‘sofia’ lamp, design by baba akcja and produced by the polish company VOX. the shade with holes can be used to hang earrings.

baba akcja - 2 the inside part of the lamp shade is full of colourful stripes…

baba akcja - 3 … the inspiration was drawn from traditional polish outfits from lowicz county in poland

baba akcja - 4 floppy disk CDRs (recordable compact discs shaped like 3.5” floppy disks), design by baba akcja

baba akcja - 5 floppy disk CDRs (recordable compact discs shaped like 3.5” floppy disks), design by baba akcja

baba akcja - 6

‘lolipops’ on a string

baba akcja - 7 ‘lolipops’ on a string

baba akcja - 8 monika ostaszewska + zofia konarska + klementyna jankiewicz of baba akcja studio

the team behind baba akcja graduated together in 2005 at the industrial design department of the academy of fine arts in warsaw and established the studio in the same year. in 2007 they participated in the designboom mart inside 100% design tokyo and in the designboom mart in new york in 2009.

‘we met in a cafe in central warsaw because as yet they don’t have a work space. while ostaszewska and konarska are in warsaw, jankiewicz works from tel aviv, and joined us via skype. indeed, it is this unusual situation and their nomadic lifestyle that keeps the trio’s approach very fresh and open to other experiences. this also has an impact on the way they work and the studio’s ambitions, as they are not bound by a set of rules to do with a specific place or project. ‘we each have a day job as well,’ says Jankiewicz. ‘the projects we do with baba akcja is what we really want to do. baba is an extra, but it’s very important to us, as it’s a way of expressing ourselves.’

poland has a long history of production and is now the world’s fourth largest furniture manufacturer. the history of polish design is punctuated by passionate women who are striving to change the design consciousness of their country. the baba akcja team is part of ‘discovering women in polish design‘ a book that features interviews and conversations.

the launch took place at the young creative poland exhibition at the brompton design district during london design week in september 09. the book was initiated by gian luca amadei (of UK’s blueprint magazine), anka pietrzyk-simone and is published by the adam mickiewicz insitute.