The international festival Designblok has opened across Prague venues, including the Trade Fair Palace (Veletržní palác), the Museum of Decorative Arts, the Jízdárna and St. Croix Chapel at Prague Castle, and the UMPRUM Technological Center on Mikulandská. The event also saw the reopening of the Industrial Palace at the Exhibition Grounds following an extensive reconstruction.
The exhibitions showcase how design can make the world more practical, ecological, and cheerful, while also integrating charitable initiatives.
Focus-Boosting School Furniture
Addressing the needs of modern pedagogy, the German brand Flötotto is presenting school furniture designed to help children maintain focus. A representative for the brand stated, On these chairs, children can pay attention for longer,
explaining that a flexible backrest allows for the “micromovement” of restless students, including those with ADHD.
The company asserts that these small movements prevent the slowing of blood circulation and provide a calming effect without disrupting the lesson. Flötotto, which has a 120-year tradition and has specialized in school furniture for 50 years, has been manufacturing in Lnáře in the Plzeň region since 2021. The brand’s offerings include plastic chairs that are available in fixed, swivel, or wheeled versions, some featuring adjustable footrests.
Light, Glass, and Fashion
The festival’s focus on light is reflected in a variety of artistic and functional objects. These include handbags made from uranium glass and dresses constructed from infusion tubes. Hana Zárubová’s “Reunion” collection features a dress made of transparent tubes, a model she first created as a student in 1999, now updated with 27 years of experience. In the Trade Fair Palace, the Jílek glassworks from Kamenický Šenov is exhibiting a monumental chandelier featuring over a hundred lights floating above colored shards.
The Jílek glassworks, which dates back to 1905, offers every type of lighting found in the giant chandelier within its current product line. Other notable exhibits include:
- Lhotska Jewellery: Eliška Lhotská’s “Fragments of Light” project features six 18-karat gold objects shaped like fragments of bread.
- Klimchi: The brand is introducing a new collection called “GHOST,” designed by New Yorker Maximilian Eicke, featuring three hand-made glasses from Kamenický Šenov. Eicke, who founded MAX ID NY and has worked with Standard Hotels and Nike, met brand founder Lukáš Klimčák at the Shoppe Object fair.
- Monika Drápalová: The “Corpus Lucis” collection utilizes light and translucent silk organza to present clothing as a nearly intangible object.
Additional fashion highlights include PBG Studio, which is celebrating 15 years in business with the “Ongoing Story” collection in Dark Brown, featuring actresses Lenka Krobotová and Elizaveta Maximová. EIRI is presenting the “Nymphaea” collection, photographed with musician Lenka Dusilová, using Japanese materials and sculptural silhouettes. In the “City” section, Silky Gang’s boutique on Navrátilova street displays porcelain, kimonos, and silk scarves inspired by the Japanese Tale of Genji, which designer Martina Karafiátová photographed in Japan.
Kaufland Workshop Links Design to Social Causes
Several participants are linking their design work to social causes.
The supermarket chain Kaufland is participating for the third year through an experiential workshop created with the Dvoutakt studio. In a darkened room, a blind woman assists visitors in assembling a touch lamp.