The Popiel Studio is a Kraków-based boutique art studio run by artist Justyna Górowska, specializing in the reinvention of Slavic archaeology into 3D printed home design. They are passionate about technology but also madly in love with the environment. They want to rebuild the most cherished value of their Polish ancestors: harmony with nature.
With that in mind, the Popiel Studio products are crafted for sustainability using 100% biodegradable resources. They believe that the Slavic heritage is a profound and still uncharted culture not only for them – the direct descendants of the Slavs – but also for Western culture. Looking from a new perspective for home design, they connect modern 3D printing technology with the prehistoric artistry of their ancestors that lived between Odra and Vistula River, near the Baltic Sea. That way, they want to establish a new chapter of the ancient story for a contemporary audience.
Your morning routine:
Responding to e-mails and Instagram messages.
The first thing you do when you come to your /studio?
Most of Popiel’s products need a dozen or so hours to be printed. Thus, the first thing I do is checking if the overnight 3D print went fine.
Instagram, Fb or no social media?
Instagram @popiel_studio.
Magazines/books you read:
Design for the Real World by Victor Papanek, The Mythology of the Slavs by Aleksander Gieysztor, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi Klein.
The Perfect Studio, created by @izakoczanowska
Three objects which are essential at your work:
Cinema 4D software, 3D printer, biodegradable filament PLA.
What are your favourite tools to help you to get the job done?
Good attitude and positive thinking .
What inspires you and motivates you to get your work done?
The fact that I am involved in sustainable and ecological design, considering the environmental impacts of the product in its whole lifecycle.
One funny story from your work:
Since Popiel’s vases are 3D scans of the face urn from the Pomeranian culture, many people ask me if they can be used according to their original function, i.e., as a funeral urn.
The project you are working on right now?
A new 2021 collection where Popiel pantheon will be expanded with newly printed curiosities: LelPolel and Svarogi.
What do you love about your job? What sucks?
Feeling that I am making something important not only for me individually but also for the whole society in general. What sucks is that a huge amount of work needs to be done to make a brand recognisable.
Hand-made or mass-production?
3D printed on a small scale and locally distributed.
Do you work individually or with a team?
I work with the support of my good friend Marcel Bazydło-Jankowski.
How do you rest and relax after work?
Watching movies, reading books, listening to favourite podcasts, and cuddling my dog, Buddy.
Do you have advice for anybody who wants to work in your field?
Believe in yourself!
You can buy works of Project Studio in our store >>
