ABOUT

Designed and made by Wiktoria Kijowska, 'Polish Folklor' celebrates the traditional Polish folk craft of cut-outs from Łowicz. 

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It is a collection of flower vases inspired by the traditional Polish folk craft of cut-outs from Łowicz. As the patterns found in this folk craft have been popularized and placed on many types of consumer goods, their history and meaning have been forgotten. These vibrant vases celebrate and bring back this forgotten history. They include changeable front and back panels with a universal middle vessel. The vases can be displayed together to create the full story about the cut-outs from Łowicz or separately to suit the user’s needs. 

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In this collection, there are 3 patterns, each focusing on a different aspect from the history of cut-outs from Łowicz. The first story conveyed in this collection is about the traditional methods of manufacture and the people that made them. Wiktoria really wanted to highlight the sheep sheers that were traditionally used to cut the paper. Such a surprisingly primitive tool was used to create something so meaningful and intricate.

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Each vase celebrates one of those stories and aims to educate people about their history and importance. 

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As the society is chasing newness, the history and tradition of products and crafts are often being forgotten. It is just as important to look to the past as it is to look to the future. The past can tell you so much about people’s innovation; in this case how communities from small Polish villages utilised the paper that was given to them as payment from the nearby paper factory during the late 19th and early 20th century.