The Czechs are here again! You won’t miss out on nostalgic longing, and we will also show you some up-to-date stuff as well. We will tell you all about the Czech version of Tisza shoes, and the young designer, who’s lamps and pieces of furniture have been at the Salone del Mobile as well. Let’s see!
LAVMI
When we discovered the stand of LAVMI for the first time, we thought it must be a Scandinavian design brand. The founder of the brand, Babeta Ondrová is motivated by one single goal: to create a harmonic home. This is the motto of LAVMI as well: “Ozdobit každý den” or “Decorate every day”. The brand started off in 2009: they grew out to form a tiny graphics and commercial studio, they were only dealing with wall-paper design and production, but it was always of high importance to create and produce clean and characteristic pieces. Their wall-papers can be found in about 20 countries by now, and the product variety improved as well. Home furnishings, pillowcases, table cloths, trays, clocks, lamp-globes, posters, and notebooks are also among their offers.
Papelote
Kateřina Šachová graphic designer started the Papelote brand in 2009 with her husband and girl-friend. They wanted to create a design brand which not only manufactures paper-products but is able to show off the many faces of paper and bindery. This has been proven successful. When we visited them last fall, we could barely decide which notebook, diary, postcard, agenda-book, or envelope to choose. But we were not only convinced by the wide variety of products when we were there the persona t the counter was spine-seaming a book, and at the studio at the back of the shop others were also very busy. They are creating their products with special care, from environmentally friendly materials, and they are regularly holding workshops as well. In their small studio, they are happy to fulfill special requests, not only for companies. When we looked at their references out of curiosity, our jaws dropped. The Papelote doesn’t want to become a paper-power, even though their team expanded they managed to preserve the charm of handcraftsmanship. A real paper manufacturer!
PLOVE
In hopes of good weather we chose to showcase the PLOVE brand as well, they design swimwear and sandals. In one of our previous collections, we mentioned what nice swimsuits we have found within the country’s border, but it could never hurt to pay attention to our Czech neighbors. The brand was founded by Pavlína Miklasová a few years ago, she was accompanied by Barbora Veselá who studied at the London College of Fashion, and from the experimental mood of these two women, unique clothes and shoes were born. Their last collection they co-created with František Petrák painter; geometrical patterns of the Czech artist are seen on the swimsuits. We can find pieces among their offers, that were made of recycled polyamide threads. Another, exclusive collection of theirs, the ME, THE CANNY FORCE is drawing attention to itself by the cleanness of Japanese aesthetics. And if we found the perfect swimwear, we can easily find the perfect sandals to go with it. Not only for the beach!
Karel Matejka
We were fortunate enough to see the young designer, Karel Matejka’s works closely. His work caught our attention for the first time last year at the Designblok event, with his One Zero lamp that works like a tumble-up, and won the award for the best lamp collection that year. This is why we were less than surprised when we saw his stand among the exhibitors of SaloneSatellite at the Salone del Mobile this spring. The extremely clean One Zero is giving off the feeling of lightness; at first, it can come across like the cross-breed of a dentist mirror and a bowling ball. The lamp’s position, angle of incidence and luminance can easily be adjusted or changed. We also like Amplifier from him, the modular lamp-family, and the very creatively named Alfred, the valet, which works similar tot he One Zero regarding the mechanism, and makes us forget about the traditional stereotypes about furniture. To rethink the ordinary designs is also reflected in another work of the artist; the Joyrider is the new generation of foot-driven motorcycles. He turned the kids’ integrant vehicle upside down; two wheels are on the front, and the third one is at the back, and there is a hollow part where the children can hide their treasures.
Botas 66
What are Tisza shoes for us, is Botas for the Czech. The brand is so woven into the language, that in both the Czech-Republic and Slovakia they call all sports shoes botasky (we know it from experience: the Hungarians living at Felvidék – the part of Slovakia which is still mostly inhabited by Hungarians – use this term in their everyday language even today). The company called Botana was founded in 1949, and it was manufacturing men’s shoes at the time, then in 1962 they started to produce sports shoes, and in 1963 they founded the Botas brand. The iconic Botas model was born in 1966 thanks to Marcel Scheinpflung, and from this point on besides sportsmen and Olympians, regular people could also wear these shoes. This model was dusted and revived by two designers, Jan Kloss and Jakub Korouš in 2008. This became the Botas 66: ergonomic execution, many color variations and a pinch of “cesko” nostalgia. If you don’t want to travel all the way to Prague just for a pair of cool shoes, you can also order them online.
In our weekly series, we are presenting such Czech, Slovakian, and Polish brands and design spots, who we think are worthy to join our mental design map. It is a teaser guide for those who are curious about other things than the usual tourist sights.
LEGO covers
Budapest by Labrosse | The block on Várkert Quay
