inspiration: April

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inspiration: March

Cy Twombly, Il Parnasso, 1964

Shared Bread

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MerkenMerken

fomo: March

The 'Swing' table Designed for small interiors, Swing easily transoforms into a rack. Since I'm a huge fan of utility furniture and interior design, I'm really curious to see how it works in 'reality'. You know, the video and the concept are both cool but still, I'd be scared that some of the plates would suddenly fall down on the floor if I did what the man does is the video.

Same-Sex Couple Baby Shower Do's & Don'ts What I like about Jacey and her blog is that every now and then she brings up some major issues. Although same-sex couple baby showers are something so hard for me to imagine to happen in Poland and be so openly discussed, this post made me as curious as never. Evry paragraph made me go hell, yeah, that's right; this is great; wow, would've never think of it etc. I also liked how she pointed out that 'traditiobal' baby showers always, sooner or later, bring up the when are you having your own baby question, which you may not always want to answer (honestly, I hate it with passion when somebody is way too much interested in what's going on inside my uterus). And last but not least, let me quote one paragraph which we all should have engraved somewhere in our brains: A same-sex couple having a baby is just like a typical heterosexual couple having a baby. If you want to ask questions, be polite and thoughtful in your approach. The baby shower is about celebrating the love and happiness of the couple that is expecting, not a time to quiz them about their surrogate, donor or other questions. 

Lacoste Is Replacing Its Logo to Help Save 10 Endangered Species A new line of their iconic polo shirts was made in collaboration with International Union for Conservation of Nature and even though I'm not a huge fan of one of the world's most forged clothing brands, I really like the idea of making the customers aware of environmental problems. With the retail price being $ 185 USD, I haven't managed to find how much is going to be donated to the IUCN. Nevertheless, even if it's only a small amout, I'm still hoping many people will buy the polo shirt and Lacoste will be able to donate as much money as possible because there are so many endangered species out there and I have the feeling we're not doing enough to save them. 

How To Reuse Plastic Caps And meanwhile teach your kid the alphabet :) Even though this is not a really zero waste idea (according to the ZW movement you shouldn't use plastic caps at all) but still, this can be used in so many ways: at home, at school, whe you wat to learn a new alphabet... .  Way better than all the high tech kids are given these days. 

I Blame Lulu This is my favourite vintage store Instagram account. They literally have the coolest stuff and cozy knits. Too bad they're located in Copenhagen. On the other hand, this fact gives a perfect excuse to travel north. 

The 10 Best Polish Books Coming Out in English in 2018 Even though, Polish is my mother tongue, I still like to read some classics in English or German just to see how the target language affects the words and constructions used. It all started when in 2005 my late aunt gave me Wisława Szymborska's poems translated into English and I began to appreciate the work a translator's gotta do before just a couple of verses start making sense. If you're into polish literature (not only the classics we get to read at school), there are some books being published in English soon and among them Dehnel's Lala and Schulz' Collected stories. There's also Olga Tokarczuk and the absolute classic -  Mickiewicz's Pan Tadeusz, coming out later this year. So keep an eye on your nearest bookshop cause there's gonna be some good reads!

This Kindergarten Teacher Has Created A Comfort Closet For Low-Income Students This is so amazing. End of story. 

Harvard Launches a Free Online Course to Promote Religious Tolerance & Understanding It's so hard to believe that nowadays, when most people have access to the internet and therefore equal chances to educate ourselves on major issues, there are still people who lack basic knowledge and have nothing but stereotypes inside their tiny minds. That's why the idea of promoting tolerance and understanding by one of the world's best universities, as obvious as it may sound, is so much needed. Here you can find more infos and I strongly encourage you to take the course. 

#LetsBringBloggingBack This short throwback video Andy, Carolina and Chiara did for Mango a couple of years ago almost made me shed a tear or two, especially when I read the caption and had a little thought on how blogging has changed over the years. 

Gurls Talk A wonderful and awe inspiring platform for every girl out there. Created by Adwoa Aboah, who herself has already been through a lot of things in life and has been my new role model since I foud out about her a few weeks ago. 

10 Travel Tips for Any Destination Even though the post was published 3 years ago, it's been my absolute no.1 since I read it. Every now and then I like to come back to it because every tip is exactly on point. On the other note: I miss Maren's blogging (can't believe it's been almost 8 years since I started following her). 

#CzarnyProtest

poster by Marta Przeciszewska

Being pro-choice doesn't mean forcing every woman to have an abortion. It's just what it is - having a choice. If you're against abortion, don't have abortion. Easy. 

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inspiration: February

Vienna, you're pretty

DariaDaria, you better start following her now because she's doing an amzing job of spreading positive vibes and also openly talking about life issues. She also has her own sustainable clothing line, a podcast on iTunes and Spotify and a very cute dog, Mala :) 

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MerkenMerken

fomo: February

Enjoy the 20 Most Epic Spice Girls Style Moments Those were the days man! I was a little kid and  Spice Girls used to be my favourite band even though I understood no English back then! Still, even now when I see any news regarding any of the girls, I just gotta follow the link. I still like to play their songs from time to time and in my hometown I do have some of their photos I used to collect and exchange with friends. Oh, and I remember that every little girl wanted to own a limited, Spice Girls' edition of a popular deodorant; I myself were lucky to have one - I can still recall the smell!

Gallery of Polish Design I've already written a separate post on the Gallery of Polish Design but here you can see a short film showing some of the stuff on display.

6 ways the meat industry objectifies women I know that some idiots and dickheads, both male and female (which is even worse), compare feminism to cancer (go educate yourself, you f*cking ignorant) and believe that all feminists wanna do is to deprive men of ther dicks (no, we don't). But, if you belong to the other part of the open-minded society, this article is for you. Also, if you're a linguist, this one's for you too. Genrelayy speaking, it's for everyone and I recommend you added The Lily to your daily reading list.

Noriaki Kasai, the Japanese Ski-Jumping Legend Going for Gold at Forty-Five My jaw literally dropped when I saw that one of my favourite magazines, The New Yorker, did publish an article on ski-jumping. And I was even happier to find out that they devoted a few paragraphs to an absolute legend and one of the most positive athletes I've ever known, Noriaki Kasai. Since February was all about Winter Olympic Games and now that they're over we're already counting the days until Beijing. The great news is that Kasai already announced he'd be there too. Obviously as an athlete and I'm already keeping my fingers crossed for him.

Multilingualism In the EU An interesting inforgraphic but look at the comments!

REILLY Described as the fashion logo Instagram you need to follow, Reilly reinvented the way we perceive fashionable logos. My absolute no. 1 is the IKEA'S font and aesthetics used for OFF WHITE and also all the Queen Elizabeth II retouches (especially the Fila-Fendi bag!).

Barbados Celebrates Centenarian Citizens by Printing Their Portraits on Postal Stamps This is the coolest idea ever! Honestly, every country should honour their citizens like this. Bsides, I've recently read an article in a Polish magazine Pismo (something fresh and unique on the market, inspired by The New Yorker) that here in Poland we have a problem with the elderly. They usually live forgotten, sometimes don't even leave their flats for years and generally seem like a burden for modern families. The article made me so sad and alarmed that most of us never pay the due respect to those who are wiser than us and could still teach us a lot about life and history. On the other hand, I'm glad I grew up in a family which taught me how to respect people and take care of those who once used to take care of us.

Street Style Is Killing Itself With Its Narrow Focus on Thin White Women As for someone for whom street style photography is more interesting than all the fashion shows put together, this was a real food for thought. A massive thank you to Lindsay Peoples for bringing this up. Now, I'm gonna spy with my little eye more people of colour when goig through all the photos from the last fashion week season. 

long live Polish applied arts

Even though I was born in 1992 and belong to the 90s kids collective, I've always had a feeling for what belong to the not so distant past which shaped my Parents' generation and surrounded them. The  PRL era (Polish People's Republic) has left a strong mark on what's in most Polish homes and what I've always admired at my Grandparent's flat. A wall unit, meblościanka, is a piece of furniture you either love and hate. If you grew up in Poland (or other generally in Eastern Europe), you must have had one and you still may own one. If not you, then some of your friends or relatives. And even though for many it's already a relict you let the garbage man take away, a lot of people begin to appreciate this peculiar furishing and share the results of giving wall units a new breath of life. 

But if you begin to think that Polish applied arts are nothing but cabinets, you better change your mind. Ćmielów, Bolesławiec, Krosno, Moda Polska, Telimena (to name a few) are the names I've always known and admired. I can still remember going to Moda Polska as a kid and back then the brand seemed like a symbol of success and all their designes looked so dreamy. I can also recall a huge neon sign hanging right above the entrance to the shop. As I like to say, those were the days, man! Yeah, those were the good days when people appreciated what they had and didn't use to consume as much as we do nowadays. Those were the happy days. 

An ersatz (and also hopes for the future because yes, we do have good Polish applied arts) of those times is to be found in the new permanent gallery at the National Museum in Warsaw. The Gallery of Polish Design opened in the middle of December 2017 and is a new home for furniture, electronis, textiles (alongside with blueprints and prototypes), etno pieces and children design from the beginning of the 20th century up to contemporary art. As you can imagine, being there felt like heaven on Earth and I'm so happy that such a place finally exists in the National Museum. It shows that Polish design is far from what you can buy either at Cepelia or any other souvenirs corner at the airport or railway station. Too bad, I saw so few people there during my visit. 

There was also a little incident I need to tell you about. While I was marvelling at a new take on folk design (one of my favourite things on display, so fresh!), I saw a couple with kids entering the room. One of the kids quickly rushed through the gallery and started shouting something. With all honesty, I was a very well-bred child and would have never ever imagined running like mad in any public place. So my perception of not so obliging kids is rather negative and I always put the blame on parets who prefer to 'pamper' their kiddos with the newest technology instead of actually brining them up. That's what I wanted to do this time as well, but then something even worse happened. The mother pulled the little boy's arm, dragged him forcefully to some place and ordered him to almost sit on the floor and not move anywhere until she's done with the exhibition. And that's what made me utterly sad and I felt sorry for the kid. After all he wasn't any guilty here. It wasn't his fault that his parents probably let him run around whenever there's some bigger space. It's not his fault that nobody explained to him how to behave in a place like this. And it will never be his fault that when he grows up he's gonna avoid art galleries like his worst enemy. After all the only thing he's gonna remember about such places will be a list of various unnatural bans. If children are brought up this way, i.e. hearing orders without any explanation, they're never gonna enjoy arts, they'll never read about art nor make any closer encounter in the future. That's even sadder giving the fact that Polish applied arts have long been underestimated and Polish schools lack basic art education. And even if there's such, it's put into  stiff norms. 

Nevertheless, Polish design is doing fine. More and more artists are appreciated far and wide all around the globe and I'd gladly take some of their designs home. If you're new to the club of Polish art lovers, I highly recommend having a look at the Museum Shop. They have the gallery guidebook (in Polish and English, both for 12PLN) with some of the exhibits and also a bit of history. And if you're into some bigger spending, the shop also sells some porcelain figures from Ćmielów and they also have the PLOPP stool. 

pictures with traditional Polish customs by Zofia Stryjeńska; they were shown at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industral Arts in Paris in 1925 

Sex Bomb figures from Ćmielów