We live ever faster. In a multitude of everyday duties, we frequently lack time to stop and reflect on things around us that do not function very well – in our relationships, in a local community or in our town – and what we can do to make them work better.
This is why, as part of the campaign “We care for a better reality”, we invited Polish designers of functional art to create a series of objects which would provide an inspiration for such a moment of stopping and reflection every day.
These objects are aesthetically pleasing, functional, but also – on purpose – not ideal. Their imperfection is supposed to remind their owners every day that when we reflect on the things around us which do not work perfectly and when we notice what is worth improving, we can actively change our reality.
Such an ability is demonstrated by the so-called watchdogs who every day pay attention to the things which do not function optimally in our communities.
It is them and their watchdog activities that provided the starting point for designers and the campaign “We care for a better reality”.
We hope that the object which is in front of you now shall become a part of your home and shall inspire you day by day to similar creative thinking about what is worth improving to make our reality better.
Thank you for your interest in the campaign and for supporting it through purchasing one of the objects.
I encourage you to learn about the stories behind particular objects.
Katarzyna Batko-Tołuć,
Member of the Board
Citizens Network Watchdog Poland
#dbamyolepszącodzienność
Teapot
The teapot was made in a traditional technique of ceramics with untypically laid out parts and the oaken handle. Dimensions: diameter 13 cm; height 12.2 cm.
Learn more about the story of this object at: https://watchdogportal.pl/przedmioty
#dbamyolepszącodzienność
Authors:
Jan Kochański – studied in the Faculty of Interior Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and in the Faculty of Industrial Design at the University of Technology in Milan. In 2010 he completed an internship in Karim Rashid’s design studio. He is an assistant lecturer in the Furniture Design Department in his alma mater – the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He designs products for everyday use which combine an aesthetic look with functionality. Winner of Wallpaper* Design Awards 2014, Must Have, Young Creative Entrepreneur (British Council Poland), and other.
“The object designed by me looks strange already at first sight. Its structure is based on an ideal shape of a sphere. On the other hand, the key elements of the teapot, attached to the sphere, such as: a spout, a lid, a handle and a base look as if they were shifted and not quite in their place.
If we want to pour tea out of the teapot and we grab the handle, it turns out that we must make an unnatural movement of the hand. However, it was also important for me to make this object fully functional. This is why it was made in a traditional technique of ceramics with a nice wooden handle which is pleasant to the touch and does not get hot as the rest of the teapot.
I wished to design an object which can be chosen consciously, with awareness that it does not function perfectly. I want people who buy this teapot and introduce it into their lives to remember that they always can change and improve something.”
– Jan Kochański (designer)
Piotr Kodzis – an IT specialist from Warsaw who moved to a village in the Sejny region in search of peace and quiet and beautiful landscapes. When several years ago he learned that a wind farm was to be built close to his house, he got permanently involved in checking what the local authorities were planning. Thanks to him, other local people also know about it: Piotr issues a periodical “Znad Marychy” which he publishes online and sends to all households in the district.
“Officials manage the property of our towns and villages – our property – so we should watch whether they do it well or badly. And if they do it wrong, we should suggest to them how to do it better.”
– Piotr Kodzis (watchdog)
Mirror
The mirror is covered with a pattern produced in a technique of screen printing which makes a reflection visible in it uneven and shredded. Dimensions: 52 x 42 cm; thickness: 5 mm.
Learn more about the story of this object at: https://watchdogportal.pl/przedmioty
#dbamyolepszącodzienność
Kamila Niedźwiedzka and Nikodem Szpunar (Studio Szpunar) – graduated from the Faculty of Industrial Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, they also studied at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. They have cooperated since 2013. They work on designs dedicated to industry but also on special projects for individual needs. Winners of several awards, including the most important: Make Me! Their designs were presented at international fairs and festivals: Tent in London, DMY in Berlin and Salone del Mobile in Milan.
“Our task was to design an object which would make us ponder every day on things around us which could work better. We thought about a mirror as an object which reflects our face.
The mirror designed by us is unique: it is covered with a pattern which makes an image vague and shredded. In order to see our reflection in this mirror we must make an effort, come closer and look at an appropriate angle.
Then we can ask ourselves if we are all right, if we act fair and whether we are doing everything to make the world a better place.
We wished to create an object which would hang on the wall and everyday would remind a person looking in it that reality is not perfect but worth improving.”
– Kamila Niedźwiedzka, Nikodem Szpunar (designers)
Monika Bienias is a housekeeper who started to act because her village, lying out of the way, had slight chances for any investment. She monitors the decision-making processes concerning construction of roads, waterworks or places of leisure for local inhabitants. Monika publishes online the recordings from sessions and meetings of the district council. She asks about documents which are important for the community and cooperates with the local media. Monika shows that the local people can influence decisions of the authorities and that they are empowered by law to decide on a part of the district budget.
“Looking at the activities of a government we can notice that what the authorities do is not always necessary for us. An example can be the case when in a village where there are no streets, asphalt, ditches and outdoor lighting, the head of the district built a playground for 110 000 Polish zlotys right in the middle of the forest.”
– Monika Bienias (watchdog)
Glasses
Glasses of the cylindrical shape. The bottom has been polished on several planes at different angles, owing to which the glass stands aslant. Dimensions of the glass: height 16 cm; diameter 7 cm. A set contains two glasses.
Learn more about the story of this object at: https://watchdogportal.pl/przedmioty
#dbamyolepszącodzienność
Authors:
Agnieszka Bar – graduated from the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław. She obtained her diploma in the major of Glass Design. She studied Applied Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava and at the Technical University of Liberec. Agnieszka specializes in glass. She designs short series of objects for everyday use, dishes and unique reflection objects for private and public spaces.
“I believe that objects around us have an influence on quality of our lives and sometimes an object can direct our thoughts and may have an impact on decisions we take.
I was invited to the project “We care for a better reality” to create an object that does not work at its best.
It is still possible to use the object designed by me, but in another way, so we are not indifferent to it.
The glass is tilted and it may seem that it would fall at the moment liquid is poured into it. However, the tilting angle is adjusted in such a way that the glass maintains its stability, but simultaneously it makes us uncertain and thus encourages us to stop and think.”
– Agnieszka Bar (designer)
Wojciech Paszkowski – a mathematician by profession, who forty years ago gave up his university career and moved with his family to the Kłodzko Valley. He notices matters overlooked by other people – decisions to construct buildings which spoil the mountainous landscape, inconsistency in a number of trees planted in exchange for trees cut down, or arbitrariness at rewarding of councillors. Despite a lot of work at running his agricultural farm he has found time for watchdog activity already for many years.
‘’I’ve witnessed a situation when someone started protesting against construction of a cell tower and was outraged that he did not know about it. I knew because I attended sessions of the district council. An uninterested person does not know, those absent do not count.”
– Wojciech Paszkowski (watchdog)
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