Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka
Design critic and curator, co-founder and long time editor-in-chief of the Polish edition of Elle Decor, curator of the October Łodź Design festival
What makes Polish young designers stand out? Thirtysomethings eagerly reach for simple, inexpensive, natural and readily available materials: wood, OSB, MDF, felt, semi-finished products or reclaimed materials. They often make their products themselves or with the help of local craftsmen, in very limited quantities. Many designs are characterised by a perverse sense of humour and irony, shying from convention.
Chances are that you are sitting on a Polish sofa when reading this book. Poland is the fourth largest furniture manufacturer in the world, surpassed only by China, USA and Italy. Wooden trunks designed by Malafor.
They are often informed by Polish tradition, material culture and craft. In these days of globalisation and easy access to standardized technologies, uniqueness and provenance have become priceless. Reaching back to the roots, Polish designers exploit local resources. They replicate traditional ornamentation, colour schemes and decoration motifs and re-work and re-interpret old patterns.
The souvenirs produced for the Polish EU Presidency in 2011 allude, inter alia to distinctly Polish folk costumes and dances. These toys were designed by Monika Wilczyńska&Smaga Projektanci
Young Polish design is a perfect symbiosis of natural resources and advanced technology. The projects show an appetite for the new without forsaking the old. Designers like Azé hire local artisans, create jobs and unleash the need to return to primary sources.
Puff Buff Design are making waves around the world with their inflatable PVC lamps
The most spectacular example of innovative use of folk inspiration combined with the high-tech is the Polish pavilion designed for the Expo 2010 in Shanghai by WWAA Architects (Natalia Paszkowska and Marcin Mostafa). The basic idea of the project was to distinguish the country visually. Hence the motif of folk cut-outs, applied onto a modern form. The basic finishing elements of the pavilion were made of plywood. From the outside, filler panels were made of glass, polycarbon and insulated laminate were mounted on to the modules, water and UV resistant materials. Anyone interested in the visual side of everyday life in Poland should check out the Polish Advertisement Festival in Warsaw, every year in April or May, AD Days in Łódź (end of November) and the Photomonth in Kraków that opens in May.
Tomek Rygalik
Industrial designer, lives and works in Warsaw. Academic at the London Royal College of Art. Studied architecture and design in Łodź, New York and London. Designs for Italian, Finnish and Polish companies. Contributed to the special line of furniture produced for the Polish EU Presidency n 2011 opposite page, left)
What is the best thing in Poland?
Forests and wood
Poland is a furniture manufacturer of European and worldwide renown. We produced mainly wooden furniture, which in my opinion, forms our material culture and is part of our identity. Talking to many people from across the world, I found out that wood is very much associated with Poland. Wood is an essential material for us Poles. Obviously, it comes from forests, and just as Poland is famous for being Europe’s third and the world’s fourth furniture manufacturer – Polish forests and landscapes are also its landmarks.
Chairs designed by Tomek Rygalik
Be it in Mazury (Masuria) among the lakes, or in Tatry (Tatra Mountains), there are beautiful forests everywhere in Poland, both coniferous and leafy. I often visit various places in Poland, among others Bieszczady (mountain range in southern Poland) or Kociewie – a region near Bory Tucholskie (Poland’s largest pine tree forest complex). I have always been surrounded by forest, it’s inspirational. The forest is something truly beautiful – something we can recommend to people from other countries.
