According to interior designers and architects, Czechs belong, in the area of designs and equipment of households, rather among conservative customers. Nevertheless, there are designers with brilliant ideas on the Czech market as well. In other words, it seems that the well-known saying about golden Czech hands is still valid. Accessories made of concrete, wooden sawdust and other matters of interest can be seen at the FOR HABITAT Trade Fair held at the Prague Letňany Exhibition Centre, which lasts till Sunday, 26 March. According to Eva Levenhefrová, interior designer, Czech households have been undergoing transformation from conservatively equipped homes to modern and trendy living in recent years.
Concrete hygiene
Most people think that concrete is suitable for construction of buildings only. Marek Bilko and his wife therefore try to upgrade this material and use it in an innovative way. “We were working on development of the technology for two years before we started with production. We produce everything manually, from moulds to mixtures, filling, grinding and polishing,” stresses Marek Bilko, Executive Officer of the Creer Company, who has been selling concrete products for one year only. They were working on the first concrete tray for almost one year, and just the mould production lasted for six months. “Now we are able to produce a tray in eight weeks,” adds Mr. Bilko. Although one tray costs CZK 180,000, Czechs are highly interested in these products, in the opinion of the Executive Officer of the Company. The offer of the concrete products includes, apart from trays, also washbasins and other interior accessories. Bilko was proud also of the pearl in the concrete kingdom and probably also a world unique product. “We have an interesting innovation here, record player made of concrete, it should be the first record player of such a type in the world.”
How to suitably use waste products
Why to dump things when they can be well processed? This is the way of thinking also at the Krygi Company which deals with the designing and bespoke production of furniture and lighting fittings. “Many people think that our lights are made of straw, but they are made of woodchips. We have developed the idea of recycling this way. We have a joiner’s workshop focused on production of furniture and we did not want to dispose of woodchips or to combust them without any further use,” said Marian Lacek, Seller of the Company, in his interview for Novinky, explaining how they came to an idea of pressing the sawdust into interesting shapes. By means of various lampshades the firm is able to use their natural airiness while maintaining natural characteristics of wood. The lights are sold in two sizes. The large lamp costs CZK 14,500 while the price of the small one is CZK 9,000.
Design trends for the household
At the trade fair held at the Prague Letňany Exhibition Centre you can meet also Iva Bastlová, Interior Designer, who organises, already for the fourth time, the only expositions with interior trends in the Czech Republic entitled “Scene, inspirations and trends”. “Like every year, we have selected four trends. The name of the first one is Kultural, which is a cultural mix. The other is Poetic, modern romance, the third is Harmony. This style is highly inspired with nature and live plants. The last one known as Smart is about a smart household, about smart materials.” The exposition should serve especially as inspiration for visitors, explaining how it is possible to combine various colours and materials.
Kristýna Léblová, Novinky (News)