MANUBA collection GDD 2024
Manuba is a limited series of items designed and produced especially for the Gdynia Design Days festival.
Living in a world with easy access to information, culture and customs from all over the world, we begin to feel the need to return to local traditions and ceremonies related to them. Rituals allow us to settle in time, be here and now, and celebrate everyday life in community.
Inspired by the Slavic Kupala Night (Noc Kupały), the summer solstice celebration, we want to bring the vibrations of magic, mysticism and the celebration of nature in full bloom to this year's Manuba collection.
With the collection “Rytuał” (Ritual) we make reference to the time when nature, people and spirits meet in harmony, celebrating the power of life, love and fertility. By examining and exploring our Slavic roots, we move into the world of Kupala Night traditions and rituals. We refer to craftsmanship, working with native materials that are directly derived from nature and have a local character.
curators:
Marta Borkowska i Martyna Barbara Golik
Marta Borkowska
Visual artist, art educator. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław.
The main topic of her creative exploration is an in-depth psychological portrait of man and society. She reaches to the most b...
Marta Borkowska
Visual artist, art educator. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław.
The main topic of her creative exploration is an in-depth psychological portrait of man and society. She reaches to the most basic instincts, fears, desires and physical experiences, believing that they are the source of most human behavior. She analyzes and examines the relations between interpersonal relationships. She is inspired by the therapeutic aspect of creative expression, often referring to memories and working with the subconscious. Femininity, its life-giving power and transformative abilities play an important role in her work. She is a passionate observer of nature, inspired by its cyclicality and the relationship with humans. Since 2021, he has been co-creating the Grupa Łono art collective.
www.instagram.com/m.art.a.borkowska
Martyna Barbara Golik
Textile designer and educator. A graduate of the Danish School of Design and the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź.
Her approach to design is characterized by a strong focus on sensory perception, emotional bond with the object, as well as the impact of color on humans and space. Martyna worked as a designer for leading interior textile brands Kvadrat and Sahco, additionally being a co-owner of the Posé Posê design studio and designing textile objects for various brands. Working in her own design practice, Martyna is also involved in educating others leading workshops and courses in the field of textile and color design.
MANUBA collection GDD 2023
Manuba GDD collection is a limited series of items designed and produced especially for the Gdynia Design Days festival. This is the eighth edition of the project.
We live in a world of overabundance. One of the sectors most associated with the surplus is the clothing industry. Observing the increased trend of designing and producing better/more sustainable products, the question arises about the desirability and ethics of creating novelty items when we have been confronted with overproduction, excessive demand, waste and, as a result, the exploitation of people and the environment.
This year's MANUBA collection is the outcome of GDD's collaboration with Fashion Revolution. Invited by curators Eliza Gawrjołek and Ewelina Antonowicz, the design teams explored the potential of textile waste found in various forms, attempting to find innovative techniques for incorporating apparent trash into a full-fledged and scalable design practice for functional objects, beyond conventional approaches with aspirations of recycling and upcycling.
The process yielded concepts for three objects, subsequently made in small series (30 copies each).
The semantically capacious word 'rest' was chosen as the theme of the collection.
RE:ST is, on the one hand, a reference to letting go of growth in the case of industry and unnecessary purchases, and on the other hand – an activist rest after years of speaking in big letters and finding a new way to reach the consciousness of consumers and brands. All the meanwhile taking into account the culture-creating function of fashion.
RE:ST is a collection that creates an opportunity to take a rest, to catch a balance between extreme attitudes, and above all – to inspire reflection on the condition of fashion, design and contemporaneity.
curators:
Ewelina Antonowicz i Eliza Gawrjołek
Ewelina Antonowicz – co-founder of Sustainable Fashion Institute, chairwoman of Fashion Revolution Poland, Master of Science in Sustainable Development. Expert in the Climate Leadership program and the Roundtable for Sustainable Fashion within ...
Ewelina Antonowicz – co-founder of Sustainable Fashion Institute, chairwoman of Fashion Revolution Poland, Master of Science in Sustainable Development. Expert in the Climate Leadership program and the Roundtable for Sustainable Fashion within the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion. Awarded at scientific conferences and for her social activities. Forbes "25 under 25" finalist in the sustainable development and climate category. As a sustainable fashion developer, she works on implementing innovative solutions and strategies in the fashion and textile industry. Guest lecturer of eco-design at the Academy of Fine Arts. She uses her hybrid experience at the intersection of fashion, design and innovation to design solutions for the fashion industry, utility products made from recycled raw materials, and to design supply chain management software for the fashion sector.
Eliza Gawrjołek – intermedia ex-artist and researcher. She deals with creative strategy, communication and multipotential process management in the space of design, sustainable fashion, art and social science. Graduated from the Faculty of Design and Interior Design and the Faculty of Visual Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, also was studying new media and digital culture and ethnology and cultural anthropology. Eliza Gawrjołek heads the Fashion Revolution Poland Research Group, with which she carries out international grant projects on circular business models and consumer behavior. She is passionate about simplicity, sustainable hairdressing, travel and holistic theories. Her interdisciplinary projects and exhibitions have been repeatedly presented and awarded i.a in Lodz, Düsseldorf, Lublin, Szczecin, Gdansk and cities of the Visegrad countries. She focused her research and reflections on the phenomena of language, context, design and engaged art, loss, change, innovation and exclusion.
MANUBA collection GDD 2022
Manuba GDD collection is a limited series of items designed and produced especially for the Gdynia Design Days festival. This is the seventh edition of the project.
The world is undergoing dynamic changes. Old work methods are slowly becoming a thing of the past, and new ones are only just looming on the horizon. This year’s MANUBA collection was created around the keyword “portal” and is an attempt to answer the question: what role will design play in the nearest future? On the eve of the new chapter, we look back at the past, drawing from the tenets of modernism, which did not see the worlds of design and art as separate, but intersecting and generating new qualities. We looked for such qualities as an interdisciplinary team of designers and an artist, combining artistic research and design thinking. The traditional craft of ceramics became an ideal testing ground, especially when combined with the tools and technologies at our disposal, such as 3D printing and wireless communication protocols.
A small series of three objects, made in 30 copies each, was used by the design team to answer the question: what kinds of future are developing from the ongoing processes? The collection consists of objects that reflect the nature of three potential scenarios: analogue, hybrid and metaphysical. They show different possible contexts for design as well as for the designs themselves, fulfilling tactile, informative and aesthetic functions.
What future will you vote for with your purchasing decision?
curator:
Agnieszka Polkowska
Agnieszka Polkowska is a speculative designer, design curator and educator with a Ph.D. in design. She is a founder of a TRENDSPOT future research & speculative design studio as well as co-founder of Touching Points studio which was establi...
Agnieszka Polkowska is a speculative designer, design curator and educator with a Ph.D. in design. She is a founder of a TRENDSPOT future research & speculative design studio as well as co-founder of Touching Points studio which was established to transfer ideas between different sectors and implementing them into strategic actions. She actively works in design and futures education as Assistant professor at Stettin Art Academy running speculative design studio as well as carries out interdisciplinary courses in trends and foresight. Agnieszka is an expert and consultant of Dutch think-tank MARE Amsterdam and cooperates with such institutions as the Institute of Industrial Design, Pomeranian Science and Technology Park Gdynia, Łódź Design Festival. She had the pleasure to contribute and worked on research and implementation projects for such clients as Samsung, MTV, Play, Vogue Poland, Ceramika Paradyż, Cosentino, Abriga, Desa Unicum, Biżuteria YES, eobuwie.pl, Local Heroes as well as many others. She is also a member of the expert board of the must have competition at the Łódź Design Festival.
MANUBA collection GDD 2021
Manuba GDD collection is a limited series of items designed and produced especially for the Gdynia Design Days festival. This is the sixth edition of the project. Editions 1-3 were a continuation of the theme "Reclaimed Crafts" and were based on the cooperation of designers with local craftsmen. For the last two editions, the studios located in PPNT Gdynia have been used for design and production.
MANUBA is one of the answers to how to pursue the design that is aware of increasing overproduction. Projects created as part of this year's edition refer to the main slogan of the festival – Solidary.
The collection is focused around the table, as a place for meetings and discussions. Due to the pandemic that has prevailed for over a year, we spend more time in our homes, and thus – more and more people began to pay attention to how they live. Interiors take on an individual character, turn into a friendly living space, and cooking and feasting with loved ones becomes an important part of the day. This year's MANUBA collection responds to the festival slogan also in a different sense, which is timelessness and intergenerational experience. The projects refer to traditional design – items that we recall very well from the cupboards of our grandmothers and grandparents.
The result of the work of designers and curators is a limited collection of three products. Each of them was made in 50 copies based on manual production, traditional techniques and natural materials.
All products will be available for purchase online at the MANUBA store, which will be created especially for this year's edition of the Gdynia Design Days festival.
The MANUBA GDD collection is a short series of products that is expanding every year with new products made especially for the needs of the festival. Agata Nowak is the curator of this year's edition.
curator:
Agata Nowak
She works at the intersection of designing products, furniture and exhibition spaces. She has designed not only mass products, but also handmade small batch pottery. So far her designs have been implemented by the Danish brand WOUD and Polish B...
She works at the intersection of designing products, furniture and exhibition spaces. She has designed not only mass products, but also handmade small batch pottery. So far her designs have been implemented by the Danish brand WOUD and Polish Borcas and LOFT Decora. She is also a design curator. In 2020, she was responsible for the MANUBA collection for Gdynia Design Days. Together with Michał Bachowski, she created the exhibitions “Body at a Crossroads” and “Water is our problem” for which they both were nominated for the Design Alive Awards 2020 in the category Animator.
She gained her professional experience working for Studio Rygalik, Studio Ganszyniec and on research projects for Touch Ideas. She holds degrees in Product and Furniture Design from De Montfort University in Leicester, UK and the University of Arts in Poznań.
MANUBA collection GDD 2020
The MANUBA GDD collection is a short series of products that is expanding every year with new products made especially for the needs of the festival. The fifth and unique edition of the MANUBA project is a continuation of the idea of crafts recovery in Pomerania. As part of the latest collection, a series of limited products was created, which were inspired by the current situation in the world.
Experience of isolation has shown that we should be more concerned about our own well-being. That's why MANUBA 2020 encourages you to pay more attention to your body. This idea is the result of cooperation between Agata Nowak, Kamila Niedzwiedzka and Dominika Kulczyńska and Mateusz Peringer from Zakwas Studio, who were invited to create this year's collection.
They designed and made all products in the studios of the Pomeranian Science and Technology Park in Gdynia. The designers used their craft skills and experience in working with ceramics and fabric. The result of their cooperation is a limited collection of three products that fall under the "selfcare" trend. Each of them was made in 25 copies based on manual production, traditional techniques and natural materials.
All products will be available for purchase online at the Manuba store, which will be created especially for this year's edition of the Gdynia Design Days festival.
curator:
Agata Nowak
A designer who works on the borderland of products, furniture, and exhibitions design. At work, she combines design intended for mass production with the creation of a short series based on traditional techniques and manual craft. She also works as a d...
A designer who works on the borderland of products, furniture, and exhibitions design. At work, she combines design intended for mass production with the creation of a short series based on traditional techniques and manual craft. She also works as a design curator. Her first exhibition was “Body at a Crossroads”, which she co-created together with Michał Bachowski. She graduated from the faculty of the Product and Furniture Design at the De Montfort University in Leicester and from the University of Fine Arts in Poznań. She has gained experience working for Studio Rygalik and Studio Ganszyniec.
MANUBA collection GDD 2019
It is already the fourth edition of the Manuba project – a collection of objects designed and manufactured especially for the Gdynia Design Days festival. This year the production of all items took place within workshops and studios based at the festival’s premises – the Pomeranian Science and Technology Park in Gdynia.
Manuba 2019 attempted to respond to the question of how to continue working as a designer, with the awareness of ceaselessly increasing overproduction around us. The collection is composed of unique products, manufactured in a limited series of approximately 25 items each. They are only available for sale during the GDD festival.
Previous editions of Manuba focused on the subject of rediscovering the forgotten crafts and concentrated on the collaboration between the designers and local craftsmen.
The GDD festival takes place at the Pomeranian Science and Technology Park in Gdynia (PPNT), and therefore this year we decided to utilise their existing workshops and studios. The designers invited to work on the Manuba collection were all craftswomen with several years’ experience in their field. They took advantage of the ceramics studio, the 3D printing and tailoring workshops based at the PPNT. Even though each designer used a different material and different technology, they were brought together by their knowledge and skills. These allowed them to lead the projects themselves all the way from initial concept to final production.
In the fourth edition of Manuba we wanted to show that traditional craftsmanship can continue to develop and that the modern Design Thinking methodology can be applied. This year’s design process started with an intense two day design sprint led by Manuba’s curator. The team’s work culminated in a week-long studio based residency. The final collection comprises of ceramics, textiles and jewellery that are complimented by the items from previous editions. All of which you can pick up during your visit to the summer design festival.
Curator:
Alicja Wianecka
Born in 1989 in Gdańsk, Poland, is an industrial designer and design manager. Graduated in Industrial Design at the Gdańsk Academy of Fine Arts and Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan. She designs, runs workshops and oversees projects run using...
Born in 1989 in Gdańsk, Poland, is an industrial designer and design manager. Graduated in Industrial Design at the Gdańsk Academy of Fine Arts and Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan. She designs, runs workshops and oversees projects run using the Design Thinking methodology. She is particularly interested in using design as a tool in business as well as working within interdisciplinary design teams.
She has worked for both local and international clients, including – Vitsoe London, Digital Solutions Italia, Reserved and Malafor. She also curated Manuba 2017 and continues to collaborate with MaradDesign studio in Gdynia.
MANUBA collection GDD 2018
The third edition of MANUBA project is a continuation of the Pomeranian craftsmanship recovery.
By rule this is a very analogue initiative, appreciating the tangible and direct contact with the substance. The aspect of authenticity, reality and uniqueness is even more visible in the context of this year’s festival keyword “ERROR”.
In this year’s edition we leave the four walls and go out to physically experience the reality. We mindfully observe and touch. We check the smell, texture and structure of the REAL. Moderation becomes out favourite word. We don’t need much. We set off in the OFFLINE mode and take only a few items with us. You may wish to do the same so we might see each, exchange thoughts and experiences. See you at Gdynia Design Days 2018.
We have invited two designers and three craftsmen from Pomerania to wander and create the MANUBA – GDD Collection 2018 with us. Together we will struggle with the matter, search for errors which may be a value, look for solutions and functions needed outside the network and four walls. Let us go then.
Curators:
Witamina D | Małgorzata Knobloch i Igor Wiktorowicz
They founded the design studio and the proprietary brand of Witamina D in 2013. As their brand they produce furniture and other objects designed for home and garden. Their designs are characterized by quality, craftsmanship, local identity, simplicity ...
They founded the design studio and the proprietary brand of Witamina D in 2013. As their brand they produce furniture and other objects designed for home and garden. Their designs are characterized by quality, craftsmanship, local identity, simplicity and timeless forms. Their projects have been presented at many exhibitions at home and abroad. As part of the studio they take on competitions, implement projects for special orders and projects for industry. Their key achievements include: first place in the competition for the urban furniture for Gdansk; an honorable mention in the competition for the radiator inspired by the SLOW theme – Terma Design 2014, a design for the main exhibition of Gdynia Design Days 2015; "Kids Design Space – Urban Jungle" project for Open Mind fundation.
MANUBA collection GDD 2017
MANUBA – GDD Collection is a series of products created especially for the Gdynia Design Days festival. Each product is the fruit of a designer's collaboration with a craftsman. Apart from the final effect the exchange of experiences between the designer who comes up with a new design idea and a master craftsman is also important.
The first series of MANUBA products was launched in 2016 in the 9th edition of Gdynia Design Days under the curatorial supervision of Paulina and Jacek Ryń.
This year's edition continues the idea of recovering the forgotten crafts, launched last year. Referring to the festival's theme, the 2017 collection is inspired by the landscape of a beach after a storm. When the strong wind rises the waves and turns the tides the sea washes its wealth ashore and in the calm which comes after the storm patterns of sandprints are revealed.
This year we have invited three designers: Stanisław Czarnocki, Natasza Grześkiewicz and Karolina Navus-Wysocka, who had seen the magic created by the storm and combined it with traditional techniques of artistic smithery, upholstery and bee wax craftsmanship. Thanks to their cooperation with craft workshops, every participant of the Gdynia Design Days Festival will be able to take a piece of the Baltic coast back home.
Curator:
Alicja Wianecka
Born in 1989 in Gdańsk, Poland, is an industrial designer and design manager. Graduated in Industrial Design at the Gdańsk Academy of Fine Arts and Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan. She designs, runs workshops and oversees projects run using...
Born in 1989 in Gdańsk, Poland, is an industrial designer and design manager. Graduated in Industrial Design at the Gdańsk Academy of Fine Arts and Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan. She designs, runs workshops and oversees projects run using the Design Thinking methodology. She is particularly interested in using design as a tool in business as well as working within interdisciplinary design teams.
She has worked for both local and international clients, including – Vitsoe London, Digital Solutions Italia, Reserved and Malafor. She also curated Manuba 2017 and continues to collaborate with MaradDesign studio in Gdynia.
MANUBA collection GDD 2016
It is through the contemporarily interpreted crafting methods that the viewers will learn about the centuries-old history of Necel pottery, the achievements of artisans from the southern Kashubian Folk Crafts House in Swornegacie, the craftsmanship and passion with which Leszek Supiński works in his forge in Oliwa or how Bohdan Szczudło combines artistic experience with his knowledge of wood and finally how the knowledge about Pomerania’s hand spinning and weaving is passed along.
Materials such as wood, ceramics, wicker, natural fibers and hand-forged steel – their uniqueness – allows us to move into the analog world, full of history and extraordinary skills of people who create them.
Curators:
Paulina Ryń i Jacek Ryń
Paulina Ryń
She graduated from the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the Gdańsk University of Technology. Since 2008, together with Jacek Ryń she cocreates the Grupa Projektowa Razy2. She has designed and personally creat...
Paulina Ryń
She graduated from the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the Gdańsk University of Technology. Since 2008, together with Jacek Ryń she cocreates the Grupa Projektowa Razy2. She has designed and personally creates the Cocoon lamps shown and sold in many European countries. Since 2011 she has been working with the MS Architects design office where she creates, among others, concepts of residential buildings.
In 2014, together with Jacek Ryń she was the curator and the designer of the exhibition "Smak Przedmiotu" (“Taste of an object”) presenting the achievements of Pomeranian designers. She actively participates in projects of social and urban nature. Curator of the main exhibition of the Gdynia Design Days 2015. Member of the Programme Council of the Gdynia Design Days 2015 and 2016.
She is the creator of the Woolendorf brand that will premiere in 2016.
Jacek Ryń
Graduate of Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk where he currently works as an assistant. During his studies he was a scholarship student at the Design Academy Eindhoven. In 2007 he held an internship at Droog in Amsterdam. Since 2008, together with Paulina Ryń he cocreates the Grupa Projektowa Razy2. For 2.5 years he was a designer at Terma. He designs everyday objects, furniture, lighting, elements of public space, as well as rehabilitation equipment. He is the author of many implemented products, including the PLC radiator which won "Dobry Wzór 2014" in home category and "Must Have 2015", he also participated in the creation of the Pictor unit for rehabilitation, which won honorable mention in Polski Produkt Przyszłości (Polish Product of the Future) awarded by PARP. He is a finalist of the "make me! 2011 ", where he won the award from Corian for the project Doodle. Member of the Programme Council of Gdynia Design Days 2015 and 2016. He is also a member of the Scientific Council of the Pomeranian Science and Technology Park Gdynia. He participates in social activities and participatory projects.