Pole Position. Best Brands from Poland.

With the Pole Position. Best Brands from Poland exhibition, Culture.pl will present brands from industries in which Poland is currently excelling: furniture, ceramics and glassware, as well as clothing, outerwear and camping products.

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Poland is currently one of the leading furniture producers and exporters in the world. Pole Position will present furniture brands, which work with experienced designers to better their products. They are increasingly gaining recognition in the furniture industry, receiving international awards, such as the prestigious RED DOT Design Award. The exhibition will be showing three of the products honored with this particular distinction: Tulli chairs (Studio Rygalik for NOTI), Clapp armchair (Piotr Kuchciński for NOTI) and the Pelikan collection (Przemysław Mac Stopa for Profim).

Polish ceramics and glassware also occupy an important position in the international market, and are now successfully conquering the American market as well. Traditional manufacturers such as Kristoff, the Polish Porcelain Factories Ćmielów and Chodzież SA, and Bolesławiec, made a move to rejuvenate their brands. In addition to their classic collections – which are well known by tourists as souvenirs from Poland, they introduced news lines with original modern patterns and designs. Kristoff was the first to work with young Polish graphic designers, while Chodzież and Ćmielów began working with Marek Cecuła, a renowned designer and Bolesławiec launched a whole new line designed by Dorota Koziara. In New York, visitors will have a chance to see the whimsical Circus tea set, Renesans plates and the Blue Line collection.

A slightly less conventional Polish product, which is “hot” right now is goose down. Polish down is known to be the warmest in the world. Despite years of research and product development, this natural resource remains irreplaceable when it comes to proper insulation. Polish camping and outerwear companies – in cooperation with Polish mountaineers, are using its potential to create high-end products for outdoorsmen all over the world.

In addition to larger producers, Pole Position will also introduce some intriguing smaller brands which are already making big waves: Zieta Prozessdesign, Vzór, Bogdan Kosak Modelarnia Ceramiczna, Malafor, and Pan Tu Nie Stał. Their strength lies in their innovative ideas, their use of new technologies, and a local production process.
Pole Position will present products from: NOTI, Paged Meble, Comforty, Vox, Mikomax, Balma, Profim, Ćmielów, Bolesławiec, Porcelana Kristoff, Yeti, Pajak Sport, Zieta Prozessdesign, Bogdan Kosak, Malafor, Vzor, Pan Tu Nie Stał, and Polski Stół (Polish Table: a collaboration by Porcelana Kristoff, Bolesławiec, Huta Julia).
25 years after the fall of Communism, Poland is now in pole position. Design serves as the perfect platform for the presentation of contemporary Poland and the promotion of Polish creativity. Poland is ready. Are you?

BALMA OFFICE FURNITURE FACTORY

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In its 37 years of experience on the Polish market, the Balma Office Furniture Factory has become an unquestionable leader in the field. Combining top-quality design with advancements of modern science, Balma offers comprehensive solutions for offices large and small. Their catalog features a full assortment of office furniture systems, ranging from the simplest workstation solutions to cupboard and storage systems and a line of reception counters, all the way to sophisticated executive office furnishings. The company regularly works with top Polish designers, including Piotr Kuchciński and Tomasz Augustyniak. balma.com.pl

BOGDAN KOSAK MODELARNIA CERAMICZNA

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Founded in 1995 in the city of Cieszyn, Modelarnia Ceramiczna is a design studio and modern craft workshop run by porcelain enthusiast Bogdan Kosak. The artist’s work combines innovative ideas, great aesthetic sensitivity and impressive technical knowledge. Modelarnia is where Kosak develops his independent concepts and executes commercial projects. The studio offers a spectrum of services, from ceramics design and production to technological consultation and assistance in ceramic prototype production. ceramikakosak.pl

COMFORTY

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Comforty, a leading upholstered furniture maker in Poland, was established in 2000 in Nowe Skalmierzyce, Greater Poland region. The company’s catalog features products designed by a host of established, internationally-recognized designers like Tomasz Augustyniak, Dorota Koziara, Tomek Rygalik, Krystian Kowalski, Maja Ganszyniec, Anderssen & Voll Studio, Philippe Nigro and Lucidi Pevere Studio. In 2011, the company teamed up with Tomek Rygalik to create a special set of furniture for the first ever Polish Presidency of the European Union. Comforty’s products have been featured in the pages of many domestic and international publications, including Wallpaper*, Elle Decoration, Domus, Arena and others. comforty.pl

KRISTOFF PORCELAIN

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Kristoff Porcelain has been in existence since 1831. The factory makes high quality porcelain flatware, both white and decorated. The majority of their diverse assortment of porcelain wares makes its way to export markets. In recent years, the company has launched the Kristoff brand and marketed numerous porcelain collections produced in collaboration with young Polish artists. The projects met with great enthusiasm from design experts and have brought the company a series of distinctions, with the products themselves shown in many international exhibitions. porcelana-kristoff.pl

MALAFOR

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Malafor is a design studio and brand founded by Agata Kulik-Pomorska and Paweł Pomorski, both graduates of the industrial design program at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. The duo started Malafor just before completing their studies, initially designing and producing their objects in limited series. Since then, they have gone on to win many international competitions and awards, including a 2012 Red Dot Award for the Blow Sofa and a 2012 IF Design Award for Active Basket. In 2014, Malafor was honored with the readers’ choice award of the Polish magazine DesignAlive in the Creator of the Year category. malafor.com

MANUFAKTURA SP. J. SMOLEŃSKI & ZWIERZ STONE POTTERY FACTORY IN BOLESŁAWIEC

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The Manufactory is a family company combining a tradition of hand-crafted and hand-painted ceramics with the latest trends in design. Working with recognized artists, the Manufactory reinterprets the Bolesławiec pottery heritage to meet the modern user’s needs. The most characteristic color scheme of Bolesławiec pottery is blue and white, and these colors are precisely what defines the brand around the world. One glance at the color combination is enough to immediately recognize this exceptional pottery with a hand-made stamp, made in the Manufactory. polish-pottery.com.pl

MIKOMAX SMART OFFICE

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Mikomax Smart Office is known for designing modern office furniture perfectly adapted to the needs, specificity, organizational culture and character of the client. It is a Polish family-run company with 25 years of experience in the field of office space organization. In addition to furniture design, the company offers support to its clients in the form of expert consultation services with a view towards optimal office space utilization. The company has garnered many industry and business distinctions, including three: Gazela Biznesu (Business Gazelle) Awards, Diament Mablarstwa (Furniture Diamond) Award and Dobra Forma (Good Form) Award. mikomaxsmartoffice.pl

MODUS DESIGN
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Modus Design has been in business since 1976, initially founded as a ceramics studio by Marek Cecuła in SoHo, New York. The studio’s calling card are its alternative forms of utilitarian and decorative ceramics, which they have been producing for years.

Currently, Modus Design is based in Kielce, Poland, where they create products of a local, national and even global scope. In January 2013, the studio joined forces with the Polish Porcelain Factories Ćmielów and Chodzież SA to form the Ćmielów Design Studio, a design outfit in which Marek Cecuła serves as artistic director. Their design philosophy is centered                         on a revival of the artists in industry movement, in which designers work together with manufacturers to create new products. Ćmielów Design Studio is also a testing ground for modern technologies and experimental techniques in the production of utilitarian and decorative porcelain ware. modusdesign.com  |  porcelana-cmielow.pl

NOTI

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Noti furniture is produced in Poland, at a factory located in Tarnowo Podgórne near Poznań. Since its inception, the company has always kept true to its motto of design first. This involves a well thought-out design approach combining a need to create high quality products with a commitment to utilize the talents of Poland’s best designers, such as Piotr Kuchciński, Tomek Rygalik, Krystian Kowalski, Tomasz Augustyniak, Dorota Koziara, Renata Kalarus, Mikołaj Wierszyłłowski and Katarzyna Okińczyc. One of Noti’s aims is to seek out new ideas, talents and innovative technological solutions. The company puts a premium on the development of Polish design through its involvement with the University of Arts in Poznań.

In 2015, Noti celebrated their 10th anniversary. Then, in 2016, they were awarded their third Red Dot Award for the Tomek Rygalik-designed Tulli chair. Their previous Red Dot Awards were for the Clapp armchair designed by Piotr Kuchciński and the Comma chair by Renata Klaus. noti.pl 

PAGED MEBLE

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Paged Furniture carries on the tradition of one of the most experienced furniture companies in the history of Poland. The story reaches back to 1881, when one of the world’s first ever bentwood furniture factories opened in the town of Jasienica. That location is now a symbol of the enduring spirit of Poland’s longest-running furniture producers, who, for more than 130 years straight, has been practicing and perfecting its craft.

Since those early days, the company has risen to become one of Europe’s leading furniture makers, especially when it comes to the diversity of its range. Bentwood is still present at Paged, one of the last remaining locations in the world where it is still hand-produced. pagedcollection.pl

PAJAK SPORT

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Pajak Sport specializes in down products for enthusiasts. The company was founded more than 30 years ago by Ewa and Andrzej Pająk in Bielsko-Biała, Poland. This family company is now run by a team of energetic young people whose passions come through in the company’s gear for mountain lovers and adventurers. Pajak designs and manufactures their products exclusively in their facility in Bielsko-Biała, at the foot of the Beskid Mountain range. Their products are praised by the most demanding users, from the peaks of the eight-thousanders to the arctic. pajaksport.pl

PAN TU NIE STAŁ

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Pan Tu Nie Stał is a typically Polish brand. The visual culture of bygone times, the Polish school of poster design, old Polish illustration, print layouts and typography – these are the inspirations behind the rich assortment of products in the PTNS catalogue. Pan Tu Nie Stał offers clothing for the healthy, the ill, the young and the old, house wares, books and accessories. pantuniestal.com

POLSKI STÓŁ

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Polski Stół (Polish Table) is a collaborative effort of three manufacturers in Lower Silesia. This innovative project brings together the Walbrzych-based Kristoff Porcelain, the Manufactory in Bolesławiec and the Julia Glassworks as three manufacturers co-designing the Polish table. The idea behind the Polish table initiative is a revival of traditional craft through a combination of truly unique design with the diversity and specificity of each material.
Each of the three Lower-Silesian factories has created their unique sets as an effect of their design teams collaborating, studying production technologies and rediscovering traditional methods of hand production: china decoration, crystal glass grinding, stoneware stamping. polskistol.com

PROFIM

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Profim is one of the leadings producers of office seating in Europe, offering swivel armchairs and chairs, visitor chairs and soft seating furniture. Over its 25 years of existence, the company has developed dozens of original furniture designs with input from an international group of renowned designers. At the moment, Profim employs about 1800 people and the total production output is over 100 thousand chairs per month. profim.pl

VOX

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The Vox furniture and home décor company has developed a strong position on the Polish furniture market. It growth strategy hinges on the development of products on the basis of research, the active involvement of end users in the design process, and collaboration with academic environment, in the area of humanities as well as design. The company has won many awards at international shows and in prestigious competitions: it is the only Polish company to have been honored in the highly-respected Design Management Europe Award competition for the management of design in business. The company exports its products throughout Europe and to the United States. vox.pl

VZOR

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VZOR aims at creating a collection based on icons of Polish mid-century furniture, which in the future will include designs of prominent contemporary creators.
The brand concept represents a coherent model for the production of valuable and timeless historic designs from Poland that have never been marketed due to political and socio-economic reasons. The brand debuted in June 2012 with the premiere of the iconic Roman Modzelewski armchair (RM58). vzor.pl

YETI

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The Yeti brand was started in 1989 with mountain lovers in mind. From the very beginning, the brand’s founders saw quality and comfort of use as the key aims. They knew that their products must be able to withstand the harshest conditions. Their design process relies on the latest technologies but also on feedback from the world-renowned mountain climbers, travelers and lovers of the outdoors whom their products serve. yeti.com.pl

ZIETA PROZESSDESIGN

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The products of the Zieta brand, founded by Oskar Zięta, are known for their use of the FiDU proprietary technology (based on slow material deformation through internal pressure). The technology makes it possible to create unusual forms from materials like steel, aluminum and copper. Zieta Prozessdesign is an interdisciplinary research and design team composed of architects, industrial designers, engineers and technologists. They work towards developing innovative, dynamic, well-adapted and ultra-light technologies for material stability and subsequent applications of those technologies in architecture, engineering and design. zieta.pl