A lamp cable that’s too short or too long, not enough room for a table or shelf, a hand that’s gone numb from holding a glass and a plate at a cocktail party... The Kabo&Pydo duo tracks such daily irritations and tries to create products that meet the exact needs of users.
Kabo&Pydo is a joint project of Katarzyna Borkowska and Tomasz Pydo. Their professional paths form a single story: they both studied at the Faculty of Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw; they both furthered their knowledge about the business use of design; they both learned how to make furniture and woodcarvings and have been interested in design since their childhood days.
They started working as a team in 2010. When they create their designs Borkowska and Pydo pay close attention to the functionality of the created objects and to dealing with functional deficiencies. The duo makes objects that can be transformed and used in different ways, depending on the desired function or aesthetic preference of the user. The special attention paid to functionality can be seen in the smallest details, from the special bases of cups on which water doesn’t accumulate during washing in a dishwasher, to a cord which enables the user to freely adjust the height of a lamp.
Embeded gallery style
display gallery as slider
Borkowska and Pydo especially focus on designing tableware, with a particular emphasis on those intended for liquids. Kabo&Pydo’s cups have surprising, sometimes even quite elaborate, forms which are always dictated by the functions behind it. Twiggy is delicate and has a handle resembling a tree branch which enables the user to choose a way of holding that is most comfortable for him or her. The handle of Grzaniec was modelled on the foot of a glass and allows for stable positioning of the hand, PracTea on the other hand solves the problem of disposing of a tea bag after brewing thanks to a cover that can be used as a base. The up-to-date Modern has sharp angles that bring to mind contemporary architecture. This design enables the user to freely combine the cups and to arrange them into attractive visual compositions.
The duos’ set of catering dishes for appetizers offers a similar freedom to combine elements. Thanks to their matching shapes, the bigger and smaller geometric plates can be put together as a jigsaw puzzle. The dishes are both minimalistic and highly decorative; when put together they create elaborate mosaic shapes. The set is made complete by a plate with a space for a glass, thanks to which guests at cocktail parties can drink and eat with ease.
Owijka may be considered a summary of Kabo&Pydo’s design philosophy. The user may adjust the height of this small lamp, using the colourful cord that’s wound around its ceramic lampshade. Owijka is devoid of obvious ornaments but at the same time it is rendered decorative by the juxtaposition of the lampshade’s white and the vivid colours of the cord, and by the tension created by the contrasting textures of the two elements. Owijka is a concise and aesthetic proposition of solving the question of the maximum efficiency of a designed object.
Selected awards and exhibitions:
2013
- Polish Design Focus, DMY, Berlin, Germany
2012
- DMY Graduation Projects, Berlin
- Mniej exhibition, DMY, Berlin
- Finalists of the Young Design competition, the Institute of Industrial Design, Warsaw
2011
- Make Me! Łódź Design Festival, award of Elle Decoration and the Rosenthal company for the Owijka lamp
- Winners of the Designer Glass Competition 2011, Bombay Sapphire
- Winners of the Art of Packaging competition in the glass package category
- Finalists of the Young Design competition, the Institute of Industrial Design, Warsaw
- Arena Design, Poznań
2009
- Finalists of the Make Me! Competition, Łódź Design Festival
- Winners of the Młody Mebel competition, the Meble Vox company
Author: Agata Morka, October 2014
Transl. MK