offer everything from the inspirational messages to the objects you will like as though you made them yourselves, is a personal signature of this artist-entrepreneur: “Sea letters are, naturally, not frequent – these are stories, announcements and things worth sharing written by the hand of the heart”. On this page you can find various products which bear signature of this atelier.
“Photography is my basic expression and everything has started from it: through picture postcards, greetings cards and prints which people still gladly collect and give as gifts. The slogan “You can never have enough love and the sea” was created while I was pairing my text and the photographs, she clarified.
She added that this sentence has become the trademark of her brand and found its place on the summer items like towels, beach bags and caps.
“The new thing is our first pottery collection: plates and bowls made of French porcelain with imprinted slogan about love and the sea. For the time being, you can find us on Instagram, and it is soon going to be available in the web shop. Everything being created under the brand “Bura Bonaca” was designed in the way to contain a bit of the sea – for people to be able to take it with them, wherever they may be”, stressed Jelena.
Although this part of her job is very challenging, she gladly shares her knowledge and skill with others at the workshops she herself designed.
Although she says that there haven’t been so many of them, she says that “each one was characterized by a special atmosphere”.
“By the sea, we were painting pottery and enjoying the spontaneity of creation. I am planning more and more of them, in different creative forms. The most important thing for me is for them to remain intimate and that the atmosphere be relaxed, for the participants to take with them the smile and object they have created”, she said.
It is impossible not to as a woman with so many interests and with such energy how she is going to expand her activities – from visual “delicacies”, through accessories to other objects which exude summer and the sea.
“For a long time now I have had this host of ideas, but the implementation comes slowly, besides, I would not like to fully reveal them as yet. I will just say that there is still going to be that feeling of summer and the sea, but in a new way”, hinted our interlocutor.
However, Jelena mentioned one part of her plans which she considers particularly important.
“In addition to my creative work, I am in my third year of Integral Physical Psychotherapy training and it is my goal to bring together everything I do spontaneously. This is already happening, quite naturally – art, creation, internal work and the sea as an eternal inspiration. I believe that over time that connection is actually going to bring a new strength and sense to the “Bura Bonaca” brand, concludes this inspirational woman.
